Live from Tormville!

Greenfield Village

We headed down to the Village today. We went early to beat the weather. 
It was the quietest we've ever seen it on Memorial Day weekend. My guess is that most people chose to go Saturday or Monday for better weather. We enjoyed a couple hours before the rain started, and the hard rain didn't last long. 

I was in a photo mood. 
Photography is my mental self-care. It relaxes me. The boys let me wander about on my own. We traveled in the same direction and we bumped into each other often, connected for custard cones, a ride in a Model T and a loop around on the train. They got to listen to the soldiers talk about shrapnel and guns, and I got to just be. Ideal.  

Checking the forecast, we ended up not staying for the reenactments as it looked like the harder rain was coming in fast. We'll watch them again next year. 

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Other stuffs:

• Friday night we enjoyed a surprise visit from my cousin Emily and family. 
• Saturday, my cousin Tim's son got married. I worked in the kitchen, and enjoyed quick visits with more family. 
• Tomorrow we plan to catch a parade and spend time with Greg's sister and family. 
• (This is the first year in many that Greg isn't in Wisconsin 4-Wheeling with his brothers
• Coming up this next week we have the boys spring concert, endurance training, a haircut, Wendy's graduation party, a soccer game, Wendy's graduation, a baptism, our Sunday School picnic, and I'm subbing three of our four days of school. 
• Time for coffee and a nap. 
• be good!  

May 8 - Greenfield Village

On upon a Mother's Day about 17 years ago my oldest picked me out a new broom for the occasion. 

Today I got chocolates, a new cutting board and my choice of Greenfield Village or the Detroit Zoo. Since it seems as if I was supposed to go with them to the park of my choice - I chose Greenfield Village. I decided to wait until the thrill of the new penguin exhibit dies down a bit before we tackle the zoo. 

And I love all the blooming trees this time of the year at the village. 

I also love when we don't pay attention to the schedule, and just happen upon an event just as it's beginning. This guy was a lot of fun. Part of the Thomas the Train festivities. 

More blooms. 

Our first custard of the season. Their custard is so so good. 

Now for a cup of coffee to get through my list making for the next week. 

Maker Faire Share

After the pacey non-productive Saturday I had, I knew I couldn't handle a pacey Sunday afternoon. I took the kids to Maker Faire instead. It was hot, but oh so cool. We began with some of the outdoor exhibits that I felt sure would have longer lines later in the day.

The ring of a trampoline and a bunch of unicycles made for some awesome fun. 

We all took a turn with the big wheels. Even me. 

Brrrrmmmmmmpppp!! 

We wandered back and forth from inside to outside to help combat the heat. 

And then we wandered over to the village to get our carousel and custard fix. There was no way we were leaving before closing time. 

Why? Because the Coke and Mento guys were the grand finale. My boys are right up front in the 'sit here if you want to get wet' section. They didn't get too wet, but they tried. Mark, especially. 

We're definitely going again next year. Fingers crossed that Greg can join us. 
He'd have really enjoyed the robot that carved watermelons. 

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As for today....

• It was hot, but not so humid. 
• I dropped Wendy off at drivers and then headed to my foot massage appointment. 
• It was divine. 
• Then an hour and a half window before soccer camp.  
• I took a long hot walk
• And then cooked corn on the cob for supper. It was the best corn on the cob ever.
• We went to the local lake to cool off at the end of the day. Even I jumped in. 
• Greg texted that he won't be home today after all, but tomorrow. 
• Here's to tomorrow!  

On Father's Day......

.....this guy said, hey - the weather looks like it's not going to rain. We should go to Greenfield Village. 

And so we did. We were all in the van within fifteen minutes.

On a good year, we make it to the Village at least once a month. I enjoy seeing how much the gardens have changed since our last visit. 

It was Motor Muster weekend - there were classic cars everywhere, and a nice sized section of military vehicles.  

This guy (Mark called him captain) was great with interacting with the crowd. He had great personality and a fun sense of humor. He had no problem getting the kids to line up and look mean. 

This is the ones that the boys told Uncle George about when we skipped to his house on the way home. 

She gave them some bread to feed to the birds.

This is Wendy's dream vehicle. She's been talking about getting a hippy van for at least four years already. 

We rode the Model T's, the carousel, and saved the train for last. Mark wanted to ride as far in the back as possible. I was all for it. 

Seen from the train:  Anyone know why this post cap says Men? 

The perk of riding in the way back - the boys got to make the "All Aboard" call at all three stops. They were bickering like crazy between stops, but managed to cooperate for their duties. 

It had been awhile since we stopped inside the roundhouse. The last time I was there, they were working on the engine that had just pulled the train we were on. That engine's been running for two years now. 

This time we got to see a caboose they are working on. A caboose whose future is still up in the air - it sounds like there are about five different possible plans bouncing around for it. 

A stop at the farm, a stop at Uncle George's, and then home for dinner and an afternoon nap. 

Happy Monday!

To the Village

Yesterday ended up being slated for pushing back the walls at home. 

I had sheets on the line. I had snow pants on the line. 
I was going to finally sort out, wash and bag up the winter hat basket. 
I began digging into the piles of never-ending papers. 

And then Wendy got a call to go spend the night at her cousin's house, and just like that - our plan changed.  It was at about that same time that I got a reminder message that Greenfield Village was open until 9 yesterday. 

We dropped off Wendy and headed down. We got there at about three. 
The parking was all the way out to the light, but we drove up to the front and got a front row parking spot no problem. 

We stopped in at the glass blowing house - always a favorite. The woman told us, based on Brian's questions, to come back for the last hour of the day for what they call whimsy hour. My understanding is that in this hour they play a bit more and try new things. 

We made a point of going back there for that last hour - and they were already closed for the day, so I'm not sure what the last hour meant in their terms. She told us that at nearly 4pm, which would have been the beginning of the last hour on a regular day, so really  - no idea, but we hope to catch it next time. 

We enjoyed talking to this fellow. I appreciated the construction of this banjo that he built himself, using black walnut for the for the neck, and Brian asked a lot of questions about the difference in the way the sound is produced than that of a guitar. 

We meandered our way down to Walnut Grove to see the cannons. 

The boys lasted for awhile, before they wanted to move on. 

We hopped on the train next and took it half-way around the Village, stopping at the nearest stop to the Custard stand.  As we were on the train, we had an overlook of Walnut Grove.  Mark: oh man - NOW they have the guns out!!  

I kept trying to tell them to hang tight. 

Same thing at the custard stand. The line was pretty long, but I told them that if they had a little patience, we could walk around and come back and there would be hardly any line at all. 

They wouldn't hear of it, but they did note later that I was right. I enjoyed letting them set the pace for the day so they could see that there really is a method to my madness most days. I think they got it in the end. 

They were firing up the pottery kiln last night. They raise the temp to 2300 degrees.  

We hit the playground last. 

It was a beautiful, relaxing day. Home by 9:30.
As for today?  Not sure yet....we'll see where it takes us. 

be good. 

 

More Village

 

Our original plan had actually been to go to Greenfield Village on Saturday, but all my attempts to renew our membership online Friday evening (something we've never done before) went terribly. I called first thing Saturday morning hoping to have better success over the phone, but that was even worse. 

I was so frustrated with the whole thing, that we waited a day and renewed in person first thing Sunday morning - where the counter person was able to take care of it quickly and exactly as we were used to, but in a way that the person on the phone had told me was not possible. 

In my email I shared that we love the place, we'll definitely renew, but right now I'm just disappointed that I've been disappointed, and I'm definitely disappointed in their online system.  Don't try to renew online until they do their promised update is my psa for the year. 

 

When we got to the park, I sent another email and mentioned that we arrived, and that we would enjoy our visit regardless of my previous day's frustrations (and I might have let her know that everything she told me isn't done, was, without question)  And we did.  I still recommend the membership. We've had ours for years. 

 

Because we go to this event just about every year, we tried to take in some different things this year.  We sat through the entire drum and fife show - which is one of my favorites. Usually we end up just catching them as we walk by, so that was a treat. 

 

We also checked the schedule to watch the bayonette drills. We were at the camps in time to watch them line up and march to the field. 

 

At the field, however, the drills were taking place at the exact same time as the nearby fashion show.  The fashion show had a microphone, but the bayonet demonstration did not.  This caused a few giggles and antics as some of the soldiers practiced dips and curtsies to the fashion show's cues. 

Our first custard cone of the season. 
Mark is on the list for getting his summer buzz cut today. 

It was all good. 

We lasted four hours before we gave in to heat and hunger.  I was in a pack light mood this day, only bringing my pocket camera and no food/lunch. 

It worked. 

Have a safe Memorial Day
Remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice 

the yawning fifer

We went to Greenfield Village this morning in time for opening at 9:30.  One - because I struggle with the crowds that come later in the day and two - I struggle with heat and crowds even moreso and it got hot this afternoon in comparison to the temps we've had lately. 

So we went for 9:30, and it was perfect. For us. But I believe it was too early for that one fifer. 

Conversation on the way home:  

Me: And did you notice that fifer who couldn't stop yawning?

Wendy:  Oh My Gosh! Yes!  He yawned like one hundred times! 

Me: I was going to say fifty, but you're probably right. 

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More photos later. There's ballooning to get ready for. 

be good

The Fifth at The Henry Ford

About a month ago I bought tickets to enjoy the fireworks at The Henry Ford. It's long been on my want to do list, and this year worked. It was just a matter of hoping I picked a good weather date and hoping my husband would be home. 

We scored on both counts. The weather was spectacular, and we picked up Greg from work on our way down. 

The wait was a little long for the kids - they didn't appreciate the music like I did, but Greg brought them over to the Village Green where they had old fashioned kid's games set up. Stilts and stuff. That kept them busy for a good hour. (The village itself is non-operating during this event)

I had also packed a few time killers into the backpack, but the things I had packed mostly were more for a flat surface, not the hill we ended up on. As newbies, we took a lot of notes. 

I brought Skipbo Junior for the kids, but the hill had the piles sliding around, so they changed it to Go Fish instead. 

We had brought our chairs, but the hill (again) didn't work in our favor, so we sat on our quilt. My tailbone was so sore by the time we got home that I went straight to bed.  I was envying these chairs - perfect for the hill. What are those?  Where do you get them?  I was totally creeping on everybody's set up and shopping in my head. Back pack chairs. Cool. Collapsible wagon for hauling - great idea. A fold up mini picnic table, complete with a tablecloth, for all your snacks and cups - Wow. 

I also struggled with the hill in trying to get my small little tripod to work, so I wasn't getting the shots I wanted - but just know, the fireworks were excellent. Loved the atmosphere of the DSO playing in the background. 

I would definitely go again.  And use my notes. 

be good

weekend wrap

Saturday morning - soccer. My turn to go. I often see kids whose whole families go to all the games and I wonder - how do they do that? We always have so much going on/so much to do, it would be near impossible for everyone to make the games. Or the house would fall down around us. 

I thought there was just one more Saturday game - but there are two. Surprise. 

On Sunday we took a family day. We have so few of them come summertime. While some guys have an easier schedule in the summer - my man's schedule is busier than ever. When Ford shuts down - he goes to work. His job often takes him to update assembly lines during those shut downs. He spends most of June getting programs ready in preparation for install. We won't see him much in July, and he has another big project in August as well. 

We were due for a family day. We headed to Greenfield Village. 

Still our favorite membership. We upgraded and added the ride package this year - the kids were THRILLED to be able to finally ride the train and cars and carousel, etc.... 

While we were on our way to the Village, we got a call saying hey - crow car club barbeque - tonight! 

So we stopped and picked up some hotdogs and burgers on the way home and headed out for some grilling fun

While we were AT the village, we got a call from one of my husband's brother's sharing that they were in town (what did we do before cell phones?) and could we get together. BUMMER - had we known, Sunday would have obviously been perfect - but they dropped off Hallie anyway once we got home and we dragged her along with us to the barbeque. We'll have the rest of the family over tonight. 

Wendy and Hallie have a lot of the same interests and have a LOT of fun together. 

Marshmallows over the campfire and some guitar to sing along to while an 8 year old was falling asleep in my lap - it was a good day. 

Got home well after 10, rushed two boys through the shower and was up until near 2 working on deadlines and assignments.  

Monday was the last baseball and the first day of volleyball camp. 

 

Sunday Date

Greg and I went down to The Henry Ford yesterday - kidless. So strange. We had been wanting to see the Titanic Exhibit, so we did that (enjoyed it - fun to actually be able to read all the information without the kids. We'd been to the same exhibit years ago when it was in Chicago and recognized some parts, but took in a lot more this time and more had been added. We're glad we saw it again). There are no photographs allowed within the Titanic Exhibit, so I don't have any pictures of that - but we did take a walk through the village afterwards - despite the heat - so I snapped a few along the way. 

We tried to visit the buildings that we don't always see. I have no recollection of ever being in this building, but Greg says we've seen it. I say that I must have been outside tending to the baby or something. 

There were also several other buildings that we've missed through the years, but that have placement within range of the custard stand, so we're pretty sure that we've missed them for the kids pulling on our arms. It's interesting to go without the kids. 

It was a good date. 

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As for today and this week....

• My sister and two boys are pulling into town about dinnertime
• I was caught thinking just a couple days ago that I've managed to go a long time without having to go to the chiropractor, but I screwed something up then on Saturday. Greg thinks it was the heavy kayaking, I think it was the furniture I moved to get my desk in order. My chiropractor is closing his local office, so I'll have to find time to drive down to Southfield sometime before Thursday. I should do it today, because it's hindering my progress.
• Three more sleeps until I see my kids!!
• Wedding this week! 
• My desk is falling into place nicely. In August I'll start selling whatever doesn't fit. 
• I still have one pile on the living room floor, and that'll have to stay there for a bit. My sister's boys are bigger, so I don't need to worry about diggers. 
• Doesn't look like a good forecast this week for ballooning. My sister is going to be bummed - she was hoping she could join me on an adventure. 
• I'm hoping the rainy week will bump up the teenager's hours this summer. The landscapers have taken a hit with this heat. We haven't mowed our lawn in over a month. 
• Still don't know if my husband is going to Canada this week. He is. He isn't. He is. He isn't. 
• That's all I've got. 
• be good!
• Happy Monday!