Brother's in town

My brother came to Michigan for the first time this week. I love this kid. He's so handsome, nice, easy to get along with, and easy going. We tried to pack the week full of all kinds of fun. We took him to the Henry Ford Museum on free Labor day (Thanks to Target). We loved the airplane exhibit. We had a paper airplane battle that I won.. of course.
I always choke up a bit reading about the first aviators. Those men and women were so courageous and didn't let limitations hold them down.
We also loved looking at the bikes and motorcycles. Davy said he is going to build a bike out of wood. I'm waiting for that. :)

Dave rides a motorcycle so it was a lot of fun to see the evolution of those awesome machines.
We went to downtown Detroit to go to the GM building, sit in a bunch of cool cars, ride the people mover, check out the architecture, and enjoy the jazz festival. Great music and lots of fun booths to look at. We were the only white family I saw there. I'm sure there were others, but we kind of stuck out as the super whiteys. I loved the jewelry, but I would have looked ridiculous in any of those enormous earrings and bracelets, or the super bright colored clothes. Davy did buy some sunglasses that I thought were dorky, but he informed me that they were super hip and that I am old and don't know what's cool anymore. "Hmm Hmm, excuse me. Are you calling me... gulp ... middle aged??" After that I let him try to educate me about how to be cool. It started with me hemming some pants for him so that they are skinnier jeans. Yeah, I'm not going there yet. I guess I am stuck in my old lady "hip style".

We took Dave on a couple of bike rides. He got to ride our El Camino. See, we're kind of cool. I love bike rides. I also love taking pictures while riding a bike. It's a little risky, especially with a baby on back, but hey, I'm that kind of girl. (Paul took my camera away after I almost crashed. What an overprotective father.)

I taught Davy how to save loads of money coupon shopping. I've been having a lot of fun learning how to work all the sales. Why didn't I start this sooner? A lady in my ward (Diann) taught a class on couponing. It was amazing. Here is her deal finding blog.

Lake Erie is a fun place to go. We tossed the football around in this perfect humid weather for hours. I felt great but the boys were complaining and dripping buckets. I loved it, and they taught me how to throw a football farther than I ever have before.

Paul and I finished the play structure we have been working on. It has it's kinks that we are still working out (ask us before you build your own) but it is still super cool. We hung up hammocks (sheets) today and let the kids swing. This is a fantastic function of our invention.

To celebrate Dave's birthday and 6 years of Paul and I being married we decided to go to a Detroit Tiger's game. They didn't win, but we had a good time anyway! The Thai food before the game was great and the Friday Fireworks went way above and beyond our expectations.
Thanks to my man for 6 great years and many more to come.


Paul has started playing softball with a ward team. I love going to watch. He loves playing, and Dave said joining in this week was the highlight of his week. I hope he finds a team to play on back home. We went to the batting cages the next day and Davy loved telling me that he got this picture of me with the ball 1' above my bat. Yes, I was not pro, but I was not embarrassed either!



We got to lay out at the pool with the kids for the last time this season, share a ton of music, talk about photo editing, look at old photo albums, talk about career options, go out to pizza, play boggle and speed, thrift store shop .. twice.. and watch lots of 30Rock and movies.

This week was so packed with the last beautiful days of summer. The weather feels fleeting this week and we've been trying to pack in the fun before the dreaded winter takes over life. We loved having my brother here and miss him already! Thanks for coming and helping us get out and have tons of fun!

Well, it's 10:00, I have to go watch Antonio, the winner of Design Star on his first show. Yeah! I did love Dan, but Antonio will be fun to watch. I have to admit that I have been secretly fawning over the orange/ white chairs he used in his final room last Sunday. I looked for a picture, but no love. You can't see how cool they were on the review shots. I LOVE these chairs and want them.