Labor Day Weekend: Sunday - Campus Tour

Laurie wanted Dylan to see the University of Michigan Campus up close and personal, so we set off for Ann Arbor, and met Tom and Brandy at the Cube behind the Union.

Dylan proves that he is a Cube Twirler.



Standing on the Diag.


Relaxing at the Grad.


The Engineering Arch, often referred to as the Engine Arch. I guess it's still the Engineering Arch even though the School of Engineering has been moved to North Campus. Brandy's degree is in Engineering - Nanotechnology Engineering.





After the campus tour, we left Tom and Brandy, who were off to get some bubble tea (?). We agreed to all meet back at Sniders around fourish - Bill was doing a cookout for us - such a great deal!

The rest of us headed back to Belleville to honor a request from Jana to have Dylan see the handprints in the driveway at 17287 Haggerty Road. When we pulled up in front, there were two cars in the driveway, so Dick went to the door and rang the bell, but no one answered. I figure that they were walking in the park. Anyway, we got good pictures of the handprints, and of Dylan fitting his hands into each one. The cement was poured in July, 1974, and besides our three kids, there are the prints of our dog Penny, and two cats - Tiger and Champagne. It was a real blast from the past!





Back at Snider's, we had a great cookout, followed by Unbirthday Cake! Yum!
Laurie and Dylan's plane tickets were Dick's birthday present to himself, so we had an early celebration!

Labor Day Weekend: Saturday - Football Game

We didn't let the poor performance by our team ruin a great weekend for us.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Utah 25, Michigan 23
Records: U-M (0-1), Utah (1-0)
Attendance: 108,421
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 6 -- vs. Miami (Ohio) (Michigan Stadium), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Despite rallying from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull within two with over six minutes remaining, the University of Michigan football team fell to Utah 25-23 Saturday (Aug. 30) in the 2008 season opener at Michigan Stadium.

The heat had a better chance of ruining the day, but it couldn't come close. The six of us all sat in good old Row 65, but the two oldest of us left at halftime for the first time in recorded history. The heat was beastly, the team was beastlier, and it felt good to get in the car with the air conditioning and head for Sniders to watch the rest of the debacle on TV. The kids all toughed it out to the bitter end.

Tim Knowlton, Tom and Laurie at Steve Koss's tailgate.


Applying sunscreen in the AAA parking lot.


Dylan and Laurie having a picnic in the shade before game time.


Here we all are sitting in the hot, hot, hot, hot sun. It was hot.



New stadium construction.


A shot of the scoreboard pre-game - before it could show that we had no rushing yards in the 1st half. Holy Moly.


After the game, Brandy was dropped off at the motel to recuperate from the heat - the rest of us all had pizza at Sniders.

Labor Day Weekend: Friday, Pick up Laurie and Dylan

Tom and Brandy arrived last night around 8 p.m. and are staying at the Marriott in Ann Arbor. We plan to see them this evening for dinner with everybody.

We picked up Laurie and Dylan at Metro around 2:30, and then went on a mini-tour of Belleville so that Dylan can see where his Mommy grew up. Lucky for all of us, Laurie once worked at Frosty Boy!

While we were at Frosty Boy, we ran into Laurie's 6th grade teacher - a cosmic co-incidence!

Then we moved Laurie and Dylan into Snider's condo - Thank you Sniders! We spend the afternoon unpacking, getting settled in, and catching up on the latest news.

We met Tom and Brandy at 6:30 at Benihana! (It's everybody's favorite place!)

B E N I H A N A







Benihana Afterglow - we went back to Snider's for ice cream, and we watched a lot of Dylan's videos and stories on the laptop.

First Underwater

We've found caches on islands, in all kinds of parks, on bridges, on boardwalks, in the tops of trees, in gazebos and on and on. The name of this cache says it all - "First Underwater"! This one is located in Twin Lakes, near the Gilbert Lodge. Tim and Dick decided that is was better to try it with two divers rather than one at a time. We set the time, planned dinner together, and headed for Twin Lakes.

Here are our intrepid adventurers setting out on their mission:


By George, I think they've found it!


Mission Accomplished!


The Victors!


Afterwards we all ran errands for a while and then met again back at our house for dinner. We provided burgers, sweet corn and cherry pie. Susie provided - omg! - pasta salad, baked beans, blueberry pound cake with fresh blueberries and Cool Whip!!
Yum! It was a very successful day.

Paddle Float