Merry Christmas - 2010

We had a great Christmas.  Per tradition, Christmas Eve was celebrated with Matt's side of the family, and Christmas day with Michele's.

Jake was spoiled by us, the family, and Santa just like in years past.

The big difference was we got to wake up on Christmas morning in our new house!

Here are pictures from around Christmas.

We also have a few videos to share as well.

We hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas *

* except at our house, since it doesn't make sense to setup the Christmas tree only to take it down and move it.

Jake and Michele met up with GnGT, DLCnM (-D), and the Faust family (- Mike) at the Moose for their annual Christmas celebration.  It looks like they had a really great time.

Tonight, we headed over to the Livonia City Hall to take part in the lighting of the city tree.  They sang carols, had Santa and Mrs. Claus help light the tree, and then had refreshments and crafts over at the library.  It was a really fun night.

Please click here to see our photos.

Happy Thanksgiving(s)

We are very thankful for all our family and friends. We are thankful that the baby seems content to stay inside Michele for a while longer.  We are thankful that we were able to sell our house and buy a new house (both official now).  We are thankful that Michigan State has a share of the Big Ten Championship.  We are thankful that you want to click on this link to see photos from this fall including many of the things mentioned earlier.

Happy Halloween!

Jake had a really fun Halloween this year.  On Friday they had their helicopter drop at school, and then after pre-k, we got to go hang out at Mommy's school for their Monster Math night.  Then, on Sunday, we celebrated Pete's birthday and then came back home to trick-or-treat and pass out candy (and pretzels) with Meme and Papa.

Click here to see Halloween pictures and a few others including some of Colin playing soccer.

Also, here are a few videos that we made with Jake this past week.  Hope you enjoy them!

Pumpkin Time

We had a great time last night when we walked up to Wilson Barn.  Jake got to ride a pony, jump in the bounce house, and go through a haunted house.  Thankfully we were able to request that the monsters were friendly instead of scary.  Otherwise, I'm not sure even Mommy would have made it through OK.  Instead of getting jumped at, the monsters said boo pretty quiet and Jake was able to give them high fives and wish them a Happy Halloween.  We then grabbed some delicious cider and made our way back home.  Here are some pictures.

Hello Fall

We've had a very good, but very busy fall so far.  We've had several birthdays to celebrate, football to tailgate for and watch, and are in the middle of selling and buying a new house (more on that if/when it actually goes through).

I think you'll get more details from the picture captions, so without further ado... September and October.

Jake has decided that he really likes taking photographs.  He took an exhaustive number at the Grand Blanc Homecoming parade, so I went ahead and put them into a movie.  A lot of them are actually pretty good.  The lens placement is tough for grownups, so I'm not surprised to see a few fingers make their way into the sides of the shot.  It is really cute watching him hold the camera when he's trying really hard NOT to get his fingers in the way!

Back to School

Back to school is in full swing here at the Anderson house.  Jake is loving his new Pre-K classroom.  He's had awesome drop-offs each day, and that is a HUGE improvement over a few months ago.

Michele is stressing out, per usual, over getting back into her routine.  I'm sure it must be tough to get ready for two classes full of new kids.

This past Sunday, we headed up to Huron Valley (HVSH).  Thankfully, this time, it wasn't because we needed a procedure or anything was wrong.  Instead, it was for their Open House.  We were bummed to see that the CCN didn't have a booth this year, but we had fun looking at the different exhibits, playing putt-putt, and enjoying some healthy snacks.  We had originally planned on only staying an hour, and ended up staying for about two.

Our latest photos can be found here and here.

August 2010

August has been a very busy month for us.

We got to celebrate Alison's ninth birthday which was a joint celebration with Brooke.

We made a big announcement.

We got to spend lots of time with family and friends.

And now... Michele is back to setting up her classroom and Jake has a new haircut for school (pre-k) which he'll start on Tuesday.

Click here to see all sorts of fun pictures.

Mac Week

We had a great week last week.  The Pruss family came to visit.  Jason and Jo stayed at our house for a few days with Elle, Zach, Obie, a Macbook, and Jason's new iPad.  We had a great time hanging out and catching up.  Michele and Jake got to go to the zoo with them one day while I was at work.  We all enjoyed a delicious meal at Mario's (just like the old days) and had a great dessert at Michele's new favorite spot, Swirlberry.

After they took off, we headed up north to join Meme, Papa, and Alison for a camping weekend.  And by up north, I mean UP NORTH.  We made the 5+ hour trip up to the UP.  We stayed at Straits State Park right over the bridge.  Jake was so excited to be on the bridge, it was adorable.  After a long day at work, Mark, Kelly, and Emily eventually made it to the park, but it was well after we had gone to bed for the night.  The next day, we all grabbed a ferry to Mackinac Island and spent a fun day walking, sight-seeing, and, of course, eating.  We all enjoyed our lunch at the Pink Pony.  We attended Mass right on the Island.  The Church wasn't air conditioned, and we were part of the largest congregation the priest had ever presided over, so it was a bit hot and stuffy, but the church was beautiful.  We grabbed dinner at Goodfellow Grill.  Then, some of us had ice cream while others ate some of their fudge as we waited for the last ferry boat to shuttle us back to our campground.

You can see our pictures from the week here and here.

Shelby Trip 2010

We had another great year in Shelby on Lake Michigan.  We did all the usual activities: swimming, body surfing, laying on the beach, putt-putt, go-karts, ice cream, Whippy Dip.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things.

Unlike other years, the guest list dwindled as the week went on leaving Pete and Teri to enjoy their last night by themselves.

Lynette abandoned us first to make it back to her class.

A few days later, the rest of the Herman crew shipped out.

The following day, we headed out so we could get home for the Stewart Double Wedding on Saturday.

The wedding was gorgeous as Melinda and DJ got married alongside William and Tiffanie.  Jake was the ring bearer, and I was one of their ushers.  They had the wedding a St. Pius in Flint, and the reception in Flushing at St. Michael's where Michele and I had our reception.

A few days after that, we found ourselves at the Zoo for our second Candy Band concert.  Jake didn't have quite as much fun since he skipped his nap that day, but he came back with a bunch of new "favorite" songs, so it wasn't a total disaster.

You can find all our pictures here.

Alpena Visit

Last week, Michele and Marie took the kids up to Alpena for a visit with the Meinhardt family.  It sounds like everyone had a great time, and Jake and Reid really played along together well.  Reid even let Jake borrow a little Jessie (Toy Story) toy for a while!

While the wives were away, Jeff and I met up for some dinner and a went and saw a real chick flick... A Team.  We both had pretty low expectations, and were pleasantly surprised at how good the movie turned out.  There's a ton of action and comedy, and it makes for a great summer "popcorn" movie.

You can see some of the few shots that were snapped during their trip here.

Happy 4th!

We had a great Independence Day weekend.  We started off on Saturday by going to the parade in Fenton and then spent the rest of the day out on the water either boating or swimming.  We then wrapped it up by watching some fireworks that were shot off from the island in Lake Fenton.  It was a great display and being so close to it helped make it even better.

We then spent Sunday with Meme and Papa, Alison, and Aunt Missy swimming, eating outside, and then lighting off some firecrackers of our own.

Today, we had a family trip to Costco, and then after a nap, Michele and Jake spent some time out with the whale pool and a new water toy that I picked up.  I made a few appearances, but it's a tad too hot for me out there today.  I prefer the AC in the house, even if it means doing chores to stay inside and enjoy it.

Here are our pictures from the weekend, plus one that was just a random fun day at home with Mommy in the summer!

June is gone...

Can you believe we've flown through June already?  We had a fun month celebrating Father's Day, the end of school, and most importantly to Jake, Toy Story 3!!!

We all had a great time watching it in 3D.  Jake was very quiet and focussed through the whole thing.  Afterwards, when I asked if he thought it was funny, he said yes, and was able to mention about a million things.  When I asked why I never heard him laugh, he said he wanted to be quiet so he didn't miss anything!  I have a feeling that it can't come to DVD quick enough for him.

Last weekend, Michele took a little weekend adventure to Philadelphia with Jen and Melissa so they could visit Tiff and Francesco.  It sounds like they all had a great time hanging out and got to sneak in a trip to the beach at Cape May before a huge storm blew through.

We started the weekend up in Tawas for Craig's Open House and stayed the night in Meme and Papa's trailer.  Then, Jake got to spend TWO NIGHTS with Grandma and Grandpa.  He had a great time and was, allegedly, very well behaved.

Here are some of the great pictures that we captured from the month.

Last Swim Class

Jake had his last swim class this weekend.  He did really well, but he still needs some work, so hopefully we'll get to spend plenty of time this summer in Meme's and Papa's pool and Grandma's and Grandpa's lake.  Then, maybe he'll be able to pass out of this class next time and move onto the next one.  Here are some photos from his last class.

Also, congrats to Katy who had her Open House today.  We are very proud that our little flower girl is all grown up, and is now a high school grad.  The next thing you know she'll be off to college.

May... in review

We had a pretty busy month of May.  I'll see if I can recall some of the cool things.

• We got to celebrate Mother's Day with both sides of our family together.  We had a great meal and had a beautiful day to fly some new kites and play a few thrilling rounds of Cosmic Keep Away.
• We helped Michele celebrate turning 30+.  We celebrated some on Mother's Day and then again on her actual birthday when we headed out to On The Border for a delicious dinner.
• We got to see both sides of the family again on Memorial Day weekend. We spent a fun day swimming with the Anderson family (jumped in the pool pretty much as soon as we got there, so we didn't even have a chance to pull the camera out).  We then spent the next day boating with the Trosko family (including the Hermans).
• On Memorial Day Michele and Jake had a great time planting flowers while Daddy took care of some inside stuff (way too hot!).  Then, Mark, Kelly, and Emily came over for our second round of kabobs from Westborn Market.  They were just as good this time as last!

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but that should be a pretty good list of highlights.  As usual, you can see our pictures here.

Green and White Game '10

We had a busy, but very fun weekend.  Saturday started off with Jake in a new swim class.  This is his first class where he goes in completely without parents.  The last class had him try it in the last week, but there are no Mommies or Daddies in the water with them this time.  He told Michele that he was a little nervous when it started, but then he remembered that swim lessons were a lot of fun!

After that, we met Meme, Papa, and Alison in East Lansing for our second trip to the Spartan's spring practice.  Jake is getting very good at sitting through these short games.  He's been asking me to take him to a Tiger's game, and I think he's probably ready.  It was easy when he was an infant, and then got a bit harder.  I think he can pay attention long enough, or be distracted easy enough that we'd have a good time assuming the weather was nice.

We hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as we did.

Click here if you'd like to see more pictures.

Spring Break '10

For Spring Break, Michele and Jake drove with Grandma and Grandpa down to the Smoky Mountains.  They had a lot of fun climbing trails, hanging out by the hotel pool, going to restaurants, and visiting an aquarium.  Michele said that Jake did a great job in the car, which is important on a 10 hour drive.  Their hotel room wasn't quite what they were expecting since there wasn't a separate sleeping area and living room, but that mean that Jake got to stay up late, and everyone else got to go to bed a little earlier so they could all go to sleep at the same time.

While they were gone, I worked for the first half of the week.  On Thursday and Saturday, I got to attend the Frozen Four NCAA hockey tournament at Ford Field and be part of the record-breaking crowd for an indoor hockey game.  I went to that with Mark, our dad, and Jason M.  On Friday, we sat in the bleacher seats to take in the Tiger's home opener with Mark and Dad, and Mark O.  It was a great sports weekend!

The only downer happened on Wednesday night.  On my way home from work, around 7:00, my HHR started to hydroplane, and I spun around.  Just when I thought I might get away with maybe just a scratch, the car rolled over 1 and 1/4 times.  Thankfully I was wearing my seatbelt and was uninjured.  Traffic was really light, so no one else was impacted and a few people stopped to make sure I was OK and call 911.  Since my car was laying on the passenger door, I had to release my seatbelt and fall to the door.  The moon roof still worked so I was able to slide that back and climb out of the car that way.  When I was done saying a prayer of thanks for not getting hurt, or worse, I got a little bummed since I didn't feel I was doing anything wrong.  If I had been speeding or moving over three lanes or something, I'd at least understand why it happened.  The worst part of all, has to be the fact that now any time I'm driving anywhere, Jake makes sure to tell me to be careful so that I don't break any more cars!  With his insane memory, I'm guessing that might stick around for a while.  The HHR was a great car, but with it being totaled out, we're trying to figure out what we want to do next.  Pete and Teri generously let us borrow their Sebring so we're not in a rush, but we'd like to get something soon so that we can get that back to them.  We considered looking at used cars, but cars keep getting safer and more fuel efficient, so it looks like we might try to get into a new compact SUV.

Here are the few shots I got of the car with my camera when I went to collect my personal belongings from the tow yard.  You should be able to click on them to make them larger.

 

When you're done with those pictures, please click here to see the happy shots of Michele and Jake on their trip.

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a great Easter.  For Michele and Jake, today was a great way to kick off the beginning of their Spring Break.

We had a nice brunch with the Trosko and Herman families at the Fenton Hotel.  Then, the cousins got a chance to play together until the lack of naps started to set in for the little ones.

You can find our last photo from March here along with the Easter-related photos here.

Jake is 4!

Our little boy turned four years old today!  We had a great birthday party for him, at our house, on Saturday.  A lot of family was able to come by to help us celebrate.  Jake got spoiled with all the presents, most of which were related to Cars.

Then, this morning, we had to hustle to let him open our gifts before Church.  After Church, we headed over to the Detroit Zoo.  It was amazing how different the experience is when you feel like the only family there!  We actually got to sit and talk in the the tunnel at the Polar Bear exhibit.  We had a great time watching one of the young polar bears try to turn a seal into lunch.  A very friendly volunteer explained that two of the seals will actually hang out by the window that divides them from the bears just to get the bear to run into it as it tries to hunt!

We were hoping that with the cooler weather that a lot of the animals would be up and moving, but besides the bears, that wasn't really the case.  It was warm enough that they let he giraffes out, so we got to watch them walk around and eat for a while.

We spent the rest of the day playing with Lego's, cars, and trains while watching some great basketball on TV.  After dinner we even made it back outside for some driveway tennis.  We got Jake his own racket and some training tennis balls, and he's really improving in the few short days that we've been playing.  It's no surprise but getting a racket that fits him instead of him using Mommy's really made a huge difference.  Today was also the first time he was able to do a bounce serve.  When we tried on Thursday, he couldn't even get the ball to stay within 5 feet on the bounce, so it was a HUGE improvement.

Please click here to see the rest of the photos we've captured since the last post.

Hello March!

March is a crazy month for us with birthdays, so I figured I'd better get a blog post in while I can.  To be honest, with the amount we post on Facebook, it's pretty much making this obsolete.  Still, it probably makes for an easy spot to find our latest photos since I don't feel like uploading them all both to Picasa and to Facebook.

We have two birthdays down in our immediate family.  Meme celebrated something close to her 30th birthday on the 5th, and Emily celebrated her first birthday today!  Jake keeps thinking his is next, but Grandma has to slide in a week between his and Emily's.

Jake got to have fun with Mommy this winter as they got to celebrate two snow days along with mid-winter break.

Besides that, we decided to try our luck and put our house on the market.  You can find the listing here, and be sure to click on the arrows under the photo to see the other pictures.  If you're interested or know anyone that might be, you can contact our realtor for more info.  While we both hope it sells, Michele is definitely more optimistic about the whole thing.  I think it's just her way of making sure we keep the house cleaner since it has to be ready for viewing on short notice.  I think I've made our bed every day for the first time since I was living in the main level of my parent's house!

Please click on the month to view our photos from January, February, and March.

Happy New Year... it's still the new year, right?

We celebrated the New Year with the Herman family again this year.  Then, the next day, we got to celebrate Maiya's third birthday.

Backing up a bit, the week before we rang in the New Year we had a great visit from the Pruss family.  We had our final Christmas celebration as the kids opened their gifts.  The kids all played together the whole day and then the adults got to hang out and watch a movie while they slept quietly.  We really enjoyed having them stay over and would have liked it even more if they hadn't had to pack up and head home early the next morning.  Maybe next time we'll get them a little longer.

Later that week, we had a few people over to our house to watch the MSU bowl game.  While they didn't win, we still managed to have a great time with our friends.  Jen came from as far away as Grand Rapids.  Melissa, Steve, and Jack came from Brighton.  And, Ryan and Katie came from all the way across the street!

Last weekend, while the girls headed to Bravo's for Nez's birthday, Dan, Pete, and I took the kids to the Livonia Rec Center so they could play in the pool area.  All three kids ended up loving everything, especially the water slide.  Surprisingly, it took the most convincing to get Colin on it, but he was happy he went, and ended up going MANY more times.  We then grabbed a few Hot and Ready's and waited patiently for the girls to return for presents and dessert.

You can find the last of our December photos here.  And, the photos from this year can be found here.