Fall Fun

Yesterday was the Grosse Pointe Park Festival. Besides the usual farmers market that lines the street we got to enjoy all sorts of activities. Some of the highlights were the bouncy castle, the giant slide, ceramic and pumpkin painting, crab races, cake walks, an obstacle course, a plethora of fair games, live music and lots of good food.


Once when we were in Grenada one of Esther's friends told her mom that she doesn't like Grenada because it stinks. Last night I took a quick walk to the store to pick up some groceries we needed and even though all the noise and people were gone, it still smelled just like the festival: barbecue, seafood, popcorn, and farmers market all rolled into one. Definitely air worth breathing.

Blake's Orchard

Today the Grosse Pointe Mom's Club went to Blake's Orchard and Cider Mill. We had a lot of fun and wore ourselves out. Here are a few of the many things we did.

Hot Wheels

Hooray for mopeds! Now I get to keep the van all day and use it at my leisure, while Cameron gets to have the independence of taking himself to and from his rotations. William and Esther think they should get to ride it too, but sadly (for them) they are only allowed to sit on a non-moving bike.

Mouse Practice

When we lived in Grenada some of Esther's friends could use a computer. We told her that when she was four years old we'd teach her. Not because we didn't think she could handle it, but because we wanted to wait until we bought a computer with a mouse and without quite so much character as our laptop. Well the day finally came and so far Esther has gotten very good at coloring my little ponies with her new found mouse skills. She can even print them all by herself (which isn't necessarily a good thing).

On the Street Where We Live

This is our house.

Our door is the one on the left. We have the top floor (including that balcony).

We are three houses away from the corner of this street. That means we are a 1-5 minute walk away from a little grocery store, a health food store, a pizza place, a health center, a hardware store, a fish market, an ice cream/movie shop, a thrift store, a printer, a pet store, a pet supply store, a half dozen restaurants, a barber shop, a beauty salon, several antique and art shops, and too many other places to mention. Every Saturday from May through September a farmers market also lines this street.

Esther and William's favorite is the school playground just around the corner.

We also are just two blocks away from the library, and a short drive from two parks - both with free swimming pools, one with a really cool castle playground, and the other with a free theater.

We love it here, and the people are super friendly (unless they're driving). The printer gave Esther a notepad for free. The guy at the grocery store got some mint from his dad's backyard garden because the store doesn't keep it in stock. The fish-dealer had a conversation with Cameron about the best ways to cook fish, and when Cameron got home he found the extra ingredients in his bag. When we were unloading some beds we bought for the kids, someone giving our neighbor a ride got out of his car and helped do the heavy lifting. Things like this happen every day. What a nice place to live.

Eight Down, Five to Go!

We're glad that one thing that wasn't interrupted during our transitional period was Family Home Evening. Esther is still doing great at learning the Articles of Faith, and William is picking up bits and pieces too!

We're Alive!

So we're not quite settled yet, but I don't think we will be any time soon, and I owe a post to all my devoted fans out there. A few weeks ago we moved into our new home here in Michigan. So far we are greatly enjoying ourselves (even though we're very tired of trying to get everything in order). For details about Michigan life, stay tuned over the next couple of years.
p.s. Not only am I behind on blog-writing, but also on blog-checking and email-responding. So if you haven't heard from me for a while - it's nothing personal.

Esther's favorite part of moving was building houses out of all the boxes.





William's favorite part of moving was helping Daddy build the furniture.