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!

I Had a Wonderful Birthday!

Spring arrives on the same day that I was born. I love spring flowers, especially daffodils. The winter was long and cold and snowy this year and so the only flowers in bloom are the crocuses.

My girls fixed me a beautiful breakfast tray for me to enjoy in my room. It was delicious!

Orange juice, hot tea in a new super size mug with whipped cream, cold strawberry soup, scrambled eggs, bacon, and delicious homemade cinnamon raisin bread. It was an amazing breakfast!! No, I wasn't able to eat it all. I saved most of the soup for an evening snack.

We had a really nice lunch also. It was nice to have the family around for a quiet afternoon.

Michelle made me tapioca pudding for my birthday dessert. It was yummy. We had cut up fresh fruit with homemade granola to go on top.

Michelle and Paul

Who's this guy? Not a Mango. He is one of Paul's best friends who was up visiting from North Carolina.
This is his younger brother who is good friends with Thomas and T-Bob. They are two very pleasant young men to have around.

Thomas

It was a great day.

Elizabeth sure enjoyed her dinner.

T-Bob and Elizabeth gave me dark chocolate bars for my birthday.

Michelle made and decorated this chalkboard for me. I will hang it up in the kitchen and take down the electronic dartboard that doesn't work. She made all the flowers that are on the one corner too.

I am blessed with a wonderful family!!

~Mom

Mother's Day and Mom's 70th Party

WARNING: If you don't know my family, this post will be pretty boring! ;-)

My Mom's birthday is May 19th. We usually combine Mother's Day with Mom's birthday. We have gotten to the point that we try and keep family birthday dinners to just once a month. At this point in our lives, family schedules are so full that it is hard to find dates that work for everybody. Now we just have monthly parties for birthdays. In June, there are five birthdays plus father's day. We just keep things simple.

This year is Mom's 70th Birthday! We are so blessed to have Mom around. She is always there to pitch in when we ask her. She is a real encouragement to many people. She has been a wonderful example of faithfulness. She has been a good friend to many people. She has really grown in her faith through the years. I love that about her. I am truly blessed to have had such a good Mom to love me and be an example to me. Thanks Mom! I hope you are around for a long time still!

My sister made an amazing cake, and yes, on such an august occasion, I had a small piece. It was a white cake with almond flavoring. The layers were separated by a raspberry filling. It was covered in whipped cream. Those are large blackberries on top and toasted almonds on the side. It was very yummy!

Most of us had a big meal for Sunday dinner, so we switched things up and just did appetizers and a dessert for the evening repast. It was delicious, and a lot less work than some meals. Everybody just brought 2 or 3 different things. It was really nice.

I really like this picture of my DH. This is a picture of him relaxing on the couch before 'dinner'.

My Dad was enjoying spending some time with his youngest grandchild, Sadie.

It was a lovely day!

~Mom

My Birthday, Thank-you Wonderful Family!!

I want to thank my parents for bringing me into this world and letting me stay. It was nice to be able to have them come for the celebration. They live nearby and so it is convenient.


This is a self-portrait of Michelle by Michelle. She made one of my favorite things - chilled strawberry soup.

It was delicious. Almost like having a dessert for an appetizer. The whole strawberry and whip cream on top made it extra yummy.

There was a beautiful salad.

The main course was cream chicken over hot spelt biscuits, and creamed corn.

We did have dessert. My mom baked an apple pie and the children made some homemade ice cream. It was a wonderful ending to a delicious meal.

I love daffodils!! Ours in the yard are not ready yet, but Michelle found some at the store and they looked and smelled beautiful!

Thanks Girlfriend!

My good friend Kathy and her husband were also there. The girls surprised me by inviting them.

JoAn made the creamed chicken and biscuits. She also put together the salad. Everything was yummy, and I didn't have to do a thing.

Elizabeth took Michelle's trophy from Awana (our children are not real big on storing them) and adapted it and gave it to me. It was very sweet. Michelle helped her get the flowers and attach them.

The rest of my gifts were a ping pong paddle from the children, socks from my mom and dad. My sister got me a gift card to Trader Joe's, a lunch invitation from my friend Kathy, and some old pictures from my folks of me as a child.

I am a truly blessed woman. Thank-you to all my dear family and friends.
Love ya!

~Mom ( I forget how old I am though)

Another Reaon Spring is Special to Us...

The mother of these children also has a birthday today!

JoAn

Mr. Boots

Michelle

Thomas

T-Bob

Elizabeth

Happy Birthday Mom!

We love you !

~Michelle