Mother Daughter Day at the Detroit Zoo

One thing about being the youngest is that you have missed out out on a lot of the family culture that occurred before you were born.  When we had lots of younger children we would have a 'friends of the Zoo' membership and go to the zoo regularly. Alas, I believe it has been about 4 or 5 years since we have been to the zoo. Elizabeth can only remember it through pictures.  She has been asking to go to the zoo regularly.  We finally had our chance.  We were in Detroit for a conference and had a day to do what we wanted,  just Elizabeth and Mom. We decided to go to the zoo!

 It was a perfect day weather-wise!

 We enjoyed the butterfly gardens at the zoo. It is all inside.  Actually,  we were held up in the butterfly area for about 10 minutes while they were chasing down a butterfly that had escaped to the transition zone.

 From the butterfly area to the bird sanctuary that was also indoors.  Elizabeth and I had fun 'hunting' the birds in the jungle like area with the camera.  We got out the telephoto lens and shot away.

 Then on to the reptile house.  They had some very large reptiles and some neat exhibits. I think this may have been the best photo of the day.

 This is the most photographed spot in the park.  Everybody stands in front of the fountain and has their picture taken.

 They did have peacocks running around loose.

 They have really pretty flower gardens in front of most of the exhibits.

 One of the neatest exhibits they had was the prairie dogs.  The children can go underneath the exhibit and then there are several places they can pop their heads up and be in the middle of the exhibit.  This little prairie dog was circling the spot where Elizabeth came up.  It was very cool to be that near the 'wildlife'.

 I think our very favorite exhibit was the seals.  For one thing is was air conditioned.  But really the neatest thing about it was the tunnel that went through the bottom of the seal tank.  You could sit there and watch the seals swim over your head and right beside you under water.  So much nicer than just watching from on top the tank.  

 Elizabeth took her turn with the camera.  She put it on paparazzi mode and took a LOT of pictures of me.

 We ended our day at the penguinarium.  It was a triangular shaped tank with penguins swimming around the tank on the perimeter and they  lived in the middle.  They had 3 different kinds of penguins.

 Here we are at the end of our day.... Elizabeth

and Mom.

My overall impression of the Detroit Zoo:  The zoo was rather expensive.  I believe for the two of us to park and enter was $28.  You can see the whole zoo in about 4-5 hours depending on how fast you walk and how long you look.  Many of the cages were empty.  There are rarely more than two animals of any one kind.  They don't have any elephants.  Everything you do outside of looking at the exhibits costs extra.  $4-6.  Our family has played a lot of Zoo Tycoon, the computer game.  I had the distinct feeling that I was walking through a life sized version of zoo tycoon.  Not sure if that was good or bad.  It just was.  I think the Detroit financial situation has impacted the zoo in a negative way.  They have a huge polar bear exhibit that is very nice, but only one polar bear.  Still, we had a wonderful day together!

Falling Behind

Every year we try and put up some produce in the summer to have on hand for the winter. This year, we are slacking. We haven't gotten any tomatoes canned or much produce frozen. We did do some corn, but about 10% of last year's amount. We didn't have any excess zucchini or cukes. We have been able to keep up with what we planted in the garden, but not any extra.

I did get my order in to the organic farmer who grows my beets for me. The children put up the two plus bushels for me. Joan directed the project and cooked all the beets. Elizabeth and the neighbor girl popped off the skins. They thought it was great fun.

Michelle cut up the beets.

(There was obviously some tasting going on, too)

Mr. Boots filled the containers.
T-Bob and Thomas did help a little too.
The parents were busy with other projects.
Thanks children!
Incidentally, Tuesday night is beet night at the Mango household. Whether you try to wrangle an invitation or avoid one is up to you.

~Mom

Summer Analysis

Today, I sat down and started planning our school for the summer. It is a quiet week, as Joan and Mr. Boots are at camp counselling. The summer is about 2/3 over. I decided to evaluate how we are doing in getting done the things I hoped to accomplish. It has been a good summer. A lot hotter than I hoped for, but good none the less. Here is what we have done...

We have gotten some outdoor fun in. We are working at making sure that Dallas gets a walk every day. The heat has made this a little harder.


We have made a couple family trips. We had the Memorial Day weekend trip to visit family in Wisconsin and the trip to Kentucky to the Creation Museum. We have been to the Rutherford B. Hays Library and Museum, and Fort Meigs. We are working on going on some other field trips in the next couple weeks. We are hoping to have some friends visit in the next couple weeks.

We have survived the three June birthdays and the June Family birthday party. We also saw the Eichs off to the Philippines in July.

VBS went well. It was a busy week, but we got through it without too much stress.

Our summer reading program has been a little spotty. We have averaged about 2.5 days of getting to our reading per week. We do 2 hours when we do it. The boys have both finished their Geometry (Hallelujah!). Michelle still has some math to do and Mr. Boots has to finish his Biology.

We went to two weddings, an Eagle Scout ceremony and a couple graduation parties. There has been two more engagements announced.

Our garden is doing splendidly!

We have had fresh slicing tomatoes almost every evening for supper the last couple weeks. They have been great. I have been getting lots of pesto made from the basil. We have been picking zucchini and green beans. We have swiss chard and the broccoli will be ready soon. Peppers and eggplant are setting on. We never did get any cukes planted. Oh Well. Our herb garden is doing great. We have replanted the lettuce and it will be ready in a few weeks. It is definitely saving on the food bill.

The children have been enjoying the neighbors pool on a pretty regular basis. They have also been spending a lot of time playing with Lego's. They have recently been designing new projects that they will enter into a Lego design contest. Some of the children are working on improving their typing skills. They are also anxious to spend time skyping and e-mailing their cousins in the Philippines. The younger boys have been reading or re-reading Tolkien's books. That is not included in our reading time. Next week will be VERY busy we plan to split about six cords of wood for the fireplace. I am hoping it won't be too hot.

I am pleased at what we have gotten accomplished. Still a lot to get done before autumn arrives. I haven't begun to put food away for the winter.

~Mom

Fort Meigs and the War of 1812

We are continuing our Ohio History via field trips 'program'. Today we went to Fort Meigs which was where the turning point battle in the War of 1812 occurred. Prior to the siege at Fort Meigs the US had lost nearly all the battles of the war. After that the tide went against the British and the US won.

Fort Meigs is the largest restored fort in the US. It is the size of over 8 football fields. It is in Perrysburg, OH.

We were blessed to be able to hook up with a tour of children from a day camp. The guide took us on a tour of the fort and also demonstrated how to shoot his gun. If you call ahead they will arrange a tour for you.

In the center of the fort is an obelisk that was built early in the 1900's as a memorial to all the men who died there. More men died from disease than from battle wounds. The area is right on the Maumee river and was very swamp like. In the spring of 1813 the mud came up to the men's knees.

They do have different displays and information in four of the blockhouses. It got us out of the sun. It was VERY hot today. (90+).

The breeze off the river was the only thing that made it tolerable. At least we didn't have to wear the linen shirt and pants, the wool vest and dark blue wool jacket of a regiment soldier. They wore the exact same uniform, summer and winter.

The inside of the block houses were painted white so that the light coming in the window was reflected. They were not allowed to use candles in them as there was so much gunpowder present.

Our guide shot his gun out the window. It really wasn't very loud as the explosion occurred at the end of the barrel which was outside. I was surprised how much light came in the loop windows.

The inside of the fort has a number of earth mounds that were built by the soldiers as a place for them to hide behind from the cannonballs. They actually built little shelters inside the mounds. The British called the Americans 'groundhogs' as they would pop up to check for incoming shells and then duck back down into their holes. Very few Americans were killed in the battle from British artillery.

Outside the fort is a very nice air conditioned museum. It describes the role of the fort in the War of 1812, artifacts they have found on the grounds, important men of the time and a memorial. I think you could go through the museum in 30-60 minutes depending on how much reading you want to do.

The museum and fort cost $8 for and adult and $5 for a child and children 5 and under are free. It is also free if you are a member of the Ohio Historical Society. It is open Wednesday through Sunday. It has many re-enactments and programs on the weekends. Check their schedule before coming.

I would say that the children found this a fascinating visit. They have talked about it pretty much non-stop since they came home (when they weren't arguing about who had dishes-ugh!). Younger children might be bored. There are not a lot of buttons to push or brightly colored displays in the fort. It is a mile walk through the fort. There is a smooth gravel path. It was a very informative afternoon.

~Mom

VBS Wrap Up

We had a great week of VBS this year. The children were attentive and they did a wonderful job learning their verses.

The new sound system was a useful asset. The sound effects worked well in the drama. The actors did an entertaining job, as usual!

The last day there were 94 children. The junior class had 34 children. No one was absent. They had a fun time with all the outdoor activities. One day, all the games fit the Egypt theme by being about mummies.

The children wrapped one another in toilet paper. This team had the winning entry.

The closing program was very well attended by the children and parents. The gospel was clearly presented We did have a couple children come this year because their parents found our website. These families came to the closing program also. Many of the first time attendees seemed very excited about coming to AWANA in the fall.

We do praise the Lord for this opportunity to share the gospel with our community. I believe that only about 35% of the children came from our Fellowship.

~Mom

VBS 2010: The Egypt Files

This post is especially for our Filipino Readers.
(Pun intended)
This is the 41st VBS at our church. We welcome the children every day at the registration desk. My Mom, sister, and I are doing registration. Our VBS has always been free. Behind is the craft area.

The Pre-school class has 10 little ones. They have a puppet show along with other things every day for the children. This year they are using the window as the stage rather than building it in the room. It has worked really well.

The new director's wife seems to be everywhere. Making sure that everything is running smoothly. We have a slightly smaller school this year than last year. 79 children the first day and 74 today.

Each teacher is responsible for decorating their own area. This is the Pre-primary area. It is a smaller room, but they fit about 17 children in here. Joan is co-teaching in this group.

It has been warm, but the children seem calmer this year for some reason. The teachers have been commenting and appreciating about how well the children are listening.

The children always enjoy the crafts. Yesterday, they made a game out of clay and beads. Today, they made a picture frame to put their photo in. They used a CD (jewel) case.

The Primary class is a busy group. They are the second through fourth graders.

Mr. Boots and Michelle are helping here. Michelle is teaching the verse and Mr. Boots is doing the puppets and some other teaching. He is really enjoying it. Thomas is helping with the outside games.

They are serving the snack outside at the 'oasis' area. Everything is following the Egyptian theme. It is working nicely to have all the snacks outside. Less mess inside.

The Juniors is the largest group this year. The first day they had 30 children. There were a few missing today. Mrs. Nan, showed the children that simply mixing the ingredients for a cake in a bowl, shaking it up, does not result in a cake. The children are learning about the logical fallacies in evolution. The gospel is being presented clearly.

The VBS is going well. I have to admit, I keep thinking I hear my sister, Mir's voice. I keep turning to look and she's not there. It really makes me miss her, more than I ever thought I would.

~Mom