Been a Long Time Since I Wrote this Blog



Time really got away from me as I had not realized how long it has been since I updated this blog.   Upon finishing Camp NaNo I became more obsessed with writing and editing novels than blogging.  Lots of things have happened with the boys and their lives which has also pulled me away.  I will provide a few bullet points from spring through summer.

 

We made a trip to Grand Rapids to check out GVSU and see the uncle.

 

 

Walked over to the fishladder and to the GVSU Graduate buildings.  Fox and I also did a tour of the undergraduate campus.  Later in the day we checked out the Gerald Ford Museum.  Seems there was a little dissention amongst the cabinet! 

 

 

Since Ben and Ethan are not going on the school trip to Washington DC we did a trip on our own hitting the Point before the holiday weekend when it really starts to get busy.  This was Ethan's introduction to roller coasters and he did awesome.  We rode 10 coasters in under five hours!  Even got our girl to come along for a day of fun.

 

 

Did a lot of gardening this spring/summer.  Good therapy.

 

 

You never know who or what you'll come across in the garden.

 

 

Ethan did middle school track.  Fox started high school track but dropped out mid-season.  He just wasn't getting the times he wanted and was over it in general.  He worked at Honeyflow in the spring doing pruning and whatever else was needed.  Ben worked his first season as well.  Next year Ethan can be part of the crew too.  In addition to track Ethan also played rec baseball again.  Ben did rec soccer as well.

 

 

 

Ethan took 4th Place at the Middle School State Forensics tournament at Wayne State University.  He also got to go to Exploration Days for the first time on the Michigan State University Campus.

Fox received his ACT scores - he got a 31 overall which is awesome!  He also attended the Northwood University LAB Free-Enterprise Camp.

Benjamin attended the Engineering Camp at Lake Superior State University this summer.  They are still doing an amazing job there and many of the same people are involved.  Fox came with me to pick Ben up and the counselor recognized him!  Of course you don't meet many people named Fox.

Ben had a good time at camp but still isn't sure about what he wants to pursue as a career yet.  He has toured the Ed-Tech building for our district and is possibly interested in computer hardware or small engines.  However the only other interests he dabbles in outside of school and soccer is video games!! 

No one participated in the 4H Fair this summer.  It was nice to have a break and I tackled a major renovation project in the house.

 

That pretty much takes us up until Fall 2014.  Fox is a Senior this year and we've done many college visits and had discussions about early enrollment.  More updates in the next post.  Benjamin is a high school Freshmen and seems to be adjusting well to the new routine, keeping his grades up, and staying out of trouble.  He played soccer for school this year on the JV team.  Ethan ended up going in for seated classes in the middle school for 8th grade but he did try an online class, German IA.

On the Road

Last week I got a few days out with some lady friends for a little fun and adventure.  First up was a trip to Midland, Michigan to tour the Alden B. Dow House and Studios.  Alden built his unique house in 1935 after studying under Frank Lloyd Wright, there is definately an influence in style although Alden branched out in creating an original cinder block shape that was only used in 11 structures, all of which are found in the mitten.  The patent for the design was sold twice but oddly the idea never took off.  The house has been inpeccably cared for and when Mrs. Dow passed away in 1991 the three children took little from the property and it has been a wonderful historical site since.

We also had a chance to walk through the 110 acre Dow Gardens designed by Alden's father Herbert Dow owner of the Dow Chemical Plant.  It took years to create and was inspired greatly by Japanese horticultural design.  The home Herbert and his wife Grace lived in is also on the property and open for tours however we did not fit that in on this trip.  The color garden was absolutely amazing and I loved the various red metal bridges throughout the grounds.

The Children's Garden had lots of things to get young people involved in daily up keep of the grounds, from watering troughs to brooms for keeping walkways tidy, a huge bubble pool, an army of scarecrows, and the hit for me was by far the massive bronze hog statue!  It was incredible to see the work of both father and son, all of which took extreme care and consideration of children as they developed their ideas.  This was a time long before television and Gameboys, cell phones and iPods.  A time when imagination was cherished and being outside and active was a normal and expected part of everyday.  I was truely inspired by the visit in more ways than I can express.  Just placed my Burpee seed order for late start veggies that will go in as soon as the pigs go to fair this weekend, so excited to have fresh food growing on my own property again.  From 1999 to 2009 I always had a pretty extensive garden but eventually lost time and energy for it, looking forward to a renewed spirit in celebrating the simple things.

Another surprise trip was a chance to travel to Stratford with a friend, her son, and granddaughter to see a matinee performance of "Pirates of Penzance" which I haven't seen probably since high school.  It was a stellar performance and I was amazed that many of the cast were also leads in the 42nd Street production.  On the way home we stopped at a great cafe/coffee house in Port Huron, The Raven which was soooo cute, the live music was excellent as well as the lobster bisque!  Great way to end a great day, even got home in time to watch the opening ceremony for the XXX Olympics in London.

Is this photo gorgeous?  Many of the farms around our area grow sunflower crops, this one is just down the street from our house and we drive by many times during the week on the way to activities and errands, always makes me smile.  Alexandra and the BF got approval for a one bedroom apartment and got moved in earlier this week.  They were a little stressed about it but very excited at the same time.  I'm glad to have her finally settled in somewhere and not living such a nomadic lifestyle. 

Next week is the Eastern Michigan State Fair so the Partons will be busy showing pigs, auctioning, doing barn duty, riding rides, and having a downhome good time with some folks who truly know how to keep it real. 

Remember to always broaden your horizons

and stay inspired!

Columbo

It was a beautiful morning as we headed to the station.  A brief train ride to Lansing for a day of adventure.  Grandpa Q met us at the station, I turned in Fox's tickets and off to our first stop, the Capitol Building, which was a buzz with activities for the Memorial weekend.  Since business does not stop for the tour we forged ahead through the building trying to hear what our tour guide was explaining. Inside the House it was quiet since they were in between sessions but still there was distraction as a few soldiers practiced their flag maneuvers on the floor below.  Amazing to think that all the walls are painted even though they look like marble or expensive woods, it's all plain pine that's been painstakingly painted.

Next we grabbed a quick breakfast then headed over the Impression 5 Hands-On Museum.  This is a very cool stop.  Since all the exhibits are set up through one huge open floor the boys were old enough to just let go to explore.  They could read directions and execute all of the experiments on their own so Dad and I wandered ourselves and got snap happy.  The drawers of leaf, seed, bug, and insect collections kept me occupied for quite a while along with the oil and iron mix contraption.  Ethan had fun at the pitching machine, checking his speed.  Ben spent his time building with Legos.  Giant bubble machines are always enjoyed by all. Grandpa Q I believe did a thorough investigation of it all.  Bought a couple books about wildflowers in the Gift Shop, a geyser top for the mentos and coke experiment, astronaut ice cream, and some erasers for our collection.

Although satisfactorily explored, the hands-in didn't take as much time as I thought it would so we were able to add an extra stop to the MSU Gardens to check out the 4H Children's Garden in particular.  There were about a half dozen employees out working diligently to get things ready for the busy season.  The ponds in particular were in great need of TLC.

We drifted on into the main gardens and into the green house that housed the indoor 4H garden.  That was unfortunately closed for a renovation but what before my wandering eyes should appear, the Curiosity Classroom was there. With everyone out working I had minute to peek in and drool.  What a fantastic resource at MSU, with learning extended through models, microscopes, mini collections, and marvels of nature all about.  I believe some of the 4H Discovery Days classes take place here, Ben is just old enough to be eligible.  Ethan will be next year.

From there we google mapped our way over to the Potter Park Zoo. First in, Granpda was jonesin' for a hot dog and the boys wanted one too, plus pops all around.  The food shack was just closing up and the kid gave us all a free hot dog that would have been thrown out. Woot! Bellies and thirst being satisfied we made our way through the zoo. There was an ostrich with eggs, an excellent bald eagle set up and a nest on display, caught the lion being fed jumping up like a big dog to catch the meat, but the owl wouldn't open its eyes for nothin. The tiger was pretty active, saw the penguins being fed, and one of the ostriches gave us a full open! It was an interesting little zoo although the dark metal bars are sort of a drag, especially when it comes to picture taking.  Overall they had a nice collection of animals.  We were going to take a camel ride but it was closed that day and we missed the baby tigers, by the time we made our way to the back where their habitat was they had already been "put to bed" for the night. :(  We'll have to stop back when we take Fox up for camp.

Another favorite discovery of the day for me was these fabulous recycled art pieces that were displayed throughout the zoo, made from bottle caps and tops!  Gorgeous!  Totally going to replicate this idea, kudos!!

For dinner we ate at Clara's Lansing Station in the train car, of course!  I had the Seafood Quiche, very tasty!  Wasn't so impressed with the Bruchetta.  Ben scraped away at a Nachos while dad and Ethan shared a Rueben.  Dessert took us to Anthony Hall for some famous MSU Dairy Store ice cream!  Ben and I had a fantastic mint sensation, Ethan went cookie dough, dad did chocolate I think.....?  It's all a blur I was in a yummy ice crean haze.  Dad dropped us at the train station and headed home.  The boys occupied themselves with soccer game with a pebble while I read some more of "Barnhart."  I crashed out on the ride back but I don't think the boys totally did.  Asked the conductor when we exited about bringing my bike on the train.  He said they do allow it but you have to make special arrangments and there may be an extra fee.  Everything we did on our adventure would have been totally bikable, we stayed within a 7 miles radius for all the activities.  That could be some fun.  I'd love to have my bike around Chicago too!

Before I headed to Lansing I hung out at the Lapeer Virtual Learning Center open house.  They had representatives from a few of the providers that are available for online classes there to explain how their programs work.  Plus you could test out some of the courses.  I liked aspects of both Aventa and Lincoln Interactive.  Curious if the middle school would consider doing the Spanish program for an elective.  A presentation overviewing the virtual options was given, streamlining the information that had been researched over the past few months. They've had a few families enroll already and several inquired about further conversation. We're hoping there is a slow and steady progress so that participants get the assistance they need to succeed. I've also had a couple opportunties arise to coordinate enrichment activities through several non-profit organizations in the area.  Very exciting, meetings coming up, will update as things are finalized.