End of Summer

Summer vacation has officially come to an end.  Ian had his first day at his new school, Montessori Giving Tree.  He had lots to say about his first day.  But this isn't about his first day this post is about Ian's splendid summer, in video.

Summer Adventures

I was going to start this blog post out with "I know. I know. It's been a long time since I've posted on Ian's blog" But, then I realized just how long it has been (EEK! November!) and it has been a REALLY long time.  My only excuse was that it was a busy school year.

It's almost the end of August which means it's time to head back to school. I know I'm supposed to say I'm not ready for summer to be over but I think, Joe, Ian and I are all ready to get back in to the swing of things.  Ian definitely misses seeing school friends and I'm hopeful that a little separation will make the heart grown fonder as I think Ian's had enough of us for a while.  The summer has been too packed but enough activities to keep us from going stir crazy.

Early on in our vacation we went to Grand Rapids for an overnight.  We went to a Whitecaps baseball game Saturday evening..

and then the Grand Rapids Children's Museum on Sunday morning.

In July we celebrated Molly's birthday, went to Tigers games, visited new playgrounds, went to a Verve Pipe concert (Ian's first concert), went to the Detroit zoo, rode our bikes and other general fun.

Starting in July and going in to August, Ian started a gymnastics class.  He seems to like it but when you watch its hard to tell just how excited about it he is.  He still struggles with trying new things and trying things he thinks might be hard.  So we're working on developing his growth mindset.

With the amazing weather in August we've been to the water park, playground, Kids 'N' Stuff (Grandma's Museum as Ian calls it), Calhoun County Fair, and paining in our back yard.

That's pretty much the gist of our summer.  If I forgot anything major I'll have to write another post.  Also, since MobileMe does not exist anymore. I've created a ShareSite on Shutterfly.  You can find more pictures at http://ianhugo.shutterfly.com/

Until next time, hopefully it won't be in 9 months from now.

2011 Fall Frenzie

I love the season of fall but I don't always love all the craziness of fall.  This fall hasn't let us down with activities especially in the last few weeks.  The first weekend in November, Joe's band participated in the state marching band championships which was Joe's first trip to Ford Field.

Then the next weekend Joe's parents, Joe, Ian and I went to Indianapolis to the Grand National Championships for Marching Band but we were only spectators.  Since Indianapolis has "the largest" children's museum in the world, Ian and I couldn't miss out so we spent Saturday morning there and had a blast.  Ian especially liked the race car, sand box, and special frog exhibit.

Outside of all the "extra" weekend activities we've also had some time to enjoy the some of the reasons I like fall, like playing in the leaves

and finding ways to entertain ourselves inside when it is cold outside.

Just as usual, you can find more pictures in the Fall 2011 Gallery and SLMB State Marching Competition.  We have lots of fun family events planed for December and so Joe and I have decided to stay at home for Thanksgiving. We'll be sharing lots of pictures over the coming weeks.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

In the graveyard

Ian was in the mood to sing this morning. He's learned a song called "in the graveyard" sung to the clementine melody. Pretty funny for 6:30 am.

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Week Summary

Nothing groundbreaking occurred this week so here is a brief summary.

Joe took Ian to Greenfield Village on Monday and they had a blast. Ian enjoyed checking out all the buildings, riding the train, and spending just guy time together.









In the evening, the three of us went to the Tiger's game. This was Ian's 2nd ever baseball game but his first game of the 2011 season. Ian enjoyed learning some of the facets of baseball but he really enjoyed the merry-go-round and baseball ferris wheel.











On Tuesday we attending the FROG Family Fun event which ended up being Ian and I and one other Eriksson teacher and her daughter. That's fine with me. We talked while Isabella and Ian played and listened to music from "Zippity 2 Dads".

Wednesday, the guys hung out together while I had a meeting. Thursday was nothing special. Ian and I did run errands while Dad was at rehearsal. One of the errands was a car wash. Not Ian's favorite.



On Friday, I helped with interviews and then Ian and I met with Stephanie, Owen and Molly at Turtle Cove (pool/splash park). Ian and Owen had lots of fun taking turns jumping to me. Molly eventually got in the water too with me and seemed to really enjoy the warm water. Everyone had a great time until Stephanie wanted to try out the water side. Owen did not want her to try it and was pretty upset about her trying the waterside. So unfortunately our evening ended a little earlier but we had such a great time no matter what.





Saturday and Sunday were spent playing around the house both inside and out.

As I finish this post, I'm realizing we had a more eventful week than I thought. Sometimes I forget things happened less than a week ago. As always more pictures here

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