November

We've had a very fun, laid back November so far!

The girls like to watch the fox video most mornings. They call it their wake up song! Have you seen the version with the air horn?



Last week, I went on Meg's class field trip to a local nature center. They learned about emerald ash borer! Here they are pulling garlic mustard. There were deer in the background, too:




Jessica was the letter K for her kindergarten alphabet party. We printed off lots of K things and pinned them on her shirt:




Leaf pile fun in our backyard:




I took meg to the DIA on Friday night. Sketching in the gallery:



I tried it, too!



On Saturday, we all went to Graytown for the day. The girls wanted to shoot their 22's. They started out with paper targets, but then found some squash and gourds in grandpas compost pile. They became the new targets!



Chris is borrowing a gun to go deer hunting on Thursday. He wanted to sight it in first. The sight got Dad and Chris right on the nose! Now they have matching cut/bruised noses!



Essential hunting equipment: guns and band aids!



On Sunday, the girls sang in the children's choir for the first time this year. They sounded amazing!



Sunday night was the big windstorm and power outage.

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Power

It's back on! That wasn't bad at all. Katie and I had already talked about going to Sumo Sushi for lunch today. I think we'll keep our lunch date!


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Power outage

The storms weren't too bad for us yesterday afternoon. We got lots of rain, but only a few rumbles of thunder. The strong winds hit us around 8:30pm, and our electricity started flickering right away. It soon went out. DTE estimated it would be back up on Tuesday at 11:30pm! We hoped it was just a wild guess. But our power is still out this morning, and the restoration estimate is the same. So Chris fired up the generator before he left for work. Katie's school is closed, but our elementary school is open. Katie and I get to enjoy a leisurely day at home today! So many projects to tackle!


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Lansing day 2

Hotel breakfast:



Impression 5 Museum:

































Making slime:









After several hours at the museum, we walked back to the Capitol because the house and senate were in session. We got to see the house "in action." It was neat to see the roll call, to say the pledge of allegiance, and to hear a few votes come up. The senate was already adjourned for the day, unfortunately. So we walked back to our senator's office, and he was there! He was so nice, talked to us, showed us around his office, told us lots of stories, and explained all of the photos in his office. He also signed an autograph for each kid, and took pictures with us!





Many thanks to Sen. Marleau!

Then we drove to MSU for a late lunch. Where else but the Dairy Store! Grilled cheese, cheese curds, chili, and milkshakes. Yummmm



We went to Stores, the $3.99 tshirt shop, and the Art Museum.



By 5pm, the girls were toast. So we headed home at last. We're back to real life at 6am tomorrow morning! :(

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Lansing field trip

The girls had Mon and Tues off school, so I took them on a fun (and educational) field trip! We went to Lansing!

The Capitol Building:

On the glass floor of the Rotunda:



Fancy chandeliers all over:



Fancy glass everywhere. This was by the governors office:



Girls at the State House of Representatives:



Capitol dome:



In the Hall of Governors:



Looking down to the first floor:



Girls at the State Senate:



Supreme Court room:



As high as we could go - the fourth floor:



Cool detail on doorknobs and hinges:



Dome again:



Capitol steps:



Capitol Mall, by Gov. Blair:



After the Capitol tour, we went to our Senator's office, but no one was in. Then we went to our Representative's office, and he wasn't in, but his staff gave us a nice tour and lots of free junk.

Then we walked to the state historical museum. Very fun place! I heard, "Mom, look at this!" about a thousand times!






Meg's learning about MI cities now, so she put together these magnets:















I guess I didn't take a lot of pictures. Highlights were the arrowheads, the mining exhibit, and the schoolhouse. But we enjoyed it all!

We went to MSU to visit my boss for an hour, then we went out to dinner:






And we finished our day in the hotel pool!


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