The Johnsonian

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tractors and Turf



Fun weekend at the Johnsonian.

Penny is working toward her Second Degree Black Belt and she had a "Dawn-Till-Dusk" event (literally) all day Saturday, so it was Dudes Day all day. We started out by going to the historic Rentschler Farm in Saline.

Hank enjoyed the hay ride, pumpkins, and the antique Victrolas and Edison cylinders that Future Zac always brings for display every year (I have glimpsed my future and it will be me as a gray-bearded man showing first generation iPods to disbelieving kids in the year 2050).

 Tractors
Tractors and old trucks

 Rascal
Picking pumpkins with Grandma

On Sunday we read in the Ann Arbor Observer that there was going to be a fitness event at Michigan Stadium, so we cruised over there. Well the event was over when we got there but I asked if we could go into the Big House anyway. The lady (who I don't think had any authority either way) said it was fine, so we cruised in.

The neat part was that we got to enter the stadium the same way that the Football players do: Down a big dark sloped hallway just like Mean Joe Green in that Coke commercial...the same entrance where they come rocketing out of to jump up and slap the banner before the game starts. And once inside, we were the only ones in there.

Like, the only ones.

So we wandered onto the field, and regrettably the only camera I had was my phone camera. Hank and I stood on the big block "M" and sat in the end zone for a while. He was fascinated by the whole thing.

Anybody who knows me knows that I am not the world's biggest sports fan, but sitting in that huge expanse that I have seen on TV every year since I can remember was a pretty amazing experience, especially since there was nobody else around.

And Hank thinks Astroturf is pretty cool.

  M

  M

 M

 Scoreboard

 Astroturf

 Sacking the Cameraman
Shortly after this photo was taken, the cameraman was sacked.

If it is of solace to any Spartan family members out there, he was in fact wearing Green and White while he was in the stadium.


Thursday, September 20, 2007

Relish the Moment

Y'know what? Halloween's coming up and we thought Daisy would want to look like a Hot Dog.


mmmm

 relish
She loves it

Then we thought that Hank would like to be a Hot Dog for a while
 Hot Dog!

First Bite
Then Daisy wanted it back.

Are you serious?
(please don't call Child Protective Services on us)


Thursday, September 06, 2007

Tangled up in Balloons

Hank got a bunch of balloons for his first birthday and in his admiration of them, he got kind of tangled up.



Happy Birthday!

Henry's first birthday was this week and if we learned one thing, it's that he enjoys cake.


Balloons
Balloons and Gramps

 Cake
Penny stayed up all night making and decorating the cake.

 He's #1
He's #1

First Bite
First bite

Handing cake to Gramps
Later...

 Hidden Treasure
He found the tray underneath the cake...

mmm....plasticky
...and it was delicious.

 Smashed Cake
The aftermath.

He got a bunch of great toys and clothes, and a Radio Flyer wagon that was a big hit at the end of the evening. Thanks Grandparents!