Michigan, pt 3

We drove by our old house and I'm not sure I can describe the emotion.

The house itself looks good, but the yard is a wreck and the neighborhood looks rough.  I know it was shady when we lived there, but it's definitely declined.  The kids were speechless.  We drove around the neighborhood a couple of times and they were silent.  I hope it gave them some perspective of the privilege we have to live in the neighborhood we do now.

We got to be there for Kyle's birthday :)

While Julie was coaching, Andrea and I made a giant batch of french toast and sausage for a lunch party.  What? French toast and cupcakes is too much sugar?  Hey, you're only 3 once.

The only thing Kyle wanted for his birthday was a new weed wacker so he could work in the yard with Julie (apparently his broke last week and it's his favorite thing to do).  The day was ending, but Julie still made it a priority to mow the lawn so Kyle could use his new toy.  Colin grabbed a lawn mower and they followed Julie all around the yard.

We made several attempts to play games with the kids.  One night we brought out Pictionary, but they just started playing Playdough and drawing silly pictures.

We also attempted Phase 10...we made it through 1 phase.  I think we get credit for trying though.

The boys just wanted to play with the plethora of new toys.

Perhaps the best part of the week was getting a good dose of baby time.  Although I was spoiled because all of my own kids were playing and I could hand him back when he needed something.

 

We stopped by one of my favorite places: Lake St. Claire.  I spent many hours walking Alison by this lake and it was a big source of refreshment for me when we lived there.  Instead of walking around (it was too far for little legs, we really needed some bikes), we ended up playing at the park.

 I made dinner for Julie and I one night: flank steak, orzo and asparagus...and birthday cake oreos for dessert.

Tim had to work late that night, but there were several instances where one husband (obviously not mine) was there with the 3 moms and all the kids running around.  It became a running joke of the week that we were sisterwives; awkward, but helpful extra hands.