Playing hot potato, I mean, baby

Yesterday was the first day of the Ann Arbor Art Fairs and, as in years past, we braved the teeming masses for an afternoon of art and heat.  This has long been a tradition for Jon's family and is one that we have come to enjoy.  Yes, count us among the population of locals who really enjoy the Art Fair, in spite of the traffic and crowding it unleashes on the city.  Of course, this year the visit provided a different kind of art for the extended family to enjoy - the newest member of the family.  In fact, the party game during lunch, and again during the after Fair party, was Hot Potato, with Calvin playing the part of the potato, of course (for evidence of said game see all the new pictures in his week five photo album).  Ultimately, we enjoyed the Art Fair as usual, avoided buying any art as usual, and really savored the food at the after party as usual, all with Calvin (who mostly slept) in tow.  Don't worry, Calvin, you will get to enjoy all the tasty food indirectly.

By the way - can you find Calvin in these pictures?  We'll give you a hint - he's ensconced in high tech sun protection and baby wearing gear.

Yep, we're townies

With the Art Fair looming around the corner, many of the actual locals, or "townies" in A2-speak, are packing up and heading out, if they haven't already. Then there are those who choose to stay and fight for their rights to the town - hence the second annual "townie" party. Well, even though we're now in the outlying township, we still feel like we've never moved away, and being a "townie" is just a state of mind, anyway. So, it was off to the "Ingalls Mall" (who knew that space in front of Rackham had a name?) to celebrate with the rest of the bunch. It turns out that townies are a weird crowd, from the barefoot hippies to the standard local character Shakey Jake to the absolutely unusual at-least-80-year-old man wearing a white top hat but no shirt. But we guess that we fit in alright - we had a dancing baby on the tabletop, after all. Curtis joined us for dinner as well. We all felt badly for the Dutch carillon player up in Burton Tower whose concert of classical bell tolling had to compete for sonic attention with the RFD Boys. Ah, well - we'll have to make it back to another concert in that series later in the summer. We topped off the night by passing the near-empty not-so-local Ben & Jerry's to wait in a local line at local Stucchi's for a local root beer float. In the words of Curtis, holler at your local!

Ice fishing and playing in the sprinkler

It was 95 degrees outside this afternoon.  Even our air conditioned house was hot and the dogs were less than enthusiastic so Jon thought he would help them out a little by keeping their drinking water cool with ice cubes.  No such luck.  The ice cubes lasted all of 30 seconds - maybe - before Ollie came loping away from his cool spot in front of the air vent and tactfully fished out one cube after another, leaving a very wet trail between the bowl and the kitchen floor where he ate each one.  But that wasn't our only run in with water today.  In the heavy evening air we decided to water our parched lawn.  Since one of our sprinkler heads was askew Jon thought he would fix it while it was running so he'd know when it was right.  Again, no such luck.  The head proved determined to remain misaligned, and Jon returned looking as though he had fallen in a pool somewhere.  Not a bad idea given the weather, though.

And, in baby news - Calvin has just outgrown the newborn diapers and will now be wearing the size ones.  Calvin is excited about this, but we find it both sad and exciting in the same breath.  Things happen too fast - tomorrow he'll be asking to borrow the car!!!

Beach Blanket Bingo

For a beautiful day at the Sturgeon Bay beach, we took the scenic route through the “Tunnel of Trees,” winding through the “Devil’s Elbow” curve and past “Legs Inn” at “Cross Village.” Is this northern Michigan or Middle Earth? The water was nearly bath-water warm and Jon pretended to be a beached whale, and Cortney got artistic, Tarantino-style, photographing Jon’s feet. We shared a delicious picnic lunch while wondering if a capsized kayaker would ever manage to right himself (we’re still not sure, since he refused help from a rescue boat that his concerned wife sent out).
We took advantage of pay-per-view to watch the Will Smith comedy “Hitch.” It’s all about about the dance scene in the epilogue.
We ended the day with a fire on the deck (in a firepit, of course). The flames, smoke, pine trees, and elevated deck made Jon feel like he was in the Ewok village. Cortney was on firefighter duty, spray bottle in hand, furiously putting out any stray sparks. One landed in Jon’s lap, and he ended up with soaking wet shorts. Good save, though, Cortney.

Tip of the Mitt

We have managed to escape to our haven in northern Michigan, Harbor Springs, for a four-day weekend. Arriving on Thursday night, when it was pitch black, made for a refreshing view on Friday morning, when we were greeted by the beautiful bay view. It has been one year since we last were here, and it has been interesting to see the changes. Pirates Cove Adventure Golf added several pirate mannequins and a big lighthouse, which will certainly warrant a nighttime visit. The Roast and Toast coffee shop added delicious scrambled egg wraps to their menu. The Emmett County Medical Center completed its renovations. More multi-million-dollar mansions have sprouted on the waterfront. New fast food joints have appeared. But in spite of all the development, it still remains a beautiful getaway. And it is the simple pleasures, like a walk along the pier, and a nap on the deck covered with the dogs, that make this a wonderful vacation.