Remember...

If it costs 25 cents to make you smile...

Hehe, anyone know where that quote is from? Its our favorite garage sale quote. Yes, today was our big day, and I am proud to say it went pretty darn good. From the good weather, to good sales, it was an overall success. We made just under $200, which is amazing considering the stuff we had. The concept of garage sales always amaze me. You put out your junk, and other people come and GIVE YOU MONEY FOR IT. Crazy.

We got up early and were out at the house by 6am to set up. We had fantastic weather, so warm and sunny. I was a little distracted by things to realize how sunny, and I must say I am looking a little like a lobster. Blah. Ariel hung out inside with Nana and Papa, came out to people watch briefly and even got a walk with Aunty Stella (who we are now calling La La).

Its always the strange things that sell... never the things you think will. I had one funny lady who I followed around with a bag and she spent about $30 on little knick knacks. She brought everything from our popcorn maker to dish clothes. We had one or two 'dealers' that I am sure though my jewellery was worth more than the dollar I charged them, but sadly they will be mistaken. Heheh, cheap Avon stuff. Sure, they might turn around and sell it for more, but all I wanted was more space cleared out in our home.

Tonight we celebrated with ordering some Chinese food. Twas very good after a long day of working. Last night we finally got to see 'The Queen'. I really liked it and I think it opened up a lot of things about the royals I never thought of before. Very moving at times and the actress really did deserve the Oscar.

Tomorrow is church, and Ken teaching Sunday school. I don't think we have much planned other than that. A nice lazy family day. Dah.

Adventures in facebook...

Man, I spent way to much time on that thing. But, in defense, it is my 10 year reunion this year!!! '10 years man!' Its been neat to see what people have been doing since we escaped high school. Last night for fun we watched 'Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion'. When I first saw that movie, I wondered what my 10 year would be like. Then you start looking at yourself, and what you have done. Part of me wonders if I have lived life to the fullest. I hope I have. Its funny to see people's main comment be, your a mom?! I guess I am. I use to say old people had kids, now I am one of them. Ack!

Ariel has been sleeping better the past few nights. We asked for prayer in our life group (bible study) this week, and its working. She is still sore, but at least we are getting more rest. Poor girly, I wish I could take the pain away. I did give her a toast strip this morning to chew on. She liked that, even though it was a messy blob by the end. Yuck.

Low key morning, saw Nana for coffee. Dropped by the quilt shop to see Stella. Picked up the finished Binkie Blankets that are getting shipped out on Monday. We are going to be having a table at an event this coming June. I will have more info as I get it. So far good reviews on our Binkies. Ariel thinks they are all for her though. She is the tester for quality. Hehe.

Ken is coming home for dinner then off to a high school or something tonight. With the school year coming to an end in a few months, its high recruiting time, so we won't see much of him at times. He is taking time off at Ariel's birthday, as his family is coming up to celebrate too. Yay. Looking forward to that. I started brain storming the party, and we have a theme, yay. Stay tuned.

Talked to my brother Mike online. He is in Germany at the moment for work. Sounds like its interesting to say the least. I asked if he remembers any of the German we learned in school. Hehe. He can order 2 beers, so he will live. Hah. Its neat to hear of the things we learned about were very true. If you want to read his adventures, check out Year Zero on my blog list.

Well, I am going to grab some food... the princess sleeps for now....but for how long is always the question.

I miss sleep

Last night was no fun. Ariel had a rough time at 4am till about 5am with the old teeth. Argh. She was so sore and wasn't getting any relief I guess. I tried the routine of everything that usually works, and she wasn't getting any better. Sigh. I don't remember how it happened, but I think she finally just had no energy left to cry and just fell asleep. Poor baby. Tooth is indeed not the fang. Pretty much most of it is now through the gums, and its not looking so pointy now. Plus I am convinced the jet lag is still causing us all issues. It seems like we have been home longer, but I guess not. I am praying that Ariel gets some relief tonight, she needs it... as do I.

So I got the proofs for the mother day's photo shoot Nana, Ariel and I had on Saturday. It was a fundraising event our favorite photographer Maria at Frozen Reflections does annually. Since this is my first official mothers day coming up, we wanted to do a 3 generation shot... wishing it could have been the 4 generations, but its not to be. It was really hard to see Ken get to do that on both his mom's side and dad's side of the family. Just another one of those things, sigh.

Anyhoo, here are the proofs I like the best. Enjoy!

I knew this was gonna happen!

Guess what the mail man brought today? Stupid passport.... good grief. I wrote on the form our trip was for April 9th, and whats today? 23rd... so a little off. Sigh. I was surprised, as I was guessing she would get it around her first birthday. Just a recap, I applied when when was 3 months... she is 8 months now... do the math. If you need a passport soon, I say you better get in line. Ariel really likes her passport and the fact her picture is inside. What a ham.

We had a fun weekend with Daddy home. We get a few more Saturdays with him before his classes start up again. This Saturday we are having our garage sale! Woot. No more piles of crap in my storage room!!! Happy Dance! If anyone wants to see our treasures for sale, its happening at my Nana and Papa's place, since they are on a good road for traffic. We are pricing to clear, so you may find a good deal!

Ken taught his first films and faith adult Sunday school class at church yesterday. Went really well and a good turn out as well. Always nice when you work hard to prepare for something. I got to see most of it, when Ariel wasn't fussy. These dang teeth are going to be a rough go. I went to the store and got everything you can think of, plus we have the oodies of teethers from Grammy and all the home remedies from helpful friends. She woke up this morning happy, which was nice. Past few days its been a rough go in the morning. I managed to get a look at the tooth and more of it has come out, only a bit is left under the skin. It may not be the fang like we thought at first. I think its lateral incisor, but I still could be wrong. Until its all out, we will not know for sure. Either way, its sharp, but thankfully I haven't been getting bit during nursing.

Ariel had a nice LONG nap today, which in turn I took one too. My body is really feeling the time change from our trip now. Ugh. The living room is looking better everyday. I am hoping by Thursday it will be back to normal... that would have given me a week since we came home to clean it. Thats my goal. I have a before pic, and I need a good after pic. Thats my motivation. Hah.

Other than the mess, Ariel and I had a fun day together. We are enjoying the sun and playing on the deck. I was blowing bubbles for her, always a hit. We took a late walk to do our shopping as we had to wait on the UPS man. Got the videos returned, got some super glue to fix the various things sitting at my sewing table and picked up my new bowls that I had on order at the kitchen shop. Well, I need to give princess her bath, and we are gonna watch dancing with the stars.

I love my bed!

That was my first thought waking up this morning. Its so good to be home and everything that comes with it. Our trip was fantastic, but living out of a suitcase can be hard on anyone. Not having a regular routine is difficult too. I had no clue what day it was today. Strange. Still, I was rather sad leaving my other family to return here. I feel so guilty at times that we are so far away. I wish we had one of those teleporter things like on Star Trek, that make things easier. Someone get on that ok?

Today was filled with odd jobs and relaxing in the warm sun... and snow. What? Did she say snow? Well, yes and no. When Ken and I headed out for coffee this morning, I saw this huge pile of snow by the post office. Of course we had to investigate. Turns out they were filming a movie the past few days about sled dogs or something. It looked like winter again, and I so wish I had my camera to capture it. Blah.

Other than our wonderful walk in the sunshine, we visited Pastor Dave and Irene at the church. I got to see my painting mural thing up on the wall. Sooooo cool! I am really pleased with how it came out. I will get a pic this sunday. We also did several loads of laundry... there is still more to do. Ugh.

Our trip home was really good. Especially with a teething baby. We lucked out by getting the middle seat in our row, thus giving us extra room for the princess. She once again slept for pretty much half of the flight! YES! Ken then grabbed some much needed sleep and I watched Spamalot. I heart David Hyde Pierce! We got in early to the airport so we had about 2 hours before the bus was due to arrive. We found a coffee shop and had a snack and Ariel got to burn some energy playing. We got the front seat, which was FANTASTIC! Ariel could see so much better and it really made a difference this time. She was totally loving the scenery.

Funny bit about our bus driver, when we borrowed his pen for our customs card, it was an MCC pen. (All my Mennonite friends are gonna get that). Anyhoo, turns out he was a Christian and we got to chat about our churches and family life. His wife is going to school at the moment, they have a young son a bit older than Ariel and they attend a Abbotsford church. Twas fun to meet someone so nice and it made the ride go that much faster.

The Canadian boarder is so much easier than the American side. Enough said.

When we were on the highway, I spotted a car that looked like Stella's vehicle. Upon mentioning that to our new bus driving friend, he sped up enough for us to pass the car, and sure enough, there was Nana and Stella on route to pick us up. Heh. We waved and they saw us and probably thought it was pretty funny. They followed the bus which worked out perfectly since we had no clue where we were to be dropped at the airport. We got home and had a quick chat before they left us. Realizing we had no food, we ordered a pizza, had a bath and watched ER. My whole body felt like it was still on the bus. It was a weird sensation. At 11pm, thinking I could stay up for the Daily show, I soon found myself waking up an hour later on the couch. Oops. I crawled to bed and had the best sleep. Wow.

Now, I really should go finish cleaning the bomb that went off in my living room. Argh.

Flying home!

This is NOW the official last post from Michigan. We are just having our breakfast while Ariel sleeps. We are getting picked up in an hour to head to the airport. I spent quite a while getting things packed last night and then played on the computer till 1am because I couldn't sleep. I feel good this morning though. Yay.

Ariel I believe has gone and switched back to BC time already. Hah. She slept in again, like yesterday. She is so funny sometimes. I feel back we need to wake her up soon. Oops, no she is awake now. She is being silly bouncing in the crib.

Ok, I guess I need to get her ready now. Wish us well as we fly home. Yay.

Last day in the mitten

Its hard to believe that today was our last full day in the big mitten of Michigan. Time flies when you are having fun. Ariel however, was not as much fun today. Her mouth was pretty sore from that dang tooth. She was extra sleepy, cranky and clingy. All in all, she was so awesome on this trip, we really can't complain all that much.


We had a sleep in this morning, after getting to bed later than usual because of the long drive back from the party. Ariel slept in, so we took turns grabbing breaky downstairs. We got dressed and the princess had finally woke up so we could get on the road. After swinging by the house to eat the last of our fab Mexican leftovers from our dinner with Steve and Mary, we went off to visit Grammy at her school.


Ariel was dressed in her cute yellow and green spring outfit, cute as a button. We signed in at the office and went to find Grammy's classroom. Turns out it was a bit of a quieter day, with a few of the students either out sick or on vacation. The ones that were there, only one felt comfortable around Ariel. It was so cool to watch Grammy at work. Ken got some neat video of the kids and the exercises they did. Autism is such a mystery and each case is so unique, that its always educational watching them at work. The kids she has this year, most of them are non verbal. One had this cool box that did the talking for him. We watched them do snack, and they would have to ask for the various goodies using either their place mats with the pictures and pointing, or the computer talking for them.

Grammy took us around the school, so she could show Ariel off. Poor kid was pretty shy and kept jumping from Grammy to me and then back to Grammy. Ariel took a real liking to the kids in the classroom and even more so to the box of crayons. Could it be artistic skills emerging? Hehe.

We drove back to the hotel to pick up the birthday gift we got for Jonathan. It was guest appreciation day and they had tables of goodies laid out. I grabbed a cookie and drink to tide me over, but since we were going to Greek town, I didn't want ruin my dinner. Jonathan loved the coke straw dispenser and bright orange freezer mug we got him. He was immediately asking were I bought it and how much it cost so he could figure out the sales tax. Lol. Jonathan is so awesome!


Greek town was sooooooooo cool. We went to a place called Pegasus and got a real treat of entertainment with having the flaming cheese appetiser. Check out that flame! Lots of other people were getting the same dish, so there were flames everywhere. Poor Ariel liked it when the waiter did ours, but when the table behind us got theirs, it was too close and the heat freaked her out and she screamed. Everyone felt bad for her and smiled trying to cheer her up. She soon forgot about it and moved on to grabbing at our dinner. Hehe.

We came back to the house to pick up the remaining items we had there. Grammy bought Ariel some teethers for the trip home tomorrow. Hope they help. I am a little worried about how she is going to do this time around. Ack. Ken and Dan are watching weird cartoons while I got things sorted. I have now just finished packing, and we needed a spare suitcase, which was no surprise. Ariel has her loot bag, hehe. I am hoping the weight isn't going to be over, that would really stink.

So I guess this is my last post until we are back at home.... see you all soon!

Ariel's Michigan Souvenir

Oh it was a day of days here. So much going on as we slowly conclude our Michigan adventure. This morning we made the drive out to Ann Arbor, on route to see Jeff, Marie and the twins. They were gonna be at the doctors for their 6 month appointment and were arriving back at noon. So we stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut. Yum.

We found their place, it was our first time actually seeing the house, very cute. They are preparing for a huge reno in the next few weeks. Will be neat to see it next time we come through. Kasia (the one with the tiny birthmark on her cheek) and Moira were both sweethearts! I couldn't believe how big they had gotten, since we haven't seen to many pics lately. They are about 17lb each, which isn't that far off from what Ariel weighs. She kinda looks tiny beside them. We had a lovely visit and the girls seem to enjoy themselves. Hope this is the start of life long friendships for them.

Afterwards, we drove to U of M to pick up Ariel a shirt. Its very important, since Daddy is a proud Alumni! We found a blue tshirt with the yellow Michigan written on the chest, and a super cute pink sweatshirt with the Michigan written in blue. Very sweet. We also saw a line down several blocks for a free cone at Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Speaking of which, the quest is over!!! Ken's mom found the ice cream this morning, the last one in fact! She sent us a text message, and what an exciting victory it was. I will be bringing home the grail. Whee.













We started driving out following the map quest directions to Cheech and Sherrie's house. Somewhere along the way, we missed a turn (thanks to bad signage) and got a bit lost. We called, got back going the right way but when we were not too far away, they still sent out a search car. Probably not needed but oh well. We aren't super fast drivers, so maybe it seemed longer to them. Ariel got a nice long nap in the car, which was great. Dinner was lovely, and the kids (Brett, Megan and Trent) had a great time playing with Ariel and Aeron. She loves kids so much, that having 3 hanging around her had the princess grinning from ear to ear.

When Ariel started showing signs of getting cranky, we left to take the long drive home. It was a rough ride to say the least. Poor Ariel started crying, and didn't stop. We had to pull over at a restaurant so I could try and nurse her and calm her down etc. She didn't really get any better and I was perplexed, until I put my finger in her mouth.... WE HAVE A TOP TOOTH!!! Its not her front tooth either, actually, its kinda hard to see which one it is at this point. Either way, its a tooth, and its very exciting. YAY. Quite a souvenir!

So we got home, Ariel is finally sleeping, Ken is sleeping and I am eating my ice cream. Yum. Hey Canada, Jay is bringing home Stephen Colbert! Whoot!

Driving Miss Ariel

Well, I am typing this again in notebook because I can't log into blogger for some stupid reason... blah. Actually, seems like everything on the net is being wacky. I can't tell if its just this connection here at the hotel or what... I miss my computer.

Today was a bit different, as Ken was off doing his guest speaking at the college today as a guest artist. I think he likes that title, hee. He left around 10ish, leaving me and the princess alone at the hotel.

At the time he left, We were both having a midmorning nap. I think I was kinda tired and a bit home sick. It seems to occur when we slow things down and I realize that I am missing my normal routine. Princess slept for a couple of hours. When she awoke, Ariel and I decided to make use of the hotel pool. We got in our swimsuits and headed down to the nice pool facilities. You never know how they are gonna look, but this one was really clean and quite pleasing. We played for about a half hour until she was showing signs of getting cold.

We went back to our room and hung out until 2pm, when Dan was coming to pick us up. When he arrived, we went to JoAnn's first (kinda like Michael's crafts but with a nice fabric section). I found the American flag fabric I was looking for the quilt Stella is making Ariel for her birthday. Also found some cute ice cream cone fabric and Veggie Tales too. Hee. Also got some other goodies, and they were great deals. It be nice to have a shop like this near us.

Next we had a late lunch at a Steak n' Shake. Its like a fast food diner style place. Food was pretty good and it was really cute. Dan got Ariel a paper hat to wear, lol. It was so windy that our picture we took outside looked as if they were gonna get blown over... they were kinda close to it actually. On a sad note, it was so windy around here, that a flag pole was blown over at a school and killed a kindergarten kid. How sad is that! I was so crushed when I heard that during the news. Not to mention this whole thing at Virgina Tech. I pray for them all.

After lunch we went to the grocery store in a further search of my ice cream! Once again, we found the tag where it should be... and AGAIN no ice cream. Dang it! So I decided not to waste the trip and picked up some things for Jonathan's birthday gift. I found a bright orange freezie mug that will be from Ariel, and a coke old style straw dispenser (like those ones in the diners). Dan said he was really into coke stuff, so it should be a hit.

We returned back to the house, and Ken's dad had a bag of goodies for Ariel. A barking puppy stuffed toy, Baby Einstein dvd, Sesame Street musical book and a little sweater and hat set. I am glad we have been able to borrow that extra bag from Grammy... I think everything will fit... I am hoping anyways.

Dan pulled out the Stitch bubble machine and got Ariel smiling and screaming at the bubbles. She got so excited, that she started CLAPPING! Yes, we have official clapping hands, its kinda funny looking, but its still clapping in my books. Very special! Watch the video at the end to get a sneak peak.

At 730pm, Ken got back with Steve and Mary. We were going out to dinner and leaving Ariel behind with Grammy. It was nice to have a meal without a baby to worry about, I almost forgot what it was like. Had a fun time, they are such neat people. They took us on a drive through the areas of downtown Detroit that have been getting fixed up. We saw the Tiger's stadium all lit up for the night baseball game, pretty cool looking.

Got back after 9ish, and Ariel had a wonderful time with Grammy watching Dancing with the Stars. Heh. But she was quickly fading, and was ready for bed. We drove back to the hotel with one of the extra cars since we are off to Ann Arbor tomorrow to see Jeff, Marie and the twins, followed by a party in the evening. Its strange to think that after tomorrow, we only have one full day left. This trip has been great, but its hard to believe its almost over, but it won't be long until they are out to see us in the summer. Yay.

We went shopping... hehe!

Its official, we need another suitcase for Ariel's loot! After a mellow morning of hanging out with Jonathan while Grammy was taking Yaya to the airport, we went to Lakeside Mall. The big stop was the Disney store, which then was followed with several other baby clothing stops. There were some fantastic deals!

Grammy got Ariel 2 outfits by Ralph Lauren! They were little sun suits, perfect for those upcoming trips to the beach. I can see it now, eating fish and chips as she plays in the sand. Awe! She wore the lace one after we got home since we had some friends coming by, and oh she was too cute!!! As you can see in the picture above.

Below are some of our treasures from today!






















Dinner was all the yummy leftovers from the party the other night. Afterwards, Steve and Mary came over. Ken is going to the school where Steve teaches tomorrow, to be a guest artist. Then they will be taking us both out to dinner. Yay. Grammy is willing to babysit, so its even better! Whee.

While the visitors were at the house, Uncle Dan entertained Ariel with bubbles! She was quite taken by them and we picked up some batteries for the Stitch bubble blower for tomorrow night. Hee. That will be really cute.

Dan brought us back to the hotel, picking up our evening tacos and then stopping in search of my quest for Colbert ice cream. It has outsmarted me again!!! We looked up a store that carried it, but when we were there, it was all sold out! So, I may be calling around while Ken is out, and when Dan picks me up at 2pm, we will go on a ice cream hunt. Its stupid I know, but its my grail! (Those who get that quote, you rock!)

Ariel and I will be enjoying the pool tomorrow morning, should be fun and relaxing. We are gonna miss Daddy, but his one day of talking has paid for one airline ticket, so its worth it. Besides, I think a morning alone is nice after all the craziness, especially when the final days are pretty busy. Well, thats all for tonight, catch ya tomorrow!

8 Months old and a party to boot!

Today our princess turned 8 months old! Also, she was the guest of honor at the party thrown at Grammy's house with some of her family members, including her other great grandma. It was very special to celebrate her big day with so many people, especially ones she won't see often. Ken took lots of video and I can't wait till she is old enough to look back on it and ask questions.

The party was the main event today. We slept in more this morning, trying to rest her up as much as possible. After a lazy morning, she got all dolled up in her new dress and sweater. She knew how good she looked and smiled at very camera she saw. Hah.

Grammy got lots of wonderful food for the party, fruit and veggie trays, honey baked ham, blueberry pie, carrot cake, spinich salad, potato salad and chips and dip. The trays she ordered from this local shop were so fancy and pretty I took pictures of them.









Ariel handed herself pretty well under the circumstances. She got a little stressed at one point so Ken took her for a drive to mellow out. She slept for 45 minutes and awoke much fresher and was smiling again. A few people had her acting shy and she would cling to me, Ken or Grammy tightly.

We also got to take a 4 generation picture with Ken's mom, Yaya (grandma), Ken and Ariel. What a special keepsake that will be for Ariel. We also got to meet some of Grammy's friends from work/school. It was neat to put faces to names I have heard about for the past few years. Such lovely people all of them.

Ken's youngest cousins were there, and boy have they grown since we have seen them last. I do believe that Ryan is offically taller than Ken now, and Trevor is just as silly, maybe more so.

Ariel also got some more gifts from different members of the family. Lots of new books, some stuffed toys (one that plays music and sings) and another Grosse Pointe bib (a must have!). She loved the one that played music. It was so good, that the dog would walk by and she won't bat an eye. Wow. After days of the dog being the top toy, to have something take its place is quite something.

Tomorrow we are planning on a low morning for Ariel to regroup and then maybe off to play in town in the afternoon once Grammy drops Yaya off at the airport. Its strange to think we are pretty much half way through our vacation, its been so much fun.

We are back online!

You may notice that there are 3 new posts tonight, but technically I typed them out the past few nights, but finally am able to upload them. Huzzah! Ken, Dan and Brandon went to see that Aqua Teen movie tonight, but since Ariel was ready to crash, as was I, we opted to come back to the hotel to blog and watch the Food Network. Anyhoo, it was nice to see the sun today, but I saw that pesky snowflake symbol coming up on the sunday. Guess we will see. The wind was a bit cold, but compared to the past few days, it was pure heaven.

It was a lazy day of hanging around the house and the odd shopping trip. We went to see Dan working at the grocery store this morning. Tried to find my Stephen Colbert ice cream, but failed so far. Blah. Did find a few cute books for Ariel and an elmo bowl and plate set.

We dropped Grammy and Jonathan off at the house and went for a drive to get our much needed internet cord. We also picked up a gift for Natalie for taking care of our place, and I found the cutest BBQ stuffed toys for Ariel on clearance. TOO CUTE!

Dinner was Grammy's homemade chili, yum. Ariel was given her Daddy's old silver baby spoon to have. Very special indeed. She showed her thanks by banging it on the table. Haha. Her appetite has also increased, she is polishing off a jar and a half of food at lunch and dinner. I guess its all this crawling she is doing.

Ken's friend Brandon came for a visit after dinner. It was nice to see him again, and he and Ken always have deep discussions that can go on for hours. He decided to join Ken and Dan on the movie and that leads me to now... alone. Sniff. Kidding. I needed a break, time to relax, but I hear the princess waking up, so I shall leave you for tonight. Tomorrow is the big family party! Yay!

Mitten Memories

Back again to Grosse Pointe! Still having our internet issues, so again I am typing this and will need to upload it once we get our cable to hook up the computer. Apparently, the hotel only has one to share…. Um right…. We are going to buy our own tomorrow because me needs my internet (and my family needs to hear from me).

Had another fun filled day in Frankenmuth starting with breakfast at Oma’s restaurant… more lederhosen. Hehehe. Yummy. We checked out and went off exploring the local shops. Ariel was so happy and enjoying all the shopping and attention she was getting at every turn. Grammy bought her a cute baby doll at the toy shop. I bought a buttercream smelling candle, ooh, at this place called the Yankee Candle Company that Jonathan is obsessed with. Lovely candles.

We checked out the cheese shop were Ken’s new jeans set off the door alarm. Apparently those tags in clothes from places like the Gap are really bad at setting things off. We had to pull it out and cut it off in the store. We were all laughing, good thing it wasn’t me because I would have been beet red, Ken is tougher than me. Lunch was at this cute little diner were we had Ariel entertaining everyone. She was singing and basically making it hard not to laugh while we ate.










Then it was the Christmas store. DANG!!! That was the maybe the only thing that could maybe have me move to Michigan. I would happily work there, it was just huge. I got some really great things including a felt advent candle wreath for Ariel to learn with over the years. I found those uber cool Easter eggs, the ones that have things in each one to teach about the resurrection. Will be great for home and Sunday school. Also got some ornies for the family for next Christmas and one for us. A crab. I love when I can find a crab or lobster one, they are so strange that its awesome. Finally we got a Jesus stocking! Its to hang with our own stockings to remember that its is Jesus’ birthday after all and he shouldn’t be left out. Reminds me of the letter Pastor Dave read a few years ago at church.

Grammy bought some ornies for Ariel as well. She got a set of Sesame Street ones, an Irish baby one and a cute blue ceramic bear. I think she will be needing her own tree this year. She was in love with the sesame street ones and carried them out to the car.

We hit one of the outlet malls that was just outside of Frankenmuth. Jonathan had his heart set on visiting the kitchen shop there and so once its in his head, we can't change it. Worked out well because there was a super cute kids shop next door!

I haven't really ever been to an outlet mall, all I can say is talk about the deals! Grammy decided that she wanted to buy Ariel a special outfit for the family gathering on Saturday, so we found the cutest dress and matching sweater. Soooooo cute. The boys were pretty funny sitting in the front chairs looking extremely bored. Hah. Too bad. Girls need to shop!

On the drive back home, I think we all (except Grammy who was driving) napped. I learned I could fall asleep siting up. I forgot I could do that. We ordered pizza for dinner, it was great. A place I have never heard of, maybe it’s a small local place. Either way, there were no leftovers.

Dan taught Ken how to play guitar heroes. That was pretty funny at first, since Ken isn’t really one for video games. He got booed off the stage the first 2 tries, then seemed to find his stride and got through the ‘message in a bottle’ song. Looks really fun, maybe I will try it tomorrow myself.

After Ariel had done a few more laps of chasing the dog around the kitchen and learning to play the spoons with Uncle Dan, it was time to pack up and go back to our first hotel again. So this is where I leave you since the Daily show is on and Ariel is finally asleep. Here’s hoping you will be seeing this post tomorrow (Friday)….cross your fingers.

Germany in Michigan... who knew?

Greetings from Frankenmuth…. Well, I am technically writing this from my room at the hotel, but once again we are having internet issues. Blah. So, I will be uploading this when we get back to our hotel later tomorrow….hopefully.

Ariel had a great sleep in the hotel. She woke up briefly once but after a quick snuggle was back to sleep. We all got up around 830 so we could take part in the hotel’s free morning breaky. We got all packed up and checked out around 11ish. We then hit the post office to mail the binkie blanket, then went to a bank to exchange some Canadian money and get some papers signed for Ken in regards to his old bonds he is trying to access to. They signed the papers but wouldn’t exchange the currency. So Ken’s mom said there was another bank that would. When we did go, they wouldn’t do it for anyone who didn’t have an account at the bank. Good grief. Ken’s mom had to go in and do it for us, sheesh. No one wants our Canadian funny money… which is way prettier. Hah.

We left for Frankenmuth around 3pm once Dan got home from his class. The weather was kinda crappy, kinda a mix of rain and ice. We stopped at Arbys drive-thru for a snack. Some of us had straight fries and some of us had the curly fries (which by the standard if they aren’t straight must be gay right?) Yes, lame joke…. But what about a curly one in a bunch of straight ones? I shall leave that up to you. Frankenmuth is uber cool. We drove by the Christmas shop that we will visit tomorrow, its like a Costco. Imagine…. A christmas Costco….. dang airplane weight limits. Haha. The hotel is cute with all its little pointy roofs and traditional décor. All the rooms are named after German families, and they have the history of that family hanging with pictures in the rooms.








Once we got settled, we all went down to the pool for Ariel’s first swim!!! She was so cute in her little bathing suit. Hee. She loved it and was smiling and tried to push away from us like it was she knew what she was doing. I didn’t think she last so long, but she played for almost an hour without tiring. We had to keep passing her around like a hot potato. When everyone had called it quits, we went to change for dinner.

We went to the inn for dinner and all had the Family traditional chicken dinner. Oh man! It was soooooo good. We started with chicken soup and an assortment of salads (a navy bean, pasta, cranberry relish and coleslaw). Then came the chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, noodles and stuffing. If that wasn’t enough to fill you, then was a homemade ice cream in either vanilla or orange swirl. Oh, did I mention all the servers are in traditional outfits! Imagine men in the lederhosen taking your order. It was defiantly something you would remember.

We went to look at the gift shops under the restaurant, but since most were closed, we will go back tomorrow. Getting back to our room, Ariel was asleep, and we took the chance to let her sleep in the room with Grammy while we went for some games and a drink. We played in the fun room which was filled with games like at an arcade were you get tickets. I was awesome at the one were you punch duckies to tip them over. We collected enough tickets to win Ariel some cute, toy flowers. After that we joined Dan in the lamest lounge ever, with good ol’ Marko singing (very badly). I forget that in the states all the places like that allow smoking. Kinda makes me love our smoking restrictions in Canada even more. Anyways, I got a drink in a huge coconut monkey. Its so awesome! It made listening to the terrible singer somewhat watchable…somewhat. Ok, not. Came back up and we are watching Daily show and Colbert Report. Ariel is still sleeping, as now I see Ken is as well. So I guess I shall call it quits for tonight…. Maybe after a piece of left over chicken.

We're Here!

Almost didn't get to post because Ken's work laptop is missing the stupid card needed for wireless, so we had to move a few rooms down to one with the cord. Needless to say, Ken was pretty cheesed, especially since he didn't get his laptop back until the last possible moment. Apparently, someone took it home who shouldn't have. Bad... but thats not our post... so here we go...

WE ARE IN MICHIGAN.... alive. Haha. So it was an experience travelling with a baby, especially since we really didn't know what to expect from her. Stella took us to the Vancouver airport where we were catching our shuttle bus to Seattle. Kinda weird to go to the airport to catch a bus.

We arrived early enough to have a coffee and bagel. Stella gave Ariel an American dollar bill. She was pretty excited! Once we figured out where to catch the bus, we said our goodbyes and the Priebe clan was on our own. Epp.

The gals working the bus desk made fast friends with Ariel, and she was all smiles. When the bus arrived, we found a seat and really saw how tight a squeeze it would be for the next 4 hours. It wasn't bad, and Ariel did really well. She even fell asleep for about an hour.

The boarder crossing went really smooth. Actually, its the first time in a long time we didn't have a funny story to walk away with. The guy didn't even seem phased with Ken being a dual citizen... which is a HUGE peeve to some of them. He didn't even look at Ariel's document.... seriously, I thought people crossing with babies would be studied closer, but I guess since we were both there it wasn't that big a deal. But for the non-issues we had at the boarder, we made up for on our bus ride once across the boarder. Unfortunately, some silly person on the previous bus apparently fell asleep, missed their stop and our bus had her luggage or something from its previous trip. Anyways, long story short, we sat for what was close to 30 minutes trying to find her bag. Argh. During this, Ariel was sleeping, but once we got going again, she awoke. Dang. Its easier to travel when she is sleeping, especially since no one would interact with her.

So we got to the airport around 830pm... should have been more like 7pm. Blah. This sadly left us pressed to find any food establishments still open in the airport, after checking our bags first of course. I need to give a shout out to the NWA people. Soooo helpful and cheerful to Ariel. Even the security people where all gaga over her. Oh, point to note, Ariel too had to remove her booties for the security check, I thought that was funny.

We found a sandwich shop open, and had some pretty lame wraps. Yuck. But anything was good at this point. I went down to the gift shop to get a treat for my princess for the flight. I got her a cute little NWA stuff toy that made airplane noises. So cute. By the time I paid, we were already loading the plane, ack. There were several other babies on the flight, including twins that looked as if they were only a month or so old. The flight was completely booked, but everyone on there was super nice. Had so many people around us that loved babies, and that played peek a boo when she looked around the corner. She fell asleep about an hour into the flight, and was sleep the whole way. Yay.

There wasn't much in the way of bumps. Woot. I did figure out a way of getting through the ones there were, imagine I was driving on the Vancouver potholes. Haha, burn! It worked though, and I was calm and cool. Whee.

We got off the plane and of course had to go on a hunt for elevators because of the stroller baby who was fast to sleep. Ken and I were in awe of the new Detroit airports. It was fantastic, and very impressive. Long gone are the days of the cheap, 70's looking dump. Seriously, it was a dump. Yuck. This one was gorgeous, and huge. We hope to make it back early enough to check it out more on our way home. We found the new baggage claim area and located Ken's mom. Yay. Bless her heart for coming at 5am to pick us up. Thinking about it now, it feels like I lost a day in there somewhere.... strange.

We got to the house, and got some fresh Cinnamon bread. Jonathan wanted to try out his new rolling pin apparently, so bread was easier than pie. Yummy. Ariel woke up briefly at the airport to smile at her Grammy, then fell asleep in the car again. Once in the house though, she was up again. She was all excited about the Buddy the dog and Gizmo the cat. She crawled around exploring her new surroundings, and wasn't showing signs of being overwhelmed... very surprising since she had a huge day travelling. What a girl!



Grammy pulled out lots of treats for the princess. A whole pile of new books. 2 fuzzy feel animal ones, 2 fairy ones, a cool baby's own baby album (its a baby story book about a baby's firsts, and then you get to add real pics of the child to be seen under the flaps. Very cool!!!!) and of course a copy of the little mermaid. Speaking of the famous mermaid, she also got a cute Ariel doll that is like a stuffed toy. She enjoyed flipping her around. Haha. The other pic shows our lovely gifts from Dan from his trip to Italy and Paris. A cute Monaco shirt with little rhinestones for Ariel, and a cool candle and tapestry. What a sweetie!

Then came clothes. A cute peach shirt, pants and hat (that she wore today- see pics), a jeans and red check shirt and a swimsuit and dress cover combo for when she is bigger. Its a little mermaid set and the best part, the bathing suit has princess written on the butt. Lol. Grammy also included a paper doll set, for when she is older, but we played with it for her. We reminisced of our own when we were little, and boy have they changed... this set is all magnets! The dresses stick to the figure, and there are little stick on jewels and things to add to the look. Do you see why we were playing with them? Ken just sat and ate watching these crazy ladies. Ariel enjoyed banging them on the table.

Ariel was pretty strung out and wasn't wanting to go to sleep, so we went for a car ride. She was out in a minute. Ha! We drove down looking at the mafia houses. I was almost asleep at the end. We came home and all napped on the couch. Very refreshing. Woke up and had some good homemade soup and devilled eggs, Ariel had some sweet potatoes, yum. She tried out the new booster chair Grammy got for her as well.

Later we took a walk out in the sun. The snow must have heard I was coming and left.... for now anyways. There is a chance of some coming later this week... weatherman might be wrong... we shall see. The rest of the day was visiting, and watching Ariel chase the dog. Ken got some funny video of that. Once she actually caught him, she really didn't know what to to do. Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs. Afterwards, we watched American idol and looked at Dan's pictures from his trip. He got some cool shots and we tasted his dark chocolate covered coffee beans and rose petal jelly. Wow, it smelt like roses and yet was super sweet.

At 930, Dan drove us to the hotel to check in. Of course we needed to do our annual taco run. It was then I found the coolest signs ever!!! It was hanging in the pick up window. It said 'Great taste during Lent'. I then had to explain the spiritual aspect of lent and how we are encouraged to give up things to reflect during this time, and to see a sign to encourage you to eat tacos, during lent was HILARIOUS! I plan on sending it to the church tonight. Haha. Also, just a point to mention... lent is over.

We got to the hotel, got our room, then changed rooms like I mentioned before, and now, here I sit. Ariel got her crib in front of the mirror and was in pure heaven. She had a bath, and now Ariel and Ken are both sleeping and I am wired for sound. Oh well. Its like 9ish our time, and 11ish here. I plan on watching the food channel until I fall asleep. That super cool cake show is on. Sweet!

Well, I guess I should sign off for now, and try and sleep to get on this new time table. Later!