Detroit has seen better days

Poor Detroit. They lost the Stanley Cup in the NHL playoffs on Friday and that is really the least of its worries. This weekend we went on a family field trip to inner city Detroit to check out the 'hood. The scene was sad.

It would be very difficult to sum up the issues and conflicts that face Detroit with real accuracy, but the one thing that seems clear is that Detroit is a good example of what happens when a community puts too much faith in a single entity- in this case, the auto industry. An industry that was rollin' in money for decades, but did little to give back to the community that facilitated its growth. The auto corporations became so powerful that they could just completely have their way with this city, and when the time came to pull out, they let this city crumble. It makes me mad.

While Motown has been on the decline for decades, most homes started emptying out in 2006. Now entire city blocks of businesses have been shut down, pillaged, graffitied. Most streets have houses that had been vandalized, burnt down and boarded- up. Many of these trashed houses were occupied by homeless people without a place to go. Other are used as drug houses. Meanwhile toddlers and elementary school kids rode their tricycles outside and played in the condemned buildings. Adjacent to a raided, torn up, house would be a home with a well kept lawn and a bed of marigolds planted out front. People are still trying to survive and exist amongst the devastating poverty and crime. How could this happen in America?


But feel free to come and visit us in Michigan any time :)

Let's Have a Repeat!

Do it again boys. As Dani says, Michigan needs all the glory it can get!!

Liam's Sandbox

Liam and his friend "Little Abby" being silly in the sandbox. They both managed to get both sand and bubbles in their hair by the time they were done playing. (Both Liam's doing) Liam plays in the sandbox everyday with his shovel, animals, and Diego tractor. I am constantly finding random things he has been hoarding in the sandbox (the sprinkler head, his sippy cups, a wrench, my gardening tools,our rabbit Gabe's food. . .) and perpetually cleaning up sand everywhere.

Splash Pad Fun

We have a really fun group of moms and 2-3 year olds that make up a little play group. Liam loves having all the friends and has crushes on all the cute girls. Yes, he is wearing a speedo and no, Brady didn't know about it :)

The back yard- waiting for coneflowers and summer bulbs to come up. (I fetched the trim out of the dumpster and the rocks we got from our rock heap. I love free.)

Here's a few more plant pics. I am already trying to figure out what divisions I will take when we move from Michigan 3 years from now and what I will plant at our next house. Our plants have become an integral part of our summer life.
Before our gardening days:

I Heart Plant Lovers

A sure sign that Brady and I are getting older is that we have taken a liking to plants. I have always been a nature lover but really never paid attention to plants. Since we don't have beautiful Alaskan Moutains in our back yard, we needed something to enjoy outside. Since last August we have put in several flower beds and have had a lot of fun digging in the dirt and taking survey of other flower gardens. We got these flowers from my friends perenial garden, garage sales, end of the season sales, and by the side of the road (don't worry they were all legit.) We've gotten buckets upon buckets of free dirt from our compost and our neighbor over bought mulch so I traded her dog walking(running) for wood chips.
It's been fun taking Liam outside everyday to water the plants with his green water can and has made spring more exciting and enjoyable.

Our favorite plants in our garden:
Iris Blue Hyrdrangeas Hosta Tulips Spirea Black Eyed Susans
Snap dragons (Our only annuals)

Other plants in our garden-
Lavender, peonies, boring Shrubs, day lillies, star gazer lillies, shasta daisies, baby's breath, creeping jenny, lady's mantel, dafodills, periwinkle, rose of sharon, ornamental grass, strawberries, corn, zucchini, yellow peppers, onions, potatoes.

We have unsuccessfully tried to grow plants from seed and every single time they die shortly after they sprout. We ordered some plants from one of those cheap, bulk plant catalogs that send plant roots that look totally dead. We'll see if they work.

If anyone wants divisions let us know and we'll send them your way once things take root.

The Old "industrial park" Look

Memorial Day at the Park

Liam and I spent most of Memorial Day hanging out at Hawk Island Park playing at the splash pad and finding turtles, frogs, and fish at the lake.

Things Liam Likes to Say

"Gween wight!"- He says "gween wight" and then spontaneously jumps, runs, throws dirt until he says "stop wight" or "blue wight"

"That's Elmo's Bum!"- He switched up the words of the song "Elmo's World" with "Elmo's Bum." Dad had nothing to do with this (honest).

"No mommy and daddy, Dats Dangerous!" He thinks he is the danger police now and so when he sees his parents pulling out of the driveway or standing on chairs he informs us that we're being dangerous. He also announces when he's doing dangerous things, like climbing on rocks or jumping off the couch. "Look, I'm dangerous! Watch me!"
Dad pulled out of the driveway tonight to go visit some people and Liam called after him "Don't go in the road! Watch out for cars!"

"Good job, mom."- He insists on telling us, his parents, "good job" after we've finished using the restroom, eating, putting on our shoes, or giving him fruit snacks. It's great when we have guests over, and somebody comes out of the bathroom: "Good job, you go poopy!"

"kitty's daddy"- He refuses to call our neighbor by his name "Jack" but instead says "No mom, that's kitty's daddy" 'cause the guy has a cat.

"No- Weum do it!"- The kid loves to be independent. Sometimes he rejects our help.

"Take one!" When he wants us to share something and he wants to choose it himself, he looks us in the eyes and very deliberately and slowly tells us to "take one." Mom, who often tries to snitch from his snack stash, is often told to just take one.

"pwease- maybe a baby, tiny, wittle one? " -When he wants something we won't let him have he turns on his soft cute voice, tilts his head, and offers an alternate solution. If I tell him he can't watch Finding Nemo again, he says "Uhh... maybe...
Move-It? (aka Madagascar)

Anytime he trips, he looks at us and says in a crooning voice "You ok, Liam? You ok?" until one of us asks if he's ok. Usually the response is a smile, a "Yep", and he's back to the races.

When we're reading and he sees somebody sad or crying in the book he knows there's only ever one reason to make somebody feel that way. He expresses the character's woe by quickly crying "I want my Mommy!!"

He loves to have cause to say "I'm a naked boy! A naked bum! Ha ha!"