Adventures

Maybe it's time to update this again...

I'll think of something fun to write soon.

We have been enjoying the summer skating, boating, baseball, and all kinds of other fun stuff.

Something North & Something South

I had a good lunch today. I had a traditional Upper Peninsula Pastie (http://kenanderson.net/pasties/) with Valentina Salsa Picante Mexican Hot Sauce. Nothing better than bringing a bit of the UP with the Rio Grande Valley! Good stuff and my nose cleared too!

I'm working from home today because P is experiencing her first "Michigan Head Cold." She has been fighting the sore throat since last Wednesday, but she was down for the count on Sunday. Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup, honey lemon cough drops, Ni-Quil (the look on her face with the first taste of it was priceless!), and Da-Quill are the staples as well as much sleep. Hopefully we will not have to compare US vs. French health care systems and it will pass on its own.

Life has been pretty even keeled around here. I got the boats and motorcycle put away, the snowblower out and started, and getting the house ready for winter. I have been very busy with the snowmobile club (www.baldwinsnowmobiling.com) updating their website and working to get the trails ready for snow. I will be running the new tractor this year on our northern section of trails every Saturday night. I really enjoy it and experiencing Michigan winter at 8 MPH in a heated cab.

A very nice gift and award was sent to me this week. When I was off work earlier this year, I spent 3 incredible weeks in Dubreuilville, Ontario helping the snowmobile club with their grooming efforts. 12 - 18 hour days in their groomer working the trails in Northern Ontario is reward enough, but I was named the 2007 Club Volunteer of the Year. This award is also recognized by the OFSC (Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs). I received two very nice letters and a nice leather hat with the information embroidered on it. I was very shocked and surprised when I received the box from Canada.

Melissa has been skating like crazy, but her big project is an awesome event on December 2nd. She spearheaded, organized, developed, etc. brining Ms. Michigan to the figure skating club (http://www.ggrfsc.org/) to discuss eating disorders. It is great PR for Ms. Michigan and for the club, but the message going to the young skaters is great. I was reading through the paper this week and found the press release Melissa wrote which brought much excitement to our house. I will be working the registration table and helping where I can.

P is busy being a typical teenager. She finished running Cross Country for CPHS and helped the team compete at Regionals. Her first grading period was all A's with just one B. (I wonder what she got in French....) She enjoys having friends over to the house where they have dance parties, (Kayne West's new album pretty much sucks)  poker night, watching movies, and enjoying Nutella on marshmallows.  We are over the scary movie thing, and are into the fun 80's teen movies. She really liked 16 Candles and Say Anything. Her birthday is coming up in a few weeks so I am sure we will have some fun event for her.  Ski season starts soon. When we took her to the ski hill so she knew what to expect, she was rather sad and thought our hill was funny. It must be nice growing up skiing on the Alps! This will be the first time she has skied on a team, but I'm sure her skills from skiing since she was 2 will allow her to compete just fine.

So that's the updated news from us. Our house is always open. Just stop by!

Things that go bump in the night

Last Friday, Dave and I were introduced to a whole new concept in partying, that being The Adults in Charge of the din.

It all started innoncently enough that afternoon after the girl got home from school. She asked, bashfully, if a few friends could come over for a 'dance party.' The way in which she asked, right toe circling the floor, arms twisting and untwisting, head cocked with puppy dog eyes... we couldn't say no.

Ground rules were laid out and she was sent to the task of cleaning the basement. Ah ha, the magic motivator to getting chores done! We took a carload of kids to the CP/Wyoming Park football game, which CP won to the delight of us "visitors" and the disappointment of our former neighbors. So the kids were rowdy and ready to have some more fun.

Stopping to get some snacks for guests, one of Philo's friends timidly asked for an energy drink. Ever given a handful of teenagers carte blanche in a gas station food mart? Bags of unhealthy garbage flew onto the counter, and we ended up with sacks of snacks and a bunch of happy kids.

Back at the house, guests started arriving. I neglected to ask how many she invited, thinking it would be a large handful of 6 or 7. I think the party topped out at 13. To their credit, every single one of these kids were utterly delightful, charming, polite and abided by the house rules to the letter.

Party got started with some old school 80s party music, courtesy of Host Dad. Then came the current stuff, emo ballads and other drek that sounded awful to us but had them all singing along. Then Philo busted out her Euro-dance trash and dancing ensued.

After a while, they were bored with dancing and music, they all wanted to watch a horror film. Given their ages, a film like "Blair Witch Project" would be new to them, so that was put in, the lights turned off, and Dave and I proceeded to the main floor, where we took turns checking on the party every 25 minutes. Screams, laughter, more screams. In order to scare each other in the name of entertainment, they went for a walk, with flashlights, in the vacant wooded lot opposite our lane. More laughs, more screams, Dave declared the party officially over and anyone not staying the night (somehow a slumber party was negotiated) had to leave, and that meant all the boys. More giggling and talking, the girls admitted that they didn't fall asleep until 4am.

Flash forward a few days, Philo finds the idea of watching horror movies with her friends so much fun, the gang (reduced now to a pack of 6) come over for ham and potato casserole and the movie "Saw." Well, it's one thing when you have a gang of girlfriends sleeping with you and you can laugh at how scary the movie was. It's quite another when those girls go home afterwards because it's a school night. Suddenly, every shadow was sinister, every noise the signal to lurking doom.

I was working on the computer when Philo asked me if I would accompany her to the basement to get her backpack because she was scared to go down there alone. It was then that I noticed every single light in the house was turned on, even in rooms she never goes into. She's terrified of the wooded lot now, convinced there's something out there, she never wants to watch TV in the basement again, and could I now escort her upstairs to her room? At this point, I go from thinking it's an act to believing she is truly freaked out.I find her a nightlight and the portable DVD player, hoping that she can fall asleep to another movie (this one a romantic comedy) and get her mind off the horror flick.  As I deposit her safely into her room, she paces, muttering "I'm sixteen, I'm a big girl, it's only a movie, [something incoherent in French]," and I leave her to her nightmare.

She woke me up with a scream at about 3am. I bolted straight up in bed, and listened to hear if she needed any additional reassurance that all was ok. Everthing seemed ok, so I went back to bed.

This morning, apparently, the spookiness of the woods prevented her from leaving early enough to catch her bus. Haven't yet seen her in the light of day, but it will be interesting to see her in the light of evening tonight, lights a blazing.

For future reference: when the kids are over, they are watching comedies. 

8 days a week!

Sometimes I wish I had an extra day in the week just to catch up. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for us. I will work backwards with my time line.

SOD - Yes, sod. 5/3 Ballpark is replacing their sod this off season so they gave it away to all who wanted some. Anyone who knows Grand Rapids knows the favorite four letter F word in this area is FREE. The GR Press had a nice story Friday night about FREE sod being given away at noon on Sunday so the line began at 9:00AM (I thought these people went to church...). I ended up in line at 11:00 and was still able to get about 15 rolls for the bare spots in the side/back yard. There are some lines painted on it from the football game, but the grass looks healthy. I filled the Hummer which I just had returned to me from the Homecoming Queen.......

Homecoming! - Yes, this last week has been Homecoming at Comstock Park High School. Having a VERY active Senior, a lot of our time was spent either at the school for powderpuff soccer, (Juniors beat the Seniors, but it was close) to and from the float building garage, picking up from Cross Country practice, taking to the meet in Rockford, taking pictures, dress shopping (Melissa should blog about just that event) watching HS football, driving a float in the parade, watching Philo be part of the Homecoming Court, making sure we had proper clothes for Retro Day, Athletic Jersey Day, Green & Gold Day, Pajama Day, and the list goes on and on. Melissa and I drove the Hummer for the North Kent HS (alternative HS for the bad kids) float and Philo rode in a convertible with the Korean foreign exchange student.

CPHS did a nice job and had the four exchange students participate in the halftime festivities with the HC Court. The extra benefit for Philo was she is friends with most of the court. Her "best friend" Carly won queen so it made the event that much more special for all of them. Of course everyone had to have a new dress and had to look pretty. The group who went to the dance on Saturday wanted to take drive the Hummer so while I was working with the snowmobile club clearing brush, Melissa put 6 kids into the H2 for the dance on Saturday night. Reviews on Sunday mid afternoon were good once Philo finally woke up...

Clearing brush for the snowmobile club. My Saturday started EARLY to meet 23 other people in Baldwin to start brushing and signing the trails for the upcoming winter. We spent from about 9:30 until 1:00 clearing a trail around Big Star Lake. Ended up at Woody's for lunch and headed back to Star Lake Pavilion for a dinner and a general meeting. I was nominated to become the next President of the group, but declined due to time constraints. I would love to lead that group, but only when I truly have enough time to do it properly.

My list to complete in the next few weeks is growing too! I am traveling with my boss the end of the week in the Detroit and Flint areas so I actually have to work this week. I also need to: Take the boat out of the water, winterize it, and take it to storage. Get my folks ready to head to Texas at the end of the month. Get Melissa's folks ready to head to Florida at the end of the month. Clean my gutters before more leaves fill them up. Rake leaves (yuck), cut grass, take care of dog, keep a Senior from place to place, watch skating, Whitecaps host family follow up meeting, exchange student activities, and who knows what else.

Hope all is well with everyone reading our about lives.

Oh, and Buckeye football is in FULL SWING! GO BUCKS!

The Amazing Highs and Lows of a Minor League Host Mom

I sit here, the day after the West Michigan Whitecaps win a second consecutive Midwest League Championship -- on my birthday, again, can you believe it?! -- and I have been crying on and off since 6am this morning. Why?

The missing letter from our M, D, and P blog is B - namely Brett Jensen, our host son who was relief pitcher for the West Michigan Whitecaps, the minor A affiliate for the Detroit Tigers. Our fault, we started this blog a little too late in the season to include him, and based on the agreement we have with the Whitecaps/Tigers, we couldn't tell you too much personal information here anyway.

Well, day after his team wins it all, it was time for him to return to his family, off-season job, girlfriend, etc. It was an emotional send-off for me, because, well, I have a tendancy to get attached. Getting to know this wonderful person, it was easy to get attached. Funny, kind, sweet, laid-back, and an excellent pitcher.

We had a few laughs talking about the season he spent living with us, the new "Brett Jensen clause" to the host family rules (you must use a cookie sheet when heating a frozen pizza) and my two-week nostalgia trip. We also asked him to be honest and offer constructive criticism, and tell us what we could have changed to make his stay with us better, and he said, "you guys were awesome, it was perfect, I loved living with you guys."

I thought it would be easier after Pedro last year. I was wrong. Brett will always be our boy and always welcome in our home.

Happy Birthday Melissa

Yes, we still are alive. Busy is not the word for us right now, but there is always time to celebrate a birthday.

30 some years ago, my wonderful mother-in-law had an exciting day by keeping my father-in-law off the golf course and delivered my future princess. Birthdays are just another day for me, but I know Melissa likes them better than Christmas. She is at the rink now with Philo enjoying her morning with her skating friends and this afternoon we will have a few people over and enjoy the evening "her way!"

If you get a chance after reading this, give her a call. I know she would love to hear from you wishing her a great birthday.

Watching Baseball

As most of you know who read this, we like baseball. Actually, we are bit more immersed in baseball than most with our support of the West Michigan Whitecaps, http://www.whitecaps-baseball.com/ and participating in the Keep-A-Cap host family program. Our live has been blessed? with a total of 4 players who have lived with us (I have only met 3. Another story for another post) and numerous others who have spent time playing PS2, watching movies, drinking beer, booze, water, whatever they can get, eating all sorts of weird and normal food, and just hanging out. I really like that the boys are comfortable around us, and around our house. Sure they leave the seat up, don't always take their empties to the garage, or leave a mess of dirty dishes, but I don't think Melissa and I would have it any other way.

There are nights when you heart breaks after a tough loss, a bad play, or a bad outing as a casual fan, but as a "parent" to these guys it hits deeper. Nothing worse than having someone realize their dream of making the big leagues is falling apart or is done. Our GOOD friend #21 from last years team just got the news he was released from the Tiger Organization. This sucks for Raphie. I know he is crushed, but I also know he will move on. I heard from a friend in Lakeland, after he was cut, he cleaned out his locker, but still stayed for the game to root his teammates on. That's classy. I really hope he ends up on some other teams roster next year. With us being tied to the low-A club, cuts and trades are something we will have to get used to seeing. It's not the fun green grass, nice uniforms, pretty girls, and good plays of baseball the normal fan sees; It's the business part of the game.

Last night, our guys won the second half of the season! They already made the playoffs from their finish in the first half, but the momentum from winning last night should carry them through the playoffs and hopefully a back to back championship. I'd like to have another ring!

Welcome to the new adventures of D, M, & P!

No, we are not a railroad in the Northwest, but a pretty easy going family in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. We hope to update this page with news about minor league baseball, foreign exchange students from France, figure skating, snowmobiling, and all other fun stuff that life points our direction.