Go State!

There's something about watching MSU go 11-1 and win a share of the Big Ten for the first time in over 20 years with my father. GO STATE!

I've seen that face before.

I've seen that face before, but where?



Oh, yeah. Here.

What is Peter Thankful For?

On Thanksgiving, Peter showed us the things in Michigan he is thankful for.

Peter is thankful for pretty cousin Ellie to cuddle with.

Peter is thankful for rocking chairs by the fireplace.

Peter is thankful for family bathtime.

Peter is thankful for playing with his beautiful mother.

Peter is thankful for Uncle Dave who tosses him in the air.

Like his grandmothers, Peter is thankful for Hoosier cabinets.

Peter is thankful for his Big Sister, who helps him along the way.

Peter is thankful for Cousin Quinn to play with.

Peter is thankful for GrandDad, who gave him his blue eyes.

The Great Cider Tasting

Rochester, Michigan is home to four great cider mills, and for those of us who grew up here, apple cider constitutes the taste of autumn. Our four cider mills are Yates Cider Mill (our family's least favorite cider mill), located south of downtown, Rochester Cider Mill, located out on Rochester Road, Paint Creek Cider Mill, within walking distance to Cobb Creek, and our sentimental favorite, Goodison Cider Mill, also located within walking distance from Cobb Creek.

Before our Thanksgiving dinner, NanaB threw a "Cider Tasting." She procured a half gallon from each of the four cider mills, disguised the containers, and printed out evaluation sheets.

We all then tasted the ciders, noted their flavors and clarity, and rated each one. We all guessed which one was came from which cider mill, and noted our favorites.

We engaged in lively discussions about the interplay between clarity and taste, the flavors detected in each sip, how to make hard cider by hiding glass bottles of it in the woods to let it ferment. Which cider did we like best? Exit polling indicated that most believed that Goodison Cider Mill would eventually be declared the winner. Aunt Lisa tabulated the results.

Cider Number Four came in first. Even though its clarity was the best, the flavor was the strongest and liked best by most people. This is what cider is supposed to be. Cider Number Two came in second. Also with high clarity, this cider started strong, but came in after Number Four due to a weak finish to the taste and a slightly "corn syrupy" aftertaste. Cider Number Three came in third. Cider Number 3 was very murky, and had an intriguing, slightly "dusty" taste. Finally, Cider Number One clearly came in last. It's taste started light, and tasted very clearly like MacIntosh apples, but had a very watery finish. Clearly, Cider Number One was the "lightweight" of the group.

So, which cider was which? NanaB revealed the ciders.

Our winner, Cider Number Four, was from Yates Cider Mill! How could that be?
Our second place finisher, Cider Number Two, came from Rochester Cider Mill.
Our third place finisher, Cider Number Three, came from Paint Creek Cider Mill, and our sentimental favorite, Goodison Cider Mill produced the last place Cider Number One!

The results are going to haunt NanaB.

We recovered from our senses quickly enough, through, and finished all the ciders up.

Should we taste-test cider mill donuts next?

Stringer Thanksgiving 2010

More later, but here is the story of our Thanksgiving in facial expressions.

According to Modern Family

According to Modern Family, you can't have two fun parents. "That's a carnival." So, which one of us is the un-fun one?

Peter's doppelganger

Peter's Uncle Don thinks that Peter looks like Mike Holmes, the host of Holmes on Homes, when he's wearing his overalls without a shirt.  Well, Peter would look like Mike in the photo below if Mike was throwing a tantrum because he had to wait for his cousin, Maisie, to take her bath before he could get in his beloved bathtub.  We'll just pretend that Peter was upset that the windows were installed incorrectly by an incompetent charlatan contractor.

First, here's Mike:

And now here's Peter, pitching a fit because he's locked in Quinn's room while the bath water is running:

Maybe we can get Peter a tattoo, a tool belt, some man jewelry, and a white tank undershirt for his birthday.  And no, Peter does not have a mullet -- that's Charlotte crouching behind him and talking to her reflection in the window.

Dear Stephanie:

Dear Stephanie:

Thank you SO MUCH for asking me and my looney tunes kids up to Minnesota for almost an entire week.  I'm still in awe that you were brave enough to do that, because I'm not sure I could have handled that kind of crazy in my own home when Peter was barely three months old.  I'm flattered that you thought of our visit as help rather than one big headache.  Miss Whiny-Pants-Two-Year-Old and Mr. Crawl-Super-Fast-and-Get-Into-EVERYTHING-Eleven-Month-Old can be a lot to handle.

You are a terrific mama.  Quinn is growing up to be a scary smart little dude with a great smile and and an infectious laugh.  Maisie is gorgeous and getting stronger every day.  Watching her do tummy time should scare you a little -- she's going to be rolling over before you know it!  It's a slippery slope to crawling after that.  You have your act so much more together than you give yourself credit for, and please believe me when I say that it only gets easier and easier as the kids get older.

I think we got two great things out of my visit this week -- the cousins got some really quality time together and you and I worked out a really good rhythm that will serve us well when we invade NanaB and GrandDad's house in Michigan the week of Thanksgiving.  Even though Quinn and Maisie live a 15-hour drive away, Charlotte and Peter will grow up knowing them well if we can work out a couple of quality visits like this each year.

I feel like we're closer than just sister-in-laws now.  If we could keep that house running AND manage to get all four kids down for naps on several occasions, we could rule the world!  Now if we could just figure out how to get Miss Maisie to take a bottle...

Love,
Niki

A Brief Moment of Calm

The kids and I are visiting their cousins in Minnesota this week.  I flew alone with both kids for the first time, and somehow we made it here in one piece without getting blacklisted by the airlines.  The pilot and first officer of our plane were even named Captain Pete and Captain Charlie.  How's that for a coincidence?

My sister-in-law, Stephanie (aka Aunt NiNi), and brother-in-law, Don (aka Uncle Don), have done some great posts with photos of the Great Cousin Convention of 2010.  (Their blog is linked on the sidebar.)  I didn't bring my camera this trip, but here's one sweet shot I took with my camera phone of Quinn, Charlotte, and Peter watching Maisie in her crib.  (Charlotte looks extremely tall because she is standing on the bottom rail of the crib and the boys are standing on the floor.)  The boys are in matching outfits courtesy of their Granny Great.

This is the first time all four cousins have been together since Maisie was born in August, and it's the first time Charlotte, Peter, and Quinn have seen each other since February.  They have been playing together really well, and Quinn alternates between running after Charlotte and crawling on the floor with Peter.  With less than two and a half years separating the oldest from the youngest, these four are going to be quite the pack as they grow up together.  I fear for NanaB's house when we all invade in a few weeks for Thanksgiving!

BAZINGA!

A summary of sorts

A good 50% of the arguments Corey and I have can be boiled down to this strip.  I love you, Uncle Jerry.

The closest I will ever come to being a cartoonist...

(Made with pictures from my phone using my online photo album editor provided by my cell phone carrier.  Not sure why this functionality exists, but I thought I would give it a whirl.)