Finger Painting

Katie was dying to paint this morning. As you can see, she went from being nice and neat to swirling it everywhere (including her face - she was putting it on like war paint). But it was cute, and I love the new artwork for the fridge. She went from that to crayons and markers (the Color Wonder kind from Crayola ... I'm not that brave!), so she must have been feeling particularly artsy today. This is a bit unusual for her, since she is normally so technical (she is obsessed with how things work). I guess rainy days can bring out the artist in anyone. Either that, or she was channeling her Great-Grandmother Vittoria (my Nona), who was an artist and who was also born in April. You never know!

Cedar Point

On Monday, June 23rd we headed for "America's Roller Coast," which turned out to be a good idea because it rained buckets while we were gone (we only had a few sprinkles in Sandusky). So we had beautiful weather, and a good time. We took Katie along with Grandma Pat, Grandpa Ron and Grandma Michele. She really liked all of the Snoopy stuff, though you can't quite tell from this picture (she went and hugged him later, when the cameras weren't ready, of course). But she wasn't quite into the rides yet. Ryan and I took her on the rub-a-dub tubs, and she kept wanting to get off ("I all done now"). She also wasn't fond of the train, which is a surprise since she loves Thomas (and the one at Disney). But once we got to the petting farm, she was totally in her element. She loved petting the sheep and the baby goats. If you ask her about it, she will tell you, "the sheep peed." The grandparents finally got her on the merry-go-round at the end of the day, but of course the highlight for her (as usual) was getting cotton candy. A highlight for Ryan and I was the Millennium Force, still my favorite ride and the first place we held hands (before almost blacking out - and no, not from the hand-holding). I was also happy to see a Chick-Fil-A there, since we don't have one anywhere near us here in Michigan. All in all, it was fun for everyone.

Let's go Tigers! Seriously.

A huge payroll, obvious talent ... and yet the Tigers haven't done anything exciting this year. Except for the night we took Katie to the ballpark, when they beat the Twins 19-3. She was dressed all in pink, from her Magglio shirt (our seats are in right field) to her pigtails (thank you, Auntie Sue). We enjoyed the game, but she especially enjoyed the merry-go-round and the cotton candy. Anyway, we had a good time and hope to get her to another game before the fall. She seems to be a baseball fan, which is good ... Daddy wouldn't have it any other way!

Mea culpa

I'd like to tell you I have a good reason for not posting in such a long time ... but I don't. Between Ryan's long work hours and Katie's incessant energy, time has just gotten away from me. But enough people have asked me what happened to this blog that I am finally motivated to start again. So, please forgive me, and without further ado ... Life with Goo.

Up North

There are some places that never seem to change ... and these days, that is a good thing. South Higgins Lake State Park is one of those places for me. Even though they have taken away the old metal merry-go-round (remember those things? I'm sure they're too "dangerous" for kids today) and added a new shelter, it basically looks the same way it did twenty years ago. And the smell is still the same. Have you ever noticed how some places just smell a certain way? All I need to do is stand there for a moment, and the smells take me back to so many memories, so many years ago.

Anyway, before I start getting too poetic on you ... it obviously is important to me, and my family, for Katie to know my grandma's cottage, and Higgins Lake. So we took her up there for a few days last month. She was a little hesitant in the water, but it is so shallow and so clear that she eventually warmed up a bit (she still wanted to be in my arms, though). She wasn't a big fan of the wet sand in her toes, but I'm sure that will change in time.

We also took a day to head up to Mackinaw City. While there, we just decided to take a boat over to the island. Upon exiting the ferry, I was shocked to turn right and see a sign for Starbucks hanging amidst all of the signs for fudge and t-shirts. Yes, Starbucks is even on Mackinac Island. At least there is no McDonald's. Yet.

Katie did well on Mackinac. She really liked all of the horses, though their smell can be insanely pungent. We walked around for a while, had lunch (practically free due to some nice people who gave us their pizza), and of course bought some fudge. We also took a walk by the Grand Hotel, but since they charge $12 a person just to walk on the property, we took the cheap route and stayed on the outskirts.

All in all, we had fun ... about as fun as a vacation can be with a toddler who doesn't rest for a single second (and hates being confined in a car). But of course she slept better at night than we did!

July

July passed in a flash. In sum: my sister was here and gone, Elizabeth turned one, Ang and Wooly got married, Scott and Lizz got married, we went Up North ... and suddenly the month was over. I guess it was pretty busy, but here we are, halfway into August, and I am wondering (as always) where the time went.

So, in the next few posts I will attempt to play catch up ... stay tuned.

Future Spartan

Happy 1st Birthday, cousin Elizabeth!