A saving grace

We will be the first to admit that our beloved Michigan Wolverines have fallen short of expectations this year, although to be truly candid we are not sure who set such high expectations for them in the first place.  Ranked fifth?  Honestly, our quarterback has been questionable from the beginning and our number of experienced and talented players has been greatly reduced recently.  Every program goes through rebuilding years, we can accept that.  In fact, we expected it.  The losses might be disappointing, but they are not crushing.  When was the last time State even went to a bowl game?  That's what we thought.  And besides, in the mean time we have our beloved Michigan Marching Band to fulfill our need for talented performance and tonight we took Calvin to see their Friday night rehearsal.  It was his first encounter with the big band that his mother marched in during her college years, and it was clearly a hit.  He clapped and danced, and every time they stopped playing he would frantically sign "please music please" to the amusement of his parents and other onlookers.  This was, perhaps, his first real lesson that even the word "please" will not bring one everything they desire.

Not exactly twinkle toes yet

Calvin started dance class today, and what a riot that was!  We really had no idea what to expect but it should not have surprised us to find out that, even though the class is open to anyone ages 1-3 years of age, Calvin is the youngest by about a year and is the only boy.  All those girls thought he was just the cutest thing since My Little Pony and just wanted to love him to death, but Calvin thought that was a rotten idea and spent most of his time in a constant state of forward motion.  The objective of the class is to learn "purposeful movement" so we figure this gives him a head start.  That and it gives us a preview of all those elementary school years that are yet to come.  Can anyone say Cooties?

And we are really pleased with the class itself, girls and all.  The teacher was calm and patient, the music was lively and fun, and the activities were varied.  The best part about it was the relaxed atmosphere: there was a definite structure to the class but there was no circle to have to stay in, and the kids were encouraged, but never forced, to take part in the activities.  While the moms danced around to a Simon Says kind of song some kids took part, Calvin marched around the room laughing.  We played with hula hoops for a while, sitting in them, jumping in and out of them, and pushing them around the room.  Calvin just watched with rapt attention, until it came time to walk through the hoops like a tunnel, then he decided to join in.  His favorite part of the morning was the parachute:  he loved walking on it, he loved walking around it, and he really loved walking under it.  It was clear throughout the class that he was enjoying himself.  He was engaged the whole time, sometimes just watching, sometimes joining in, and almost always smiling or laughing.  We are looking forward to watching his progress throughout the year long class.

 Since dad was at work and mom was busy dancing there are no pictures from this momentous occasion, but there are some cute new ones in the Sept 9/8-14 album.

Happy Labor Day

September?  Seriously?  Is it really seriously September?  But August came and went so fast!  It was in like a lion, with storms and floods, and then the rest of it just scurried away, as fast as the rabbits in our backyard when we open the door to try and take their picture.  At the beginning of the month we had a great weekend to-do list, filled with hikes, water parks, zoos, and nature preserves, but instead our weekends were spent cleaning and drying our basement, drying and boxing our belongings, holding a garage sale, and making trips to donation centers.  But, while we may have greeted the first weekend of September with our basement back in order, our list of fun things to do in August was no shorter, so with today's free holiday afternoon we decided to do something about it, and the long shadows of a late summer sun found us frolicking in the water at an Ann Arbor splash park.  Calvin was a little nervous about all the strange activity at first, but he warmed up quickly and was soon to be seen wading through the showers, underneath the falls, and over the many geysers.  He greatly enjoyed the selection of pool toys floating around, and also loved watching the other kids playing nearby.  The afternoon was delightful - late enough in the day that the pool was not crowded, warm enough to enjoy the water, and cool enough to enjoy the sun.  The only twinge of sadness to be felt was the realization that we should have done this earlier and more often in the summer, although it's not like our weekends haven't been full enough.  We'll just have to be sure to add this one to the summer to-do list for next year.

As always, there are lots more pictures in this week's photo gallery. 

Play Baby Play...

It wasn't all that long ago, just a few weeks perhaps, that we took Calvin to a nearby park with great expectations for his exuberance about the play structures, only to be disappointed when he couldn't see them for the woodchips.  On that trip we spent the majority of our time trying to convince him that woodchips, although very enticing, were not a readily digestible item.  We'd been reluctant since then to try again, but tonight we found ourselves yards away from another such play area while enjoying a potluck dinner with the First Presbyterian Deacons, so we decided to give it another try.  We're not sure what the difference was, although in our eagerness as parents we'll chalk it up to a sudden burst in brain power, but he was enthralled with the playground this time!  Aside from time spent eating dinner he could not be pried away from the play structure without fuss.  He would run to the swing and sign for up, then after a minute sign that he was all done and go climb up the structure to the tunnel.  Or he would run to the slide and make the sign for up, and, after sliding down (sometimes on his butt, sometimes on his tummy), he would sign to do it again.  He was insatiable, which meant that at the end of the evening he was exhausted, and that meant an early bed time and some extra adult time or us.  We might have to consider trying that activity more often now.

4-H

No, we're not talking about bingo, we're talking about animals - the farm kind:  cows, sheep, chickens, rabbits, etc.  It has been a stormy week here so when the clouds parted long enough for the sun to break through this evening we jumped at the opportunity and headed to the Chelsea Community Fair for dinner.  Calvin really loves animals (wonder why?) and got a real kick out of the rows and rows of bleating sheep and clucking chickens.  He found the enormous rooster that crowed right in his face to be the most amusing, while his parents were rather taken with the rabbit who was at least three times the size of Moose (that being our little dog).  It wasn't the animals, however, that had us truly incredulous, it was the price of the food.  Who wants to pay $30 for the privilege of eating a "meal" (a sausage, fries, and a drink for each adult) of run-of-the-mill carnival food?  Not I, not I!  Instead, we left the fair grounds and walked to the Chelsea Grill where we enjoyed fantastic burgers with fries and beer for only $23, and we did so while being waited on in a clean and air conditioned restaurant where we didn't have to worry about dust, bugs, or the smell of manure.  And at the end of our meal we raced home (within the speed limit, of course) just ahead of the next storm front that was coming through.