Happy Father's Day!

Enjoy a Maple N' Bacon Cupcake with your dad.  

The Time I was Cleaning Out the PC

Our laptop is coming to the end of it's life, so I decided that I should move/delete/laugh about the files I have on it to the F drive "Brain" that Mike has for us.  I ran across some really old pictures I thought I would post here so I have them for later in case the fit hits the shan.  And some of them are classic. 

Classic Phippolphs but check out how much hair....Diane had. 

This is the social worker at my school.  Talk amongst yourselves...

This is my husband.

I can't remember the occasion, but it's an oldy but goody of work peeps.  You know who you are.

 

O.M.G.  on many levels: level one is look how small Sue's kids are.  Level 2 is what in world is going on with me.  Level 3 is that we were at the JellyBelly factory, you should go.

Me, Steph and Macy.  Macy is the one hiding under Steph's shirt.

The Albandias on 12/3/07

AJ after his eviction.  I mean RIGHT AFTER.  All full of goo and stuff.  Yuck.

Kathy, Anthony, AJ and Katie before there even was a Zeppe.

I can't believe they were ever so small.  Summer of 2009.

OOO.  Goodness.  Fun times at the petting zoo at Founders Days

We went to the racetrack.  I was OVER IT about 10 minutes after we got there.

Christmas in case you weren't sure.  Ha.

Thanksgiving.  What are we looking at?

AJ having a grand time on his first birthday. December 2008

Cake. I look like I have consumed many cakes already.

 Well, that's all the trips down memory lane I can take for a day.  Back to deleting stuff. 

"It's Good to be Curious..."

I saw this the other day in my Google Reader and have gone back to watch/listen many times since.  I just can't get it out of my head.  That it's a catchy tune is one thing, but I loved Mr. Rogers and wish that he was still around to plant seeds in AJ's mind, too.  (Mister Rogers remixed by Symphony of Science's John D. Boswell for PBS Digital Studios via YouTube)


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Wrinkled Fingers and Toes

AJ and Mike doing "jumps" 

Shh, I'm Watching Nature

Crabtree Nature Center has an activity sheet the you and your child can do each day in June.  We went to see the turtles, owls, turkey vulture, and fish.  We had fun.

The tadpole tank is near the exploration table.

"There's a turtle in here!"

"This is a deer, Mommy."

This turkey vulture only has one foot.  That's why he lives here.  He is very interested in all the people that visit him.

AJ inspected all things, near and far, with his spyglass.

This New Generation

AJ has it pretty good over at his grandparents homes.  He gets to eat many unapproved foods in mass quantities, stay up late, mess up the house, and play with cool toys.  When Mike and I were growing up in these homes, we do not recall this level of luxury.  I felt the need to tell AJ how good he has it.  Look at these fancy sandbox amenities I never had a kid:

1.  A cover that fits so no cats get in.
2.  An actual sandbox constructed for that purpose and not a little area made out of old splintery planks.
3.  My mother eagerly and willingly running to get him a bucket of water when asks for it.
4.  The sand, oh the sand.  Reminisce with me, if you will...

You Better Pet That Cow Again If I Spent $8.00 To Get In Here

When I was a girl, Randall Oaks Park was the place to go.  I remember sledding, eating, and running around the hills there.  I do not remember, however, the petting zoo costing

$4.00 PER PERSON 

to enter.  It is not a huge petting zoo, either.  I mean, you can't even pet the horses.  You have to buy the food extra and it is in this tiny bag it's not even worth it.  

But being a sucka for my kid, we went today and I shelled out the $8.00 and we went in to pet stuff.  But if you know AJ, you know that he doesn't like all the stuff that he says he likes, petting stuff included.  So I petted stuff and he ran around asking to go play in the playground.

The blue sky, this deer, and watching AJ have fun made the high price tag worth it.  I guess.

Michigan, My Michigan

This is a Petoskey Stone from Google.

I don't even now that song, but it seemed like a good title.  I took AJ to MI to get rocks.  Rocks, you say? Yes.  Petoskey Stones, actually.  In Readers Workshop, we read a book called The Legend of the Petoskey Stone and the end note is all about how you can actually find these stones on the shores of Lake Michigan near this town.  Read here for more info about the stones.  Anyhoo, my friend and coworker Sue has wanted to go up there for some time, so we figured now is as good a time as any to drive 7 hours north to get a rock.

So up we went.

We stayed at The Inn at Bay Harbor, Bay Harbor , MI.  Go here to see it.

Our room had a lovely balcony overlooking Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan

AJ liked the view a lot.

We went down to the beach to look for rocks.

There was a big chess set on the lawn.  AJ played.

It wouldn't be vacation without ice cream for dinner, so we headed to Petoskey to eat it.  We heard that this was the best place.  Boy Howdy, it was darn good.  

On our drive around town, we saw this.  It called us to walk it.  It had edges.  I was reminded of my mother as I held AJ's hand in a death grip all the way down.  Almost all the way...

See my protective hand on his shoulder?  Luckily, Sue was with us and she has taken all 3 of her kids to edges and has never lost one.  I felt better. 

After a swim in the pool, we watched the fire pit and the sunset from the balcony.

AJ had some relaxing time in the comfy bed.

The next day we headed home and went through New Buffalo, MI.  We saw the "I Love Toy Trains" shop from AJ's favorite DVDs.  We were really jazzed about the visit.

But this is what awaited us at the door...BUMMER.

A little ways down the road, we came upon the Visitor Center and a Railroad Museum!  What luck!

Katrina, my coworker and new teaching partner, was along, too.  We posed in a military car.  

AJ liked the model train.

We had a good time and we decided we'll go somewhere next year, too.