Jessica's Swimming Party

Jessica had a swimming party with her friends last Saturday in honor of her 10th birthday. Here are some pictures from the celebration:

The party started at our house first, with pizza for lunch.
Here she is with all her friends.

"I'm 10 years old!"

Blowing out her candles ...

... and opening presents.

Swimming at the Summit

The brothers

Justine, Moira and Jessie

Having a great time!

Everyone jumping together

Riding an inner tube train

Going under the waterfall

Pure Michigan

We've lived in Michigan for 8 years now, almost exactly. We moved here on Jessica's 2nd birthday -- June 2, 2000. Even though Joshua and I still consider ourselves true-blue Texans at heart, the kids are rooted here in Michigan. I guess that makes them "Michiganders", "Michiganians" or "Michiganites". I don't know which one sounds best.

Things we've learned about Michigan since living here --
1. State Nicknames -- Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, Water-Winter Wonderland
2. Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world.
3. It is bounded by four of the five Great Lakes (and we've been to all of them).
4. A person in Michigan is never more than 85 miles from open Great Lakes water and is never more than six miles from a natural water source.
5. After Alaska, Michigan has the longest shoreline of any state—around 3,288 miles. An additional 1,056 miles can be added if islands are included. This roughly equals the length of the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida.
6. The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is sometimes dubbed "the mitten," owing to its shape. When asked where in Michigan one comes from, a resident often points to the corresponding part of his or her hand.
7. The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile-wide channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.
8. The two Peninsulas are connected by the five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, the third longest suspension bridge in the world.
9. Upper Peninsula residents are often called "Yoopers".
10. Michgan is the birthplace of the automotive industry because of Henry Ford.
11. Michigan has water boundaries with Canada to it's north and east, and it's capped around the province of Ontario. Winsor, Ontario is just a hop, skip and jump away from Downtown Detroit.
12. Michigan has about 150 lighthouses, the most of any U.S. state.
13. Michigan is home to one national park: Isle Royale National Park. It also has 78 state parks and 6 state forests, making it the largest state park and state forest system of any state.
14. The Upper and Lower Peninsula's year-round temperatures are drastically different. The southern and central parts of the Lower Peninsula have a warmer climate with hot summers and cold winters. The northern part of Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula has a more severe climate, with warm, but short summers and longer, extremely cold winters.
15. Americans of European descent live throughout most of Michigan and Metro Detroit. People of Nordic (especially Finnish) and Cornish ancestry have a notable presence in the Upper Peninsula. Western Michigan is known for the Dutch heritage of many residents (the highest concentration of any state), especially in the Grand Rapids-Holland area. And Dearborn, Michigan (where Joshua works) has become one of the largest Arab-American communities in the U.S.
16. Michigan is a leading grower of fruit, including blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes, and peaches.
17. Kellogg's cereal is based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan (in south-west Michigan).
18. The big major league sports teams in Michigan are located in Metro Detroit -- Detroit Tigers Baseball, Detroit Lion's football, Detroit Red Wings ice hockey, and the Detroit Pistons basketball team.
19. Famous People from Michigan -- Tim Allen, Sonny Bono, Tom Brady, Jerry Bruckheimer, Alice Cooper, Francis Ford Coppola, Jeff Daniels, President Gerald R. Ford, Aretha Franklin, Charlton Heston, Jimmy Hoffa (who also disappeared in the Detoit suburb of Bloomfield Hills), Magic Johnson, James Earl Jones, Casey Kasem, Charles Lindbergh, Madonna, Ed McMahon, Sugar Ray Robinson, Diana Ross, Bob Seger, Tom Selleck, David Spade, Danny Thomas, Lily Tomlin, Robert Wagner, Robin Williams, and Stevie Wonder ... to name a few.

Things that we love about Michigan --
1. We experience all four seasons.
2. The gorgeous month-long blossoms in the spring (late-March and most of April).
3. The beautiful fall colors. Every tree changes into a vibrant fall color. We love driving on the backroads in the fall.
4. The green and lush summers, which are never too hot. The average temperature in Detroit is in the mid-80's during June, July and August.
5. The beautiful lake shores are just a short drive away. Some are quite stunning, especially the ones on the west-coast along Lake Michigan.
6. We are nature lovers, and Michigan has enough woods, rivers and lakes for our family to enjoy and explore for years to come.
7. Cider and doughnuts at harvest time in the area's Cider Mills.
8. Having snow during the Christmas season.
9. Getting out of school for snow days.
10. Sledding and other fun winter-time activities.
11.The first warm, spring day after a long, cold winter.
12. Walking barefoot on the grass without fear of fire ants (still in our psyche from living in Texas)
13. The Automotive Industry's history and museums (Ford Museum and Greenfield Village)
14. Biking around Mackinac Island.
15. The Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan each spring.
16. Fruit and farmer's markets everywhere.
17. IKEA in Canton.
18. Greektown in downtown Detroit.
19. Meijer's (but I do miss having a Super-Walmart)
20. Canton's Liberty Fest, and other community activities throughout the year.
21. Quaint little downtowns scattered through Metro-Detroit (Plymouth, Northville).
22. Many great local and metro parks.

Scroll down to the bottom of my blog and see for yourself the beautiful seasons we experience here in Michigan.

Alex's Opossom Project

It's the end of the school year, with only two weeks to go, and we've been busy with many end-of-the-year school projects. Alex had a project too -- He had to write a report on an animal of his choice. He picked a opossom, one of my least favorite animals.... I had an unfortunate incident with one in our backyard a few years ago.... don't ask!

Besides the one page report, Alex also had to make a poster and prepare a 1 minute presentation. He's presenting it in class today. He's most worried about the "question and answer" session after his presentation. He's not sure he'll be able to answer everyone's questions. I told him he'll do great because he's prepared.

Alex has done really well in 1st grade this year. His teacher said that he's one of the best readers in the class. He's a "Level 4" reader, which means he's a second grade reader. He was the second kid in his class to read 100 books (they keep track with a chart in class). He's now at 140 books.

Anyway, he wanted me to take a picture of the poster he made.

Notice Alex's new haircut. His curly-Q's were getting quite long and shaggy. His buzz-cut will be nice and cool for the summer.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a really nice and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. The kids and Joshua had Friday and Monday off school and work. We love four-day weekends!

When Josh and I were planning our weekend a few weeks ago, we tried stuffing several outings plus other adventures into our weekend. It all sounded fun at the time, but as we got closer to the weekend, we decided it was too hectic and expensive with the high gas prices right now, so we ditched our plans and decided to just relax and enjoy the weekend a little closer to home.

On Friday, we slept in and enjoyed a big breakfast. Then we packed a picnic lunch, went to a local park and relaxed all afternoon. We barbecued, hiked, explored, played frisbee, played on the playground, poked around a creek, watched some people catch fish in a nearby lake, and took a nap in the sun. Can't get better than that! In the evening, the boys went to the annual stake father/son campout (see posting below), and Jessica and I had a girl's night with some friends.

On Saturday, we spent the entire afternoon in the yard -- weeding, mowing, planting flowers and setting up my vegetable garden. I am still sore from bending and leaning over all day. I haven't been able to work-out all week because of it. Anyway, we also cleaned up the house. It was nice to get so much done that day.

On Monday, our original plan was to go to the Toledo Zoo one last time before our annual pass expires in a month, but we decided not to. Instead, we slept in, went out to lunch, saw the new Indiana Jones movie with the kids, and spent the rest of the afternoon at the park. Then we went home and barbecued on the grill for dinner. We ate and played in the backyard the rest of the evening -- We still really love our deck furniture and gazebo that we got last year. It's nice to have it all back on the deck again. It creates a fun and relaxing sanctuary in our backyard. We love it!

We thought it was really nice to relax, rest up, get away from it all, and enjoy being together this weekend. Hope you had a good one too.

Eating lunch at the park.
Joshua grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for us on the grill.

Spencer liked hopping the creek. I thought he would eventually end up in the water, but he never did.

The creek was a favorite place to explore.

Spencer loves climbing trees. He got pretty high in this tree, making his mom pretty nervous. I had visions of trips to the emergency room and broken bones.

We went on a hike around the park and discovered this pond.

Father-Son Campout

Our stake had their annual Father-Son campout last friday night. Joshua hasn't taken the boys in 5 years, either because of bad weather or being out of town. He's not too fond of camping and was glad for the excuses the last few years, but since he didn't didn't have a good one this year, I told him he should go since Alex and Logan have never been. I think I convinced him when I told him that the campout wasn't for him, it was for the boys to have the experience and the memories. So, much to his chagrin, he took all three boys. None of them got very much sleep, and it was a little cold that night, but they had fun.

Logan especially was looking forward to it all week. He went with me to the store to buy camping supplies and food on Thursday and told everyone that we passed in the aisle. So cute! I hope it was worth his anticipation.

Jessica and I had a fun night too. We had a girl's night pizza and movie party at the Larsen's house and didn't get home until 1:00 am. We had a great time!

I told Joshua to take some good pictures at the campout. Here are a few of them ---

Jessica's Birthday Invitation

Jessica is turning 10-years-old next week and wants to have a birthday party with her friends next Saturday. She decided to have a swimming party at the "Summit On the Park" - An indoor swimming pool just down the street from us. We hand-delivered the 'fragile' invitations that we made to her friends this week. We think they turned out super cute --

I laminated the invitaion before submerging it in water.
See the little fishies and magnetic fishing pole? Cute!
The fish are magnetized too.

This is the back where we also put a few more little fish.
I printed pictures of fish on the back of the invitation

Field Trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts

A few weeks ago, I helped to chaperone Alex's 1st grade class when they went on a class field trip to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts). It was a fun trip and I'm glad I went. One of the Institute directors led the kids on a tour. She told us some very interesting things. Here are some pictures I took ---

Track Pictures

A practice run for the 400-meter relay race.
Spencer hands off the baton.

Getting ready for the real thing. Notice how Spencer's 6th grade junior varsity team (2nd from the left in the orange shirts) are much shorter than the 7th and 8th grade varsity teams on either side of them. Even though they are racing together, they aren't racing each other. Each team is trying to get the best time for their own grade level.

Getting into position...

And they are off!

Here, he is racing in the 100-meter dash against other 6th graders.

He is neck and neck all they way to the finish line!!

Niagara Falls Ramblings

Our family is considering a trip to Niagara Falls this summer. After a few days there, we plan on going to Palmyra, New York to see some historical sites and the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I've been online all day looking for hotel deals for both of these stops. I probably should've started about a month ago since the majority of the hotels in and around Palmyra are already booked. I finally came across a pretty good deal in Rochester.

But anyway, as I was thinking about our trip, I remember a few years ago in 2003, seeing a story on the news about a local man who had gone over Niagara Falls and lived. Not only that, but his house is just around the corner from us. Every time I pass that house, I think about this man and his crazy stunt. I didn't realize he had moved until last year, when a family with 10 children who now live in that same house started going to our elementary school. Their 9-year-old daughter is in Jessica's class at school and has become one of her best friends. One day I told her friend that the previous owner of her house was a man who had fallen over Niagara Falls and survived. She didn't believe me. I don't blame her. It's a pretty unbelievable story, especially when I learned that only 2 people who didn't have any protective gear whatsover, this man from Canton being one of them, survived after going over Niagara Falls. Pretty weird. I found his story on CNN.com --- CLICK HERE to read it.

READ HERE about the other life saved, a little boy named Roger Woodward. Anyway, just a little Niagara Falls ramblings....

The "Maid of the Mist" boat ride --
One of the things on our 'to do' list in Niagara
We've done this before -- You get soaked!!

Alex's Mother's Day Card

Alex made me a Mother's Day Card at school, and it went like this...

"I Love My Mom Because....
She gets us stuff when she is gone and then comes home.
She makes us food.
She lets us go to a parade.
She makes me laugh like crazy."

I love my little Alex!

Logan and Mom Visit Greenfield Village

Logan and I went to Greenfield Village today. It was so fun! When I woke up this morning and saw gray and threatening skies and the weather channel predicted a high tempertature of only 58 degrees, I almost changed my mind about going. But I'm glad I didn't. It actually wasn't such a bad day with our coats on. It was cloudy but never rained. So, after packing a lunch and putting on our jacket, Logan and I treked out to Dearborn, Michigan and had a super fun time together!

The reason we went today is because every second Monday of each month, the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village offer discounts and special activities throughout their museums. Today we received free tote bags, helped plant in their gardens, got free drinks, and visited fun children's stations throughout the village.

Greenfield is adjacent to the Ford Museum (Logan and I went in April) and is said to be the largest indoor/outdoor history museum complex in the United States. Henry Ford founded these museums because of his desire to preserve items of historical significance. Greenfield Village has a vast array of famous homes, machinery, exhibits, and different types of Americana. There are nearly one hundred historical buildings that were moved from their original locations and placed in a "village" setting. The museum's intent is to show how Americans lived and worked since the founding of our country. The Village includes buildings from the 17th century to the present, many of which have costumed staff members inside who conduct period tasks like farming, sewing and cooking.

Logan and I got the chance to ride in a horse-drawn omnibus, a steam-engine locomotive, an authentic Ford Model T car, and a 1913 carousel. I loved spending the day with Logan. It was a very fun and memorable day. I enjoyed explaining all the things we saw to him. He's an incredibly smart kid. He understood a lot of the things we saw and did and was able to explain them to the family at dinner tonight, such as glass-blowing, churning butter, and what a railroad roundhouse does. I truly cherish the alone time I have with my kids. It gives me a chance to have some really good talks and discussions with them.

Here are some pictures from our day ---

Logan pet a 2-day-old lamb on the Firestone Farm

Logan in front of the first Ford Motor Company Factory

Across the street is the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop - the "birthplace of aviation". The original building where the "Wright Flyer" airplane was made.

Mom and Logan took a ride in a Model T car

We rode a 95-year-old antique carousel

I think Logan's favorite part was riding the steam locomotive (See behind him? This is just after we got off)

Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day, beginning with breakfast in bed at 8:00 am --- fried eggs, toast, OJ and peanut-butter/chocolate cereal. The kids also gave me homemade cards and gifts they made at school or at home. It was very touching and sweet. Joshua gave me a DVD ("27 Dresses") and a mixing bowl set. (He has been paying attention to my semi-frequent rants of needs and wants....) Afterwards, I went back to sleep for awhile longer while Joshua watched the kids downstairs. We don't have church until 2:00. It was heavenly!

Spencer gave his first talk in church today. It was on "How Children Can Show Gratitute to their Mothers". He paid a nice tribute to me. I was crying all the way through. He did a great job and got many compliments. I also led the primary children as they sang a Mother's Day song. I had them sing an arrangement of "Love is Spoken Here" and "Mother Dear" that Joshua and I put together. It turned out really nice. I had several people tell me that they'd never heard the primary children sing splices of different Mother's Day songs before and that it sounded very nice. It's heartwarming and thoughful to hear the kind opinions of my ward members.

After church, I was banished to my bedroom to relax while everyone else made me dinner. I called my mom and had a really nice conversation with her while I waited. When I was invited downstairs, I saw that Joshua had made BBQ chicken, chicken-flavored rice, an anti-pasto salad and corn. For dessert, he made my favorite -- Key Lime Pie. It was delicious and I discovered that he really can cook. I told him that from now on, he is in charge of every Sunday dinner. By the look on his face, I don't think he agreed with me.

Joshua and the kids cleaned up after dinner as I watched my new movie up in my bedroom. It was lovely not to worry about the clean-up. I have such a thoughtful family.

Here is a picture of me and the kids on Mother's Day ---

Spencer's Talk - May 11, 2008

This was requested by my mom who said she wished that she could've been in our ward today to hear Spencer's first talk in church. I told her I'd put it up on my blog. It was about a 3-4 minute talk. Here goes ---

Many years ago the First Presidency issued a statement that said, “Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels.”

Another quote I found from is from a writer who wrote about mothers - it said,“God could not be everywhere, and so He gave us mothers.”

Today I’m speaking about the importance of Mothers and how children can show gratitude to their mother.

Children need to know that they could probably not achieve their highest potential without the influence of a good mother. We need to show respect and gratitude to her. We need to thank her often and express our love for her.

I think this poem explains how we can show our love:

“I love you, Mother,” said little John;
Then, forgetting his work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
And left her the water and wood to bring.

“I love you, Mother,” said rosy Nell—
“I love you better than tongue can tell”;
Then she teased and pouted full half the day,
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.

“I love you, Mother,” said little Fan;
“Today I’ll help you all I can;
How glad I am that school doesn’t keep!”
So she rocked the baby till it fell asleep.

Then, stepping softly, she fetched the broom,
And swept the floor and tidied the room;
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and happy as a child could be.

“I love you, Mother,” again they said,
Three little children going to bed;
How do you think that Mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?

The Savior himself gave us the best example of how we should honor our mothers. He did this on several occasions through-out the scriptures. When he was on the cross, one of the last things he did was make sure that his mother was cared for after he was gone.

The fifth commandment is “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

In Colossians 3:20, it says, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”

To honor and obey your parents, you will love them, respect them, confide in them, be considerate of them, express appreciation for them, and do all these things by following their righteous counsel and by obeying the commandments.

Mothers are nurturers, leaders and teachers. This is their special assignment and role under Heavenly Father’s plan. Home is where a mother has the most power and influence. Home is also where she first begins to make sure the family’s spiritual needs are met.

My mother does this by seeing that our family says family prayers in the morning before leaving for school. She never, ever forgets! It is very important to her. She also makes sure we have family home evening every Sunday night after church and dinner. She even makes sure that everyone has their family home evening assignment completed before we begin. She makes sure that we read scriptures every morning together as a family. These things are very important to her, and I know her hope is that it also becomes important to us, her children, through her example.

Not only those things, but I see my mom every day cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. I know it’s not always easy for her, but she has told me before that when her children say thank you, or show gratitude for all she does, it makes her feel like it is all worth it.

President Spencer W. Kimball once said in a conference address, “If we truly honor our parents, we will seek to emulate their best characteristics and to fulfill their highest aspirations for us. No gift purchased from a store can begin to match in value to parents some simple, sincere words of appreciation. Nothing we could give them would be more prized than righteous living for each youngster.”

We all need to make sure and thank our mother's more often, if not every day. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

FUNNY - Charile Bit Me!

I can't get enough of this! I laugh every time I see it. Cute!

My New Recipe Blog

Check out my NEW RECIPE BLOG. I started it about a week ago and plan to post new recipes weekly, so come back often. There is a link to it on both my other blogs (see under "Blogging Friends and Family" on the right below the "About Me" profile).

Spencer - 2nd in Track Meet

Spencer is involved in track at his middle school this year. He's been practicing and training after school the last several weeks. His first track meet was last Monday, May 5. Joshua, Logan and I went to watch (but I was bummed out that I forgot my camera...). He was in two different events - The 100-meter dash and 400-meter relay. We were really proud when he came in 2nd place in the 100-meter dash! Good job, Spencer! He has another meet tomorrow. Come back at the end of the week to see some pictures....

Jessica Leads the Pledge

Jessica was chosen by the principal of her elementary school to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Westland City Council meeting (a neighboring city). We were very honored that she was chosen to represent her school.

At the beginning of the meeting on Monday, the council introduced Jessica and she eagerly came up to the front and led the pledge. Afterwards, one of the Westland City councilmen came down and read an auto-biography that Jessica wrote about herself while she proudly stood next to him, listening and beaming. Then the principal and I were invited to come up and say a few words about Jessica. I was very impressed by what the Ms. Koulouberis, her principal, said about her.

She started out by telling everyone that she chose Jessica out of all the children in her school to lead the pledge because she's always been such a shining student at Walker-Winter Elementary. She also said that she works hard, is kind to everyone, is very responsible, and a highly-regarded student by all her teachers. She also told a story about one of Jessica's classmates that was hit by a car and broke both her legs and had to spend 4 months in a wheelchair. She said that since Jessica is such a reliable student, she was asked and she happily agreed to push around her friend wherever she needed to go each and every day for those 4 months. She would meet her at the curb before school and help her to class, and also take her to her car after school. The principal was very impressed with her willingness and cheerful attitude while being so helpful to her teacher and her friend. It was such a sweet tribute. When it was my turn, I told everyone that Jessica is a lovely young lady who I am very proud to have as a daughter. Jessica was beaming when it was over. She loved it. On the way home she said, "That was so great! I'm glad I was chosen."

I took a picture of her with the certificate that she was given -- see picture below. The meeting will air sometime this month on our cable channel. We'll have to tape it. CLICK HERE to see a picture of her on the Westland City website.


Here is Jessica's Auto-Biography:

"My name is Jessica Dyal. I’m nine years old and in the fourth grade at Walker-Winter Elementary School. My teacher right now is Ms. Brohl. I’ve been going to this school since I was in kindergarten, so it’s been 5 years now. I love my school and all the teachers I’ve had there.

In my family I have a mom and dad and I am the second child of four children. I have no sisters but three brothers named Spencer, Alexander, and Logan. Spencer is my oldest brother and goes to Stevenson Middle School. Alex is in the first grade and rides the bus with me to Walker-Winter every day. Next year, my youngest brother Logan will ride with us too when he goes to kindergarten.

I was born in Bryan, Texas, but my family moved to Michigan when I was only two years old so I don’t remember Texas very well. Both sets of my grandparents and many of my aunts, uncles and cousins still live there so I visit when I can.

I’ve been a student at Walker-Winter for almost five years. I’m really good at Writing and like to write stories and poems. Writing, music and gym are my favorite subjects.

When I grow up I would like to be an Actor or have a job where I can work with animals. After school and on the weekends, I like to draw, write, color, play with my friends, and jump on my trampoline. I also like to swim and play the piano. I’ve been taking piano lessons for 2 years now and plan to keep taking lessons until I can play as well as my dad. I also enjoy singing, listening to music, and I love to travel with my family, especially to my favorite place – Walt Disney World. I’ve been there 4 times. I am also very involved in my church.

One of my talents is making new friends. I like to be with my friends and I like making new ones. I try hard to be a good example to others.

I’m proud to represent my School. I’m glad to be a student at Walker-Winter because it has helped me to learn and develop my talents."