Memorial Day Parade

On Monday Jenny and I took the kids to the Midland Memorial Day parade downtown. The city holds the parade every year, but this was the first time Jenny and I have checked it out. It was fun. The kids got lots of treats and candy, and we got to watch all the bands, cars, and tractors go by. My uncle is in a local bagpipe band. They dress up in their kilts and scottish outfits and march around playing traditional scottish music. They were one of the bands in the parade, and we got to say hi to them as they marched by.

Life At Random

Here's some random pictures of the kids...just being kids. My favorites are the ones of the kids trying to eat corn on the cob.

Boys Night Out

Ben and I took my Dad to a Loons game for a "boys night out." For the first time Ben took a genuine interest in the game and what was going on. He sat there and watched about 4 straight innings asking me all kinds of questions about the game. We munched on popcorn for a while, and then he played on the playground for a few innings and joked around with "Lou E. Loon." He always loves seeing Lou E.

Children's Museum in Saginaw

After the weather cancelled our plans to go to the Children's Zoo in Saginaw, we decided instead to take my parents to the Children's Museum. The kids always enjoy going there, and it's a great place to take them to when the weather isn't great outside. This time around Megan didn't get too wet.

Day At Dow Gardens

The day after my parents arrived the kids and I took them to Dow Gardens. The kids love going there in the spring and summer when everything is so green and lush. My Mom's back was bothering her so she rented one of the scooters they had on hand. Ben had a blast driving it around everywhere. He soon forgot about all the natural surroundings and instead concentrated on driving the scooter. Oh well. At least they all had fun.

Birthday Party

Last week we celebrated Jenny's birthday. The kids helped me make the cake, and fortunately we had my parents arrive the same day...which helped us finish off the cake. I had to admire my work with the cake. I think it was my best one...and of course it tasted great. Jenny and I always debate amounts of frosting. She's a "less is more" kind of person, whereas I'm a "more-more-more" person. I made the cake...so I got to put on more frosting.

Happy Birthday Jenny!

Just wanted to wish my wife a wonderful happy birthday. And in honor of her here are some pictures of Jenny at her favorite place in the whole world....Disney World.

Garage Sale

Today we held the second annual "Frame Garage Sale." The day was rather rainy, windy, and chilly...but despite the weather we were able to sell about two thirds of our stuff. We didn't have as many items for sale this year compared to last year. Mostly it was kid's clothes, kids toys, and occasional household items. Still though...all in all we sold all of our bigger items, and made over $200 for the day. Not bad for stuff that's just sitting around your house gathering dust.
Hosting a garage sale is okay, but once a year is enough for me. Most of the people are cool and easy going, but once in a while you get some weird people. Most of our items were priced around a dollar. This person came in today and tried to haggle us down on a dollar item. "Will you take 80 cents for this?" Jenny and I were thinking..."Look, just take the thing. I don't care."
The most difficult thing about a garage sale is how to deal with the kids. Frankly, the garage sale is a one man show because someone has to manage the kids. They get to watch a little more TV than normal, and they enjoy tinkering with all of their old toys. And yes...you get the occasional "Dad...I still want to play with this." But all in all you can't just let them wander around the house unsupervised for the whole day. But they were well behaved. Even if Ben tried to sell Megan for $7.
All in all it was a good day.

Life At Random

Here are some random pictures of the kids being kids. Enjoy.