Track and Field

In the fall, Emily passed on participating in Cross Country, because her coach wasn't going to be in charge, and many of her friends weren't doing it.  However, they have been trying to get her into track since sixth grade, so she was excited to sign up!

William also had a few friends, so he signed up too.  His start was a little delayed, because his new visit needed to be a year out from his previous visit, and there were no time slots for 'just' a physical any earlier.  It was only a two-day delay, and I don't think he missed much.

Their first meet was at home, and I signed up to volunteer.  So did many of the high schoolers who need community service hours, so my job was very small and short.  It was a warm-ish day, but the wind was brutal and cold, so I was really happy that I had my heavy jacket, hat and gloves!

I stole this awesome shot from the group thread:



My dear ones enjoyed the social time.  William and his friends didn't make themselves scarce, at least not as often as Emily and her friends.

The advantage of a home meet was that even non-track friends could come watch!

For the first meet, obviously, all their records were PR, but they both felt like they need more practice time. Emily ran the 800m, William the 70m, 100m, and 200m. 



They've had a second, away, meet since then, both of them breaking all of their PRs!  

There is one more home meet, so I'm hoping to get to see them in action one more time!

later days

Snow, Seriously

I'm annoyed to have to include another snow post, but looking back at my FB memories, apparently this isn't abnormal, and I just get to be annoyed yearly!

4-10-25:

One of the videos that Erin Elise sent my way had a sparkling trash can, with the Twilight "Hoa, Hoa, Hoa" music playing, and so now I can't unsee it.  So, even though you can't tell from this still shot, the frost was sparkling!


We aren't dipping below freezing at night any longer, so certainly this will be the final snow post until October, or if we're lucky, November!

later days

All the Other stories

These pictures didn't really fit anywhere else, so I'm adding them here.

My mom and a I drove up to Owosso for a rummage sale.  It's only about an hour away, but far enough that we wanted to explore a little bit afterward.  We ended up in the most organized junk shop ever.  Things were piled together, but the aisles were tall and packed and layered with any number of items!  It wasn't dirty or smelly as these places can be, but there was a LOT to look at.  The gentlemen ran a sign store too, and so there were signs for every occasion!  Naturally, when I saw Hank Williams, I had to take a picture* to share with Billy! 


And I've officially read the CB Strike series too many times, because my first thought was, oh, would this be something he could use? lol. 

After a doctor's appointment in Charlotte, I had around 40 unplanned minutes before the thrift shops opened.  Thankfully, there was a Biggby nearby, and so I got some coffee to enjoy before going shopping! 

Billy and I went to Beerfest at the Ballpark last weekend.  It was a chilly day, but didn't rain on us like the last Beerfest we went to!

I do love the setup of this stadium (even though their purse policy drives me crazy**.)


These seats were different, and we don't know why, but the red part is chipping paint, so they were green to match the other seats once upon a time.  My guess is that they are for someone being honored there that game?  There was no placard, and I feel like I don't end up at many baseball games here, but plenty of events!


Two of the revelers had some fancy accessories!   There was a guy in a beer hat.


And a guy with beer stein socks!!  They were way cool.  But it was a chilly day, so he might have suffered in the name of fashion. 

The pizza was served in base shaped boxes!  So cute. = )


This 'modern' design totally makes me think of my childhood, when we had 70s leftovers.

Our Uber driver dropped us off right at the entrance, but we thought it might be a little tricker for them to find where to pick us up, so we walked the mile down to a bar called Leroy's that Billy has wanted to visit for forever!  

We crossed under 496, and between the roads, rivers, and bike lanes, the space underneath the interstate is totally broken up!


When we arrived, it turns out that even my mom has been here before us!  Despite sounding like a dive bar, it was actually more of a diner!  That wasn't a bad thing, but we were tired and not terribly hungry, so we ordered and took it to go.


And our Uber driver, Elvis, had no problem finding where to collect us.

***********

I'm retelling a story that my mom told me from last week, because I would like to laugh about it for years to come.

One day when my mom collected Emily from track, Emily was telling her that she was pulled out of class for a superlatives picture! She was voted "Most Likely to Save the World." My mom obviously thought that was pretty cool, but when she said as much to Emily, Emily responded, yeah, it would be, except that last year Alice was voted "Most Likely to Take Over the World."

***********

During a different week, for lunch Billy and I went to Dagwoods.  We didn't have any expectations, so they had a fighting chance, but it turns out that they are really good!  It is a total dive bar, and the decor makes it look like you are on the 'outside;' just like in Night at the Roxbury!  Though, the outside doesn't look like the inside.

Billy's olive burger didn't come with a tray or plate or anything, just wrapped in wax paper!  Apparently, Billy wasn't ready for me to take a picture. lol.

My Philly cheesesteak was the best I've had since moving up here!  Now I know where to go when I have a craving!

On the first day of walking Alice, Emily, William, Grace, and Juliet to either their bus stops or school, I stopped on the way home for an iced latte from our little shop here in town.  It totally hit the spot, and made a beautiful day even better!

Kristy was telling us about the price of common painkillers increasing with the tariffs going into effect.  While I'm not terribly concerned, it was a cheap enough purchase to keep and store, just in case.


For reading night, Emily came with me, because I thought I was running a book sale in the library, and I wanted the twins to have someone they could quickly reach out to if they needed someone.  The sale ended up not happening, so I was able to attend with them after all!


The blacklight pens were so popular, they had to shut the room down before the event was over!


Comparing answers.  Don't we all wish we could have a twin!?

Grace playing a different game with Renae.


And Emily participated a bit, but in lieu of her peers spent time on phone.


My haul from the Mason Methodist Church and Mason Presbyterian Church sales!


One of my best rummage sale finds, so far, this season was a snap circuit kit! William played with it all evening, and included Grace when she was home.  This must have been on the Reading night!


I got a heart shaped chip!

I was nearby a restaurant that had 'famed' Dubai bar desserts.  I tried it, but was not super impressed.  I liked it enough to later buy one from Horrocks that was much better!  The inside was more of a nougat, vs the crunchy feel of the one pictured here.


Heleena had her birthday party, the weekend before the twins', at the Charlotte pool!  It was a really neat party, and her mom said that it wasn't very expensive!  Maybe our next party can be there!  Everyone in this picture was at the twins' party the following week, plus a few more. = )

Juliet and Kennedy spent the most time in the pool while I was there!

It's been a fun month, and May is looking just as enjoyable! = )

later days

*for $22 a picture was preferable to buying the sign which would essentially just be junk, as it has nowhere to go!

**only tiny purses, 4x6 maybe?, are allowed, or slightly larger clear ones.  That's fine, but men have cargo shorts that are literally larger than that!  I don't understand how my purse is more of a security issue than a man's pocket.  It always seems to be cold when we go, but sometime, I swear I'm going to wear men's cargo pants and hove my purse into one pocket and my skirt into another, just to see what happens.

Spring!

The temperatures are finally improving, and all the plants are waking up, and we are seeing our neighbors again!  

I started cutting milk cartons in February, and while they were stacked up in my mudroom, I felt like there were so many of them, and they might just be junk, but once I used them to plant, I realized that I had nowhere near enough!


The moon setting and sunrise on an early spring day.


New growth!

A very still river.  It was so pleasant after a particularly windy, cloudy day, just 24 hours earlier!

Naked tree branches.  They were swaying the wind, and it made me want to take a picture.

Further into spring, the flowers are blooming!


The birds are out in force, and I've been seeing lots of squirrels and even the occasional bunny!


The shining sun and warmer temperatures have me wanting to go out and do fun things and visit new places (just like everyone else who managed to survive another brutal winter!)

later days

Dimondale Elementary

On May 22nd, my babies, the twins, Grace and Juliet, finish out their elementary education along with the building which housed most of my children's elementary education.*  While it was supposed to be more, I am thankful for the time spent there, including my substitute days.  This post is memorializing the end of Dimondale Elementary as my children knew it.  Next year, it will be many of the same teachers, but a brand new building.

So, I present a walk through the old building:

K/1 hall.

Activity Room.


3/4 hall.

Exit from 3/4 hall, storage for this year.


Main Entrance.

2nd Grade Hall (+5th for the final year.)


Cafeteria/Gym.


Very Retro Architecture outside the K/1st Hall.

And the latest picture of the new building!  Lately, I've been walking, so I'll have to go out of my way to take pictures from here on!



And the most pleasant of views from Ms. Jones' room, on a fine spring day!


Doing my best to preserve the memories, but it will never, ever, be enough.

later days

*2020 robbed us of many of these experiences, Alice left fourth grade and didn't return to public school until 7th grade, Emily left third grade and returned in 6th, William left 1st and returned in 4th, and the twins left in kinder, returning in 3rd.