Frankenmuth exploration

The older two had their first camps of the summer this week - Bella went to Saginaw for FSY (For the Strength of Youth) church camp and Benjamin had Drumline camp at the high school.  That left Peter and Christian at home with me.  They decided to come along to drop Bella off at FSY so they could join me in exploring Frankenmuth on the way home. 

Frankenmuth is a small town with a main street strip full of little cafes, boutiques, etc. that draws tourists with the claim that it is a traditional German town founded in 1845 by 15 German settlers from Bavaria. There is really nothing traditionally German there.  Some German words on signs, a few places selling sausage, and that's about it.  The two main restaurants boast servers who wear an outfit sort of German-looking.  But they specialize in chicken, not bratwurst or schnitzel or anything German at all.  It's not even on the menu. When on main street, it feels a lot like Park City or Jackson Hole, or any other ritzy, boutique lined small town main street.  I went there knowing not to expect German heritage, so I wasn't disappointed.  I went there to have some fun wandering around main street, having lunch, walking along the covered bridge over the river, and hanging out with my boys.  For that, it was perfect.  

Also in town, is the biggest Christmas store in the country - Bronner's.  1/2 mile long store of nothing but ornaments, lights, nativities, and trees, etc. etc...  It's something you have to see.  We had a great time browsing and humming along to the Christmas music.  You can't help but get into the Christmas spirit, even in June.

A house divided....

Random extras:

Peter loved playing with the fridge letter magnets this week.  "Take a picture!" he kept saying.  So I did.  What a cutie.

Kelly and Christian went camping last week up north.  Three days, two nights camping and motorcycling.  They had an amazing time.

Family Photo Fail

 We finally got the pictures I described a while back - the ones where Peter freaked out and refused to look at the photographer.  Just as expected, they're horrible.  The angle is all wrong, the position of the people is wrong, the background looks like a dilapidated shack, not the historic home that it was, and we are all clearly just dying to get it over with.  However, I guess it's mom bias, but I still think my kids look good.  Not worth printing and framing, but fun to look at.  The funniest part of the pictures is how exhausted Kelly and I look.  The frustration of the moment shows clearly in our faces.  We look SO haggard! We could be 20 years older.

Happy Father's Day

 For father's day, the kids made a video for Kelly.  I supplied the questions and Bella compiled all the answers.  I think she did a wonderful job.

Christian Graduates from Elementary School

 I have had at least one (or more) kids at Webster Elementary for 13 years now.  Today that came to an end.  Christian has loved his time there (as did the others).  His teachers were fantastic and his friends were great kids.

No one is better prepared for middle school than Christian - brilliant, kind, hard working, independent. etc.  We wish you all the best, Christian.  You're going to do great things.

Leading up to the last day, he had a 6th grade breakfast, a 6th grade graduation ceremony wherein he was presented with his diploma by his teacher and the principal, and a 6th grade clap-out where they all marched out of the building as the parents clapped.  It was so fun to see him with all his friends.  I'm so glad nearly all of them are moving onto the same middle school program with him.

His closest friends - Mae, (Mrs. Macek), Jackson, and Alex.

He had the same teacher Bella had in 5th and 6th grade, Mrs. Macek.  She is a wonderful teacher and both kids loved her a lot.  I never got a picture with her and Bella because Bella's 6th grade year ended in the covid shutdown and she never had any graduation ceremonies.  I'm so glad Christian got to do those things.

On the last day of school, I treated them all to a sushi lunch, their favorite place to eat.  Benjamin didn't want to come, but the others were thrilled.  Sushi (and all food) has gotten so expensive!  ($93 for lunch).  Not going to be doing this very often, but it was a great celebration for those who didn't get so much fanfare at school. 

Christian wants to do band, cross country, and robotics next year at school.  For the robotics team, you have to do service hours.  Christian decided to volunteer with the police department's Passport to Safety program.  Every year they put on a huge show in the community with all sorts of safety topics.  Christian volunteered with the bike safety portion and spent the day helping kids navigate a bike safety course.  Peter and I spent the time in and out of police cars and ambulances and watching police dog demonstrations.

 There was a remote control fire truck that spoke, blinked, rolled around, flashed lights, sounded an alarm, and sprayed water.  The controller sat up high on a fire truck out of sight from the kids so they all seemed to fully believe this thing was real.  Peter was mesmerized and a bit afraid.  He kept a safe distance and hid behind me once in a while, but when there was a lull in the action and he was all alone with "Freddy" the firetruck, he ventured to talk to him and they had a little conversation.  It was really cute.

 Finally, I made them both pose with Sparky the fire dog. I'm not sure who was hating life more at that moment - Sparky who had already been posing for pictures for 4 hours or Peter who had adamantly refused all pictures with any mascot all morning long.  I didn't push it with the crash test dummies or McGruff the crime dog, but c'mon it's Sparky!  How cute is he??

We had a church meeting at a building we don't attend much anymore by a large forest, so we decided to take a hike when it was over.  I'd brought a change of clothes for me and Peter, but Christian forgot, so he got to go in his church clothes.  We still had a great time playing in the forest in which we'd spent so much time when they were little.  Christian kept being surprised by how short the distances were compared to how he remembered them.   I miss those days of ice skating on the frozen river and playing on the bridges.  Maybe we will again this winter now that Peter is old enough, if it gets cold enough.

I had to run into the building to change clothes and I found dozens of pictures like this one on my phone.

Christian found the most amazing vines to swing from...

and trees to climb on.

Peter didn't quite dare go as high.

They were having so much fun being silly.

Other random silliness:

We're getting excited for our hiking trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan.  Benjamin was testing out the new pack.

Peter had his final day of our mom-run church preschool.  That has been such a wonderful group.  I'm sad to see it end.  He has the best little buddies in there.

For fun, for the Summer, Bella died her hair dark brown.  Peter loved the idea of dyeing hair, but he wanted blue.  So that's what we did.  Not permanent, like Bella's, of course.  Once he saw it, he hated it and so we washed it out...mostly.  Blonde hair loves color and despite multiple washes, it's still visible.  Hopefully a few more washes will do the trick.  I thought he looked fun.

Spring 2023 Piano Recital

Bella and Christian did a great job at their piano recital last week.  I always love having proof that my money is going to a good cause.  I'm so glad they're still willing to stick with it and keep learning.  Eliciting quality practice time is often a struggle, but I certainly have empathy for them.  I'm impressed with what they've accomplished and how hard they have worked.

If you don't see the videos, try viewing this entry on a computer rather than a phone.  When I view my blog on my phone, all the videos disappear.

You know your kids are older when after the recital, they take turns practicing driving while you sit in the back seat!!

Museums and Compromises

The weather has been so perfect lately, that I've wanted to spend a lot of time outside.   However, Peter's on a museum kick where he only wants to go to museums.  A nature center seemed like a good compromise.  We went to two different ones, one day after the other, once alone and once with friends.  It was wonderful both times.  Sadly I missed taking a picture of the giant tree fort that was several stories high and 150 ft wide.  It was so fun for the kids.

When we found this sandbox, I thought how sad it was that I forgot the sandtoys.  Then Peter found a stick and some rocks and played for 30 minutes with them in the sand.  Kids really don't need special toys.

He had a blast playing in this giant eagle nest.  

We also have been going to museums.  This week it was the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum.  He told me the whole time he wasn't interested in playing at the water table and then with 10 minutes to go, he decided he did and he had so much fun he didn't want to go home.  His favorite part was engineering the pipes so the water flowed just right. Exactly the part I like best too.  I couldn't resist letting him stay longer.