MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

Sunday was the Saint Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade. It was a tradition when I was little to go with all of my cousins and now it has become on of our traditions as well. Jim set up two tents which made the very sunny and hot weather bearable.

Before we even got to the parade we laid down all of the rules : NO playing in the street, No fighting, and No asking for all of the overpriced crap the vendors peddle down he street. That was until we spotted this too cute for words hat. For $5.oo we had to get it. Jimmy ended up with a Sponge Bob blow up thingy that I'm sure will make it into the garbage some time soon.

Jimmy was very content just sitting in his chair chillaxin and relaxin. He pretty much stayed there the whole time with the exception of picking up some candy that was thrown.

The Fife and Drum are my favorite part of the parade. This year the parade was very short only and hour long - it was a little disappointing . After we went over to Papa Mike and Sue's house for some sprinkler fun, a BBQ and a walk up to the ice cream store. We had a great time and the kids were pooped out by the end of it all.

IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH.

Over the last several years I found my fair share of loose change in the laundry. I consider it my tip. But lately I have been getting little extra " bonuses." I think I need to start checking pockets before my machine breaks one day. In the past month I have found the following:
A $5 bill, 6 rocks from the playground at school, 2 bouncy balls, a pony tail holder, a half chewed sucker stick, 52 cents and a Rice Krispie Treat. I guess I should just be happy I'm not finding worms and bugs.

My kids love to wash the cars, so when Jim asked them if they wanted to help, they jumped at the chance. And I LOVE it when they wash the cars. My car is definitely cleaner when they do it as opposed to a regular car wash. They spend a lot of attention while washing and make sure every spot has been washed twice.

Jen loved using the hose, especially on her dad!!!!

A SUCCESSFUL FISH STORY

Uncle Tom had invited Jim and Jenna to go out on the boat on Saturday. Jenna could hardly wait to jump into her bathing suit and head out. The camera was on a bad setting for this picture, but non the less it turned out cute of Jenna and Cody.

Jen even got a chance to steer the boat all by herself. She was so excited to tell me when she got home. In fact, she must have told all about it at least 5 times over.

After their boat trip, Cody and Jen fished on the dock for a while. I had two rules for Jen (if she caught a fish) before she left the house. Rule #1 WE ARE NOT KEEPING A FISH FOR A PET. NO WAY NO HOW!!! Rule # 2 I WILL NOT BE COOKING THE FISH FOR DINNER.

Jen caught two fish and loved every minute of it. She is now begging for her own fishing pole.

Cody was very proud to show off his fish as well. All of the summer air on the lake wore her out. She fell asleep very fast and slept in until 11:00 am.

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD ...FINALLY!!!!

The countdown has begun!! Only 4 months, 3 weeks and 3 days until our very own Disney vacation. Jen has been begging us for the last 4 years to take her there and this is the year were gonna do it. She is super excited and can hardly wait. Jimmy is at a good age where he is old enough to remember the trip and he is very much into anything Mickey right now. The date has been set, the reservations have been made all we have to do is schedule the flight and book a character meal and a few "surprises". Feel free to give me some suggestions.

WE'VE GONE A LITTLE BATTY

So this post and the next one should be reversed - sorry. You'll see that last week we went to Cranbrook and while we were there we visited the Bat Zone. One of the first animals we saw when we walked in was this huge sloth. I had never seen one before and was shocked to see it just hanging there. They are truly so ugly that they are cute - if that makes sense.

Sloths spend most of their lives hanging in trees, and only come down every two weeks to go to the bathroom. They are potty trained in the wild and the whole pack goes in the same spot to put off predators. They also are the slowest mammal in the world.

The Bat Zone host a lot of different species of bats. My kids were not overly excited to see them that up close. Normally they will touch anything, but not this time.

The instructor was very thorough in explaining anything and everything about the bats. She taught them the difference between a micro and a mega bat. Mega bats eat mostly fruit and pollen and have huge eyes, while micro bats eat insects and have small eyes. Since Jen can live on fruit alone and has those HUGE eyes, we figured she must be part mega bat. She also taught the kids about their diets and how they communicate with each other. It was fun to see and by the end of the tour, my kids were a little more comfortable checking them out.

Last weekend Jim and I took the kids to Cranbrook Institute of Science. Even though a lot of the exhibits were way above their heads, they still loved it. One of the first things you see when you walk in is this huge T-Rex.

I had to have Jen stand next to the huge T-Rex jawbone. I think it's the only thing that has Jabber Jaws (aka Jen) beat. That kid can talk! It may not be clear, but that doesn't stop her at all.

Jimmy liked the Mastodon. It was quit impressive. They stood 8 to 10 feet tall and weighed between 4 and 6 tons.

And Jen loves anything that sparkles. She enjoyed the mineral gallery and feel in love with this huge quartz. Although they both had fun, I think we will wait a while to go back again and stick to the Children's Science Center downtown which is kid friendly and much more age appropriate.