Friday means music. And ice cream.

Friday's in Dexter mean live music in the park downtown, so that's where we headed tonight, on foot, with our picnic packed and stowed on the bottom of the stroller.  The music was rockabilly and enjoyable, and there was a pig to boot.  Really, a pig.  You can see for yourself.  We had a great picnic in the shade, then danced for a while, then chased the pig for a while, and lastly we headed for the Dairy Queen for the quintessential ice cream cones.  And, of course, the quintessential mess.  You can see that for yourselves, too.  We can't say that it's the same as The Top of the Park, but in many ways we can say we enjoyed it more - far fewer people, the band wasn't as loud, the park was far more comfortable, and the ice cream more reasonably priced - and we wonder if that's a sign that we are starting to become Dexterites.  That would really be fine with us.

More pictures in the July 2008 abum.

Fun in the summer sun

When it's hot, it's time to hit the sprinkler.  And then have a picnic.  So that's what we did today. 

Summer entertainment

We mentioned recently that our calendar had been briefly taken over by Calvin's various "end of the year" events, and today marked the conclusion of that situation with a picnic and drum circle for his music class participants.  This was our first time taking part in a real honest to goodness drum circle, and it really was delightful for all three of us.  If you are wondering what a real honest to goodness drum circle is, we couldn't really tell you, but we can tell you that this one involved all the kids and their family members sitting in a circle around a big pile of rhythm instruments, and a rhythm leader who kept a steady and interesting beat for us as we made our way through such child and rhythm friendly songs as Funga Alafia and the ABCs (which can, yes, be quite rhythmic if done right way).  We all got the chance to use many different rhythm instruments from around the world and to pick songs to sing and perform.  It was truly impossible not to get swept into the movement, singing, and rhythm of the circle, and, after a wonderful potluck lunch, we all went home and collapsed at nap time.

Our evening entertainment wasn't nearly as coo, but it did involved some rhythm and dancing (at least on Calvin's part).  With so much to do in our own little village we hadn't ventured into Ann Arbor town for its many activities yet this summer, but after reading about tonight's entertainment at Top of the Park, we figured we'd better check it out.  As it turned out, Heliosphere, performed by a group called Dream Engine, was too loud, too short, and too repetitive and not nearly as much as the band that came after.  And, actually, it wasn't so much the band itself as watching Calvin dance that made that part of the evening riotous.  He enjoyed Heliosphere just fine, but when the music came on he got up and started shaking it right in the middle of the crowd.  He had quite the audience, too.  It's amazing what self-assurance we are born with that is ultimately replaced by a sense of propriety, but at Calvin's age all the world is his stage for sure.

More pictures:  June 2008, too album. 

The tastes of summer

We celebrate many tastes throughout the summer, but one of the best and earliest is arrival, in early June, of the Michigan strawberries.  Sure, the California berries that are imported year round (albeit at a price) are pretty decent themselves, but put an imported berry next to a Michigan berry and there really is no contest - the deceptively small Michigan berry can look pretty scraggly next to its beefcake California counterpart, but inside its much deeper red color is an equal depth of flavor that beats the California berry hands down.  They aren't available for long, so we have to take advantage of them when we can and last night we did just that, enjoying our first summer taste alongside homemade shortcake and topped with homemade whipped cream.  Yum.

Slip sliding away

Yes, the good old Slip n' Slide, that great water toy of the 80s, is still alive and well.  It's been "improved upon," mind you - no more banana shaped sprinkler, your hose now attaches directly to the slide itself, and forget the grass stained swimshorts, you now end your slide in an inflated reservoir with a great big splash - but all in all it's still a great toy that packs a lot of fun in its punch, or whatever the saying is.  Of course, Calvin's problem is that he isn't quite weighty enough to make it all the way down the slide, even with a great big push from a parent, and he isn't quite coordinated enough to run and slide for himself, so we end up getting awfully wet in the process, but really it was worth it.  We wonder if they really mean it when they say not for use by children over the age of twelve.
More pictures here.