We FINALLY went to the Henry Ford Museum! We only lived about 15 minutes away from it in Wyandotte, but didn't go until we moved away! In June, the museum was displaying the original Emancipation Proclamation for 72 hours and offered free admission. We thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and invited some friends from school to meet us there. Well, we decided when we arrived that with six children (three of which were under the age of 1), there was absolutely no way we could stand in line for the 4-6 hour wait to see the document. The trip was worth it, though. We got to see planes, trains and automobiles, along with the Civil War/Civil Rights exhibition that was set to commemorate the 200-year anniversary of the beginning of the War between the States. It reminded me how much I love museums and history. I am glad that we could at least say that we were in the same building as the Proclamation for a few hours and for the opportunity to talk to my children about its importance and inspiration.
The original "horseless carriage"...so amazing.
Kira, Nate, and Lex apart of the "crowd", watching old air show stunts.
Kitty Hawk replica
The closest these girls have gotten to an airplane ride
Two cuties standing in front of Eisenhower's presidential limo. I can't believe we didn't get a picture of the Kennedy limo.
This shot says it all...a tired baby trying so hard to be happy for us the whole napless day.
Had to take advantage of the Oscar Meyer photo op
We've so enjoyed living a little further from the city. We still live pretty close to Southfield and right next to the highway, but in our little subdivision, we tend to forget. It's so awesome to live around trees again! This is the first place we have ever lived since getting married that has trees in the backyard. Big trees. All throughout the community. My favorite thing to do during a thunderstorm or a rainy day is just sit on our front porch and listen to the rain hit the leaves. I'm not anxious for the issues that trees bring during the winter months with power outages, but I'm trying to stay positive and enjoy the shade and color they provide, especially with fall starting to make its appearance around here. Anyway, this has only happened twice, but I practically ran into this deer one morning while I was walking in a little "cove" of trees we have in the yard. Scared me half to death. Had to get a camera.
Napping, something that doesn't happen enough at our house!
Sharing
Fourth of July...in the summer in Michigan it literally does not get dark until almost 10 pm! As much as we wanted the girls to get the full 4th effect, there was no way bedtime was going to get pushed back that much. So we had our own little celebration with hot dogs, slip-and-slide, watermelon and little fireworks early. The picture above is such a typical Lex look. I'm glad I caught it on camera.
Dad tutoring Kira in the workings of FI-YA!
Watching
There is an awesome park near our home that we spent quite a bit of time at this summer. There are nature trails, a little nature center, playgrounds and best of all, a splash pad! No matter how cold, the girls loved it!
It seemed like there was always an ice cream truck parked out in the park's parking lot in the afternoon, so we splurged on our favorite one day.
Cute girl, always along for the ride.
We also went to a town carnival for the afternoon in August. It was fun to see the girls' reactions to rides. Kira LOVED them and wished she were big enough to go on all the roller coaster rides. But she just had to settle for slides and "kiddie" rides. Kira, Alexis and I did go on one together that probably ruin rides for Alexis from now on. It's one of those rides where you're sitting in a spherical seat (big enough to fit the three of us) and you go spinning around the entire platform very fast. That's not too bad. But then your seat/ride itself starts spinning super fast round and round. Takes your breath away. Thank goodness Lex was in the middle. She would have flown out! Needless to say, she was done long before the ride was over and Kira wanted to go again! Christopher said that he was standing by a mom who had gone right before us who starting throwing up right next to him...it made you that dizzy. Thankfully, none of our lunches made a reappearance.
Reminded me of Looney Tunes space ships
Carousel
"THE" Ride...look at that smile, so blissfully ignorant of what's to come...
Couldn't leave without having an artery clogging elephant ear to make the carnival experience officialThe summer was full of fun for all of us- enjoying a new yard and fort/swing set, trips to the library, play dates, having dad home for a few weeks, shopping, etc. We had one of the most eventful summers of our married lives and we loved every minute of it!
