Summer, So Far

 The summer started off with way too many things going on. It was very overwhelming. Here's a photo walk with some details.

The day after Kade's grad party, Jason, Erik, and I went to Jacob's baptism, 2.5 hours away, where they moved. Erik gave a wonderful talk, and Jason was part of the circle as Jacob was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I played the violin. It's a very small branch where they live, and we're so glad we got to participate in it with him. 

Becky had been talking about us going there for his baptism for years.

Father's Day was the next day.  I "made" chicken cordon bleu, one of Jaason's favorites. (It was baked from frozen, but still really good.) I did make the rice and veggies, but so glad he was fine with a simple meal. I was so tired by then. 

Kade got Jason a Darth Vader bobblehead and said something about him being the best dad in the universe!

Austin and Erik went to FSY, but I didn't get a single pic. They were gone for a week at a university in Ohio, about 2 hours away. They came back having had the time of their lives. After I dropped them off on Monday morning, it was the first time I could relax without having to rush and get something else ready. The day Austin returned from FSY, he got on a plane to SLC to go to BYU cross country camp.

He got to spend a little time with his cousins, uncle, and grandparents on Sunday.

Austin had some amazing coaches.

 An encounter with Connor Mantz, known for placing 4th at the Boston Marathon and NCAA national champ 2 years in a row!

Awesome grandparents as Uber drivers.

I got to celebrate a birthday with some friends. I help Erin every Saturday. She has EDS. 

This chipmunk keeps showing up around our house. 

The cats love watching the chipmunk!

We had some friends over. Two of the kids are awaiting the arrival home of their older sister, who had brain surgery this week. She just turned 15 on Sunday. 

I was taking care of a friend's cats for a week. She has 3, but this one has never shown her face from under the bed over the 6 years I've been caring for them for my 1 week of the year!

Tomorrow we go out West for 2 weeks, so more adventures to come!

Long Overdo Visit!

 My sister has been talking about coming to visit me again for a while. It had been 16 years since her last visit to Michigan. Between schools ending and starting at different times, all the kids' activities, the fact that we often travel West, so we'd just see everyone there, it just kept getting pushed back. Finally, she was able to bring 3 of her kids for a 4-day visit. And now, they're talking about coming again sometime soon to see the Upper Peninsula! 

After I picked them up from the airport on Thursday just before noon, we came back to my house for some lunch and reacquainting (or aquainting for the younger two who hadn't been here ever!) We made plans for the next few days that would fit everyone's needs and allow us to be most comfortable with the weather (off and on raining the first day, extreme heat the second, and decent the next two).

Knowing we would be under the umbrella of trees and also looking at the forecast, we made that first day the one to venture out to Maybury for a Michigan hike, ie, nature walk. It helped Nik and Peter, who have had Erik and Austin puffing along behind them on those Utah mountains, appreciate the fact that our hikes are literally walking around a forest. They also got to experience the humidity and the warnings of not going off the path to risk getting ticks or, worse for me, poison ivy. It rained a bit at the end, and then just in time after we got into the car. We hit Downtown Plymouth for the best ice cream from Dairy King, which is a local ice cream shop that also has incredible prices!

Austin was at cross-country camp, so he wasn't here yet. (I'll post about that later.)

They always have fun together!

When we returned, the kids had fun visiting and hanging out at our house. We got Detroit-style pizza from Buddy's and played games, which is Drew's favorite activity. 

The next day was supposed to be the doozy in terms of heat and humidity. We opted to go to the Henry Ford Museum to stay indoors. We learned, enjoyed, and best of all, stayed cool! 

Breakfast before the museum.

Henry Ford statue.

Lots of cars!

Even though they're all teens, they still loved the interactive parts. 

Entryway

We stopped by one of the biggest Mosques in the area for a photo op. 

We went on to have a Mediterranean meal at Al Ameer. The best pitas, lentil soup, and lamb kabobs!

Since it wasn't quite as hot by 7 pm, we went to Downtown Plymouth to see the Friday night concert of Motown hits. We also had to get more ice cream from Dairy King, because that's what you do in DTP on a Friday night! We wandered around to give them the midwestern feel of the beautiful homes there. By the time we got back, though, we were all tired, so no games that night, at least not with those of us who are 28 or over! I think the young teens stayed up and played games. 

DTP,  music in the park. Some enjoyed it more than others, but we tried to get something in for everyone. 

I took Karina on my Saturday running route while the kids slept. We had a good 6.5-mile walk before getting ready for Island Lake for the day. That was the day with the best weather! The water was perfect, the air was perfect, and the sun was shining! Paddleboarding, swimming, and games occupied us there for many hours. We had a great spot with two tables in the shade. We heated up our leftover pizza in the Dutch oven. It turned out perfect!

I made tikka masala for dinner when we returned and served it with some leftover hummus from the restaurant the night before, amazing pitas that I get at BJs, roasted cauliflower, and Indian rice. It turned out really good. We didn't feel like spending a lot on another meal, so this was great. We had our own Aldi ice cream for dessert and introduced everyone to the Michigan card game of Euchre. It was a hit!

Their final day, which was all of Sunday, since their flight left at 8 am Monday, we went to Frankenmuth. It's a German Town that is a definite tourist attraction, but just so endearing. We wandered around, ate crepe sandwiches at the La Crepe du Jour, window shopped, and enjoyed the German vibes. The younger kids explored the mirror maze, some of us went to the crystal shop, and we all really enjoyed the Cuco Clock Shop! They gave us many demonstrations of the different clocks there. 

The teens rode with Kade and beat us there. They are across the river. 

They had fun with their poses. 

And then we had to get Drew in with the action!

Waiting for lunch!

Being goofy

Since it's an over an hour drive, we had good visits on the rides up and back. When we returned home, we had a smorgasbord of leftovers and then played some more Euchre for a while before getting ready for bed for their early flight home. 

We're so glad they could come to visit and look forward to their next visit!

2025 Graduate!!

 Kade did it! Despite some huge barriers put in his way, he made it through high school. I said in my last post that 7th grade is a tough year. It was tough for Kade, starting in 7th grade and continuing up to his senior year (actually, it was probably before 7th grade, but 7th grade was really hard for him, and I still don't think we fully understand how hard it was). His senior year was definitely the best, so that's a great way to finish up high school. 

The festivities started with Kade's graduation from the Arts Academy, a couple of days before Prom. Kade was involved with the Arts Academy for all 4 years of high school. I gave more details in the Art Symposium post from a few blog entries ago. They held their own graduation for those kids. Each student recorded a little blurb about themselves that included their favorite part about the Arts Academy (which was the friends Kade made for him) and what they're doing in the near future. They played the recordings as each student crossed the stage to receive their certificate and graduation rope. They also showed these cute pictures of each student. 

A screenshot of Kade's baby picture and a senior picture..

Dr. Jackman, the head of the Academy, taking a selfie with the group.

I already posted about Prom, so I'll move on to graduation itself! There's actually not much to say about it since there were so many graduates and they just moved them through. However, my friend Jennifer is on the school board and requested that she give Kade his diploma at the ceremony. Also, we had Jason's parents and cousin, and my mom here to show extra support. They also got to attend some end-of-the-year activities and, of course, join in our Puerto Rican meal that has become a favorite of Victoria's and Kade's. 

Kade decorated his cap. 

The fans!

We finally located Kade, and he finally looked up!

I moved to the other side so I could get better shots of his face.

Jason got this great shot of him receiving his diploma. 

Here's from my angle again. 

Puerto Rican meal!

Five days later was Kade's graduation party. We purposely scheduled it to be Friday, the 13th, since Kade loves that kind of thing. It's the only one this year, too. We learned a lot since Victoria's party, and since having gone to more of them, after hosting one ourselves, we picked up some new ideas. One thing I learned is that simple is great. So, since Kade loves hot dogs and Doritos, that was what we served. But, since we are a healthy-eating family and don't skimp on our fruits and veggies, we served watermelon, carrots, cucumbers, and Ranch, which Kade loves too. We had a vegan option for the hot dogs, and they were greatly appreciated by those who came and needed that option. We also had Coney Island chili sauce and diced onion to give the dogs a Michigan spin, if desired. (Coney Island hot dogs are extremely popular here and are associated with Detroit). I actually ate one myself, and it was very good!

I also learned that lemonade is just as popular as soda, so we served that with the different flavored additives that are also popular now. You either recycle cups or cans, so we opted for cups this time instead of cans. We'll definitely do that again. I didn't get good pics of the drink table, though, because there was a misty rain going on the whole time, so the drinks and desserts were squeezed under the tent in the back instead of being on the deck like we had planned. The rain wasn't really a problem; we just couldn't have the drinks and desserts getting all wet from the constant mist!

The other thing I learned is that almost everyone eats dessert at these things, but not always the food. So I got a big sheet cake from BJ's Wholesale, had about 45 huge homemade cookies, and 24 little cakes from Nothin' Bundt Cakes, but we still ran out of dessert. I'm pretty sure everyone got more than enough, but I still worry. The good thing behind that is that we had many more people come than we really thought would. So many people love Kade and wanted to support him. They were so generous and happy to be here celebrating Kade. Kade had a fair number of friends show up, and a couple of people commented on how many friends he has. Kade is a wonderful friend and is well-loved.

And if you're wondering why this random pic is here from the yearbook, it's because Kade's chemistry teacher came at the very end, and I totally forgot to take a pic of them together! Mr. Clanton is the reason Kade loves science so much now. Kade had him last year, and he visited him in class all this year. He's an inspirational teacher that we'll never forget!

We had corn hole, badminton, chalk, and the trampoline. Kids still enjoyed those activities in the misty rain. (We went to a party yesterday with a 100-degree real feel, and I definitely think the mist is better than the heat!!)

I am so happy we could celebrate Kade and his job well done in high school! He'll be attending the local community college, Schoolcraft, this fall, and it's going to be fantastic! It's an excellent school and it's free! When Kade gets his associates, he can transfer and work toward his meteorology degree!