60 years

Two of the fun celebrations we took part in while in Michigan centered around the number 60.

On Thursday night, we (the adults...got sitters for the little ones) headed out to a surprise 60th anniversary dinner for my grandparents.

the guests of honor

Technically, they don't hit 60 years until August 20, but we figured why not kick off the celebration early. My grandma is all about extending holidays, so she didn't mind one bit. It was so nice to be able to celebrate while both of their kids and most of their grandkids were home and able to be present at the dinner. They were completely surprised when they walked into the restaurant and saw all the friends and family sitting at the table waiting for them.

Some of the attendees...If you're wondering about the matching shirts, it's because we had family photos taken just before heading out to dinner and we had color-coded the families. Click here to see some of the shots. Kris and I boycotted matching beyond the shoot :)
As a fun gift for Grandma and Grandpa, we put together a Lotto ticket tree. Dad cut the end of a small branch off one of his trees and made a little stand for it. I tied all the tickets on and we agreed that it looked cute. As I was carrying it into the restaurant, though, I had one guy in the parking lot say, "Hey! Nice tomato plant!" and another guy inside say, "Look! It's Charlie Brown's Christmas tree!" Whatever...at least they had some winning tickets off of it :) I'm not bitter, but I'm also not posting a close-up of the tree :)

The other 60 celebration that we attended was a surprise 60th birthday party for our good family friend, Dan, who just so happens to have also become my younger sister's father-in-law in recent years. The party was at Dan and Sue's farm where Sue continues to raise a plethora of furry babies even after her own babies have grown up. It's so much fun to visit and see the mini horses, donkey, goats, cats and dogs...makes me dream of having a barn of my own!

The kids were thrilled to find two baby goats upon first inspection of the barn. After watching Sue and Dan's oldest grandson easily pick up the babies, Sam decided he should give it a try and showed up next to me saying, "Look at me, Mom! Look what I caught!"


The younger kids needed a little more help, so they were handed the goats so they could have a turn.


Grace also made great friends with Lydia, the dog. See? This kid needs a dog!

All of the kids spent most of time at the party running in the orchard, mainly because they are all city kids, and they were all amazed at the amount of green space to play in at both my parents' house and at the farm. A little while before we were going to leave, though, Sam stumbled upon a mountain of dirt that Dan had put out for his grandsons to get good and dirty in.


Needless to say, Sam spent the rest of the time at the farm right there. Once the rest of the kids spotted him there, they flocked to it, too. Not that it wasn't a hit already, but once Papa started tossing money into it for them to "find" they were so excited, they didn't know what to do with themselves!

Prying them away that evening proved to be a chore. They were all stripped down to their undies on the side of the road before entering the car and they all were marched straight to the shower when we arrived back at Mom and Dad's. And they all went out like lights as soon as they went to bed. Hmmmm, I may need to start my search for a farm around here where I could take them to explore on a regular basis...may solve my bedtime issues with Grace...

More to come on the trip, soon...yes, there are still many events to post on!