Kids in November

Brian Wilson/Jeff Beck Concert oct 25

We went to see Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) and Jeff Beck (a terrific guitarist, played with the Yardbirds). The concert was great--Bill and I both love the Beach Boys music and we were both blown away at the amazing skill of Jeff Beck. 

The concert was at the Fox Theater in downtown Detroit. [The Fox opened in 1928 and remained Detroit's premier movie destination for decades. The Detroit Fox was the first movie theater in the world to be constructed with built-in equipment for sound films. Unlike many neighboring theatres, it operated continually until it was closed in the 1980s for restoration.] It was a spectacular building. I felt like we were thrown back to the 1800's/early 1900's. Every space in the theater was decorated so ornately. It is pretty cool to be in a city with so many old and interesting landmarks.

The Killers Concert - Sept 6

We went to Canada to see The Killers. The city of Detroit is right on the border of the US and Canada with only the Detroit River separating it from the town of Windsor, Canada. We took the bridge over there and the under-river tunnel back. This concert was at the Caesars casino in Windsor. It was an amazing concert. We had standing room only floor tickets and we arrived early enough that we were only about 10 rows back. Bill even caught a drumstick from the Killers drummer at the end of the show!

 

Depeche Mode Concert - Aug 22

Before we moved to Michigan, Bill and I bought tickets to Depeche Mode. We had seen them once while were going to BYU. It was at the DTE Energy Music Theater which was a beautiful amphitheater in a woodsy area. It was a lot of fun!

The Kids First Snow!

It first snowed in November. One day, the forecast said it would snow that afternoon, so I told the kids we could play in the snow after school. Luckily the forecast was right and it started snowing on the way home from the bus-stop. Spencer's preschool teacher told me later that he kept telling her that day that it would snow after school, he was so excited. It didn't snow a ton, but they had fun playing a bit in it.

Aliyah had seen snow when she was a baby and we lived in Provo, UT. Other than that, they have NO experience with snow!

Brothers

Family Outing: Yates Mill and Stoney Creek Metropark

Michigan has a lot of apple orchards and also a lot of cider mills. There are four cider mills within 5 miles of our house. The cider mills are very popular places to bring kids as they often have little petting zoos, play structures, and other fun activities. We went to quite a few cider mills for fresh apple cider cider, fresh donuts and  playtime. On one of Bill's days off we visited the Yates Cider Mill (in SW Rochester Hills) which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. This mill is right on the river and has a nice riverwalk. It was a cold day so we didn't make it to far on the walk.

lar

After the cider mill we went to Stony Creek Metropark which is about 6 miles from our house.

ABOUT THE METROPARK

Michigan has quite a few metroparks (giant parks) which are really great. This one is 4,461 acres.  There are 14 miles of mountain biking/hiking trails, 8.5 miles  of hiking trails, 6 miles of foot trails, and a 6.2 mile paved trail that circles Stony Creek lake which is popular with joggers, and inline-skaters. Stony Creek Metropark also has:

• A 6,981-yard (6,383 m), 18-hole golf course
• Snowboarding, sledding and tobogganning hills
• Two beaches on Stony Creek lake, one of which (Eastwood) features life guards
• Picnic areas with basketball courts, baseball fields, playgrounds, and beach volleyball courts
• Nature center
• Ice skating rink
• 26-hole disc golf course
• Boat launch
• Rowboats, paddleboats, canoes, and kayaks available for rent
• Cross country skiing trails and ski rentals
• LINK TO MAP
  
  We had never been so we drove around and played at the playground on the beach. We are excited to visit there this next summer!

Snuggles after a long day!

It's Fall

Fall leaves is a new concept for us! The kids enjoyed raking piles to jump in. And our neighborhood was so beautiful with so many trees and the leaves changing colors. It was not so fun when it came time to raking. I think Bill put in at least 20-30 hours of fall leaf clean up and filled about 60 yard waste bags!

Halloween

Pumpkin Carving

Halloween

We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat the weekend before Halloween. And then on Halloween we went to our neighborhood Halloween party and then went trick or treating with our friends from across the street. It was cold and rainy the whole night, so we only did our street. However, the people in this neighborhood give out handfuls of candy or full size bars, so the kids bags were full after only about 20 houses. (Our trick or treating pictures didn't turn out since is was so dark and rainy)

Post trick or treating