Wow, what a year!

Well, it's almost October already and boy has it been a year! Madeline has gone from very much a 5 year old in Kindergarten and all of the trials and tribulations that brings, to entering a new school as a 6 year old and excelling beyond any expectations. Let me just start out by saying, that we couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments this year.

Madeline has added to her travel log with a big trip to Pittsburgh and Niagara Falls over Spring Break. We had a blast in Pittsburgh exploring the Conservatory, what a beautiful place that is! The campus grounds were the perfect setting for an afternoon of chasing each other around, listening to a drumming circle, and eating some quad asian cuisine in the shadow of the Cathedral of Learning. Our adventures took us to the Pittsburgh Aviary and the Carnegie Museum of Art & Natural History where Madeline photographed every rock in the collection, and sketched as many dinosaurs as she could. We got to close my eyes on the Duquesne Incline and explore some of the downtown with a stop at Primanti Brothers for the biggest sandwich I've ever tried to get in my mouth! Needless to say, we really enjoyed Pittsburgh and are planning a return trip.

From there, we went up to Niagara Falls. I must say, going in April is not one of the smartest things we've done. It was quite chilly and very windy, although not crowded at all!! We stayed at a very cute boutique hotel on the American side, Red Coach Inn. The accomodations were great, but the hotel restaurant proved to be considerably slow and overpriced. Madeline loved the Falls and the Rapids. We stayed up our first night to watch the Rapids light up, but they never did. So, we decided to bundle up and walk down to the Falls to see the lights there. What a sight! We loved it! Our trip included an elevator down near the bottom of the Falls and out on a deck to get a close up view of the Falls. We were there so early in the season that the deck wasn't complete due to the fact that the mist was still freezing and it was too hazardous to extend it at that time! What a view though! Simply amazing! Next time, we're going to venture over to Ontario and see what that's like.

We ventured into Buffalo one day and enjoyed incredible wings at Anchor Bar where Madeline really liked sitting in the bar area listening to the rock and roll music on the jukebox! She and Zak had a great bonding moment!! :|) We checked out the Buffalo Zoo and got there just in time to see the Seals going through their daily routine so that was a lot of fun.

Our trip ended up an overnight stay in Cleveland and then on to the Hayes House for an Easter Afternoon Tea. Madeline absolutely loves going to tea. The house was beautiful, and the tea service was very nice. There was a local newspaper crew there and we had the privilege of being interviewed for the paper. They took photos and heard our story. The pics didn't end up in the physical paper, but they did end up online. http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BB&Dato=20090413&Kategori=PHOTOGALLERY&Lopenr=904130801&Ref=PH&GID=jRDcw/uymgt1Gb4Wahve/VbCfPToW/5s7Xa+uYDPb2E%3D

Madeline had her first birding experience. I pulled her from Kindergarten to go to Magee Marsh in Ohio to see some Warbler on their annual migration. Magee Marsh has a great boardwalk through the woods with really awesome viewing. We saw Warblers, Thrushes, even a Great Horned Owl! This is definitely something we will do every year!

We've had a few camping trips this year. I think camping is one of Madeline's favorite things to do in the summer. She gets to ride her bike almost nonstop and roast hotdogs and marshmallows over an open fire. The downside is when it rains or is frigidly cold. Unfortunately, this year was a bit rainy and a bit cold. We did have a very successful trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore which we did the weekend after she finished Kindergarten. What a way to start the summer! The beaches were beautiful, the lake was beautiful, the dunes were beautiful, the river was beautiful, the weather was beautiful! Madeline kicked my butt going up the Dune Climb! Man what a view from up there! She had fun playing with the sticks and little driftwood houses other kids had built. We spent a great deal of time on the beach building our "sleeping bears" and villages. We took a canoe trip down the Platte River where Madeline was able to row for the first time. The river was so clear and so full of life, it was really a great trip. Madeline earned her Junior Ranger badge there! The only hangup was that she didn't want to do the oath in front of the Ranger, so she did it in front of Zak and me and that proved to be good enough. Yeah Madeline! That is a place I would definitely go back to.

This was the summer of Gershwin! At Greenfield Village every summer, there is a song and dance show in Town Hall. For the past couple years, they've done George Gershwin songs. There are two ladies and two men performing the songs and little skits. Madeline absolutely loved it! We went over and over and over again throughout the summer. One of the ladies, Kelly "Mabel" would say hi to Madeline after the show and eventually got to know her quite well. So, when we would go, she and the other lady Andrea "Lillian" would sing to Madeline on occasion. I think this was probably Madeline's favorite part of the summer. Madeline began dressing up like a "Gershwin Girl" whenever we would go. We would make a point to learn something new every time we went and see a different show in the park. Now, what do you think Madeline would like to be for Halloween? Yep, you guessed it, a Gershwin Girl! So, her outfit for the park was good enough on a daily basis. But, she would prefer a dress like the girls wore in the show. So, I have been contracted to design and make this dress. It's almost done and I must say, it's cute and Madeline likes it, so that's all that counts really.

We decided to try something new this year and that was the Balloon Festival in Howell. We had never been to this event before and it was quite impressive. The area that they had for all of these balloons to get inflated(?) and off the ground seemed small, but it amazingly worked and very well. Madeline had her face painted for the first time! and she decided to be a tiger which, as far as I could tell, was the most involved design she could have chosen. It looked amazing!














Madeline was introduced to the world of Symphony this year when we went to Greenfield Village for the Salute to America. They shoot off fireworks while the DSO performs. This always proves to be a very moving event. We decided to spend the day at Greenfield Village and stay for the show that night. So, we packed a dinner and spread out on the lawn to enjoy the show! The cannons startled us all, but in a good way. Madeline made her own shirt, by stamping the words to Grand Old Flag onto a t-shirt and drawing an American Flag with fabric markers. It was pretty cool.



Alright, well, that covers maybe half of it!? At the end of July, Madeline and I took our first airplane ride together where it was just the two of us! We went out to California to visit Grandma & Papa Brown and Aunt Theresa. Well, didn't that girl learn a thing or two there as well! Grandma Brown has a neighbor with a great pool and 6 year old daughter, Alexandra. We met Alexandra on Tuesday and scheduled a swimdate for the following day. While meeting Alexandra, she was in the pool snorkeling and Madeline was entranced! She said she would like to try that. So, before our pool date the next day, we went out and bought Madeline a snorkel set complete with fins, mask, and snorkel. It took her a few tries to get the hang of it, but once that was done, she was off and running! There was no stopping her. Of course, I wouldn't let her out of arm's length so I was right next to her swimming all over the pool over and over and over again! This was awesome! So, on the second swim date, the next day, Madeline decided it was time for her to jump off the side of the pool without anyone catching her! So, she did! She jumped off the side into about 4' of water and swam under water to the ledge. Then, she started swimming above water! Now, she can swim about 15' head above water without assistance! She's come a long way. She is so proud of herself!

Well, who would have thought that the fairies would find a perfect dwelling in Chico, CA? They did! The fairies moved in right under Grandma & Papa Brown's deck!! They have a door you (or they) can decorate, a stoop for decorations for parties, and everything! Apparently, they had a party recently maybe in honor of Madeline's birthday. We saw the decorated door in a picture Madeline received for her birthday from Grandma Brown. This was very exciting!

Alright, so after California, Madeline and I hopped on another plane to head to Seattle. We really felt like world travelers that week! We met up with Zak at the airport and Madeline was very pleased to see her daddy! (me too) It was great to have us all together again and we took full advantage of it. We headed down to the waterfront where we enjoyed some Ivars and a walk along the piers before we caught our ferry across the Sound. Very enjoyable! We made our way across and headed right up to Fort Flagler. This year was definitely more calm than it has been in years past. Our bald eagle wasn't roosting in the bare tree this year, but flew between the houses several times a day to hunt. Madeline got to see Mystery Bay from the water this year. We rented a canoe and went out paddling with Sue, Peter, Sally & Dennis. We saw oyster beds, jelly fish, birds in the cliffs, and Sue! Needless to say, Sue is always the highlight of our Washington trip. This year, we hung out and played games, flew kites, explored the beaches, and even tried swimming once! Brrrr!! Madeline thought she would give her new snorkeling abilities a try in the Bay. It proved too cold even for her feet, much less her body! Then, she cut her foot on a broken shell in the sand, and that was the end of that. She was very disappointed, but quickly got over it once we got back to the house.

From Fort Flagler, our little family headed out to the ocean. We decided to make an impromptu stop at Lake Crescent and man are we glad we did! We ended up taking a great hike up to Merrymere Falls. Madeline had a lot of fun exploring the river and taking pictures of the falls. We stayed a couple nights in Forks, WA. No, we didn't do the Twilight tour! There were some great restaurants and an air conditioned room that made Forks a very nice place to stay. We ventured down to the Hoh Rainforest, but with the dry climate this year, it wasn't very rainforesty. We did happen to run into a herd of Elk lounging by the river! This was very cool. Madeline was not impressed with the rainforest, nor were we really. Maybe another time. From there, we went out to Rialto Beach! Wow!!! It was a bit chilly out on the ocean which was in sharp contrast to the warmth of Forks, but we quickly acclimated. Madeline is definitely in her element on the water. We didn't see any elk this time, but we did see a bald eagle hunting at the mouth of a river which was very cool. That never gets old! We decided to rest on a log at one point and watch the waves. Well, the waves got a bit too close and actually swept over Madeline and Zachary who were at the end of the log nearest the water and drenched Madeline. She was wet, scared, and cold! Luckily, we had a change of clothes in the car so she was dry very quickly but finished with the beach for the day. We headed back inland to get warm.

Our trip ended in Seattle at the University Inn where Madeline was finally able to show off her snorkeling skills for her daddy. They swam every night in the hotel swimming pool no matter how cold the water was. We ate delicious food in Pike Market, saw amazing views from the water tower and crossed the monkey bars in Volunteer Park, were awed once again by the Night & Day House in Woodland Park Zoo, touched a lot of sealife at the Seattle Aquarium, and just had a wonderful time in Seattle. This was a really great family trip!

Life got right back to normal for a while. August brought a camping trip to Ludington where it rained the entire whole day we were there. We spent the day inside at a "children's museum" downtown and Madeline had a blast! It was very simple, but she spent the entire day there playing grocery store, short order cook, ice cream server, postal delivery person, veterinarian, and piano player. A great spot for a rainy, windy day on the lake. We ended that trip with a trip out to the Breakwater Lighthouse and a great playground. This is another place we will return to on a better weather weekend.

The end of summer was near and that meant the Fulton County Fair! We met Chuck there and had a great time. Madeline had a bit of her own money to spend on games this year, so she decided she wanted to try the fish game (throw the ball in the cup and win a fish). So, she played and won! She played again later and didn't win, but the man gave her another fish anyway! We thought, great! We stopped on the way back to Defiance and bought a fish bowl, some food, a little sunken pirate ship, some gravel, and a small fake plant. All set right? Well, the fish lived through the night. Madeline named them Spotty and Goldie, drew their picture the next morning, and about an hour later, Spotty died. This broke her heart! Her first memorable experience with death and it was everything it should be. I don't think there's anything harder than seeing your own daughter's heart breaking before your eyes, and knowing it will happen again probably very soon. So, we did our best to prepare her for the great possibility that Goldie probably wasn't long for this world either. She was so brave. All morning, she would put her hands over her eyes and say she didn't want to cry. Well, Goldie ended up dieing as expected only a couple hours later if that. Madeline handled it without so many tears this time pretty much knowing it was going to happen. So, we decided we would do some research and get some fish when we got back home. After much research, it was determined that goldfish are not the best first time fish and they should never be kept in a "fishbowl" if you expect them to live for the 20 years a goldfish can live. This was an eye opener. Long story short, we ended up with a large fishtank, complete with a castle, beautiful neon colored rocks, and now 6 Danios. We have lost two in the few weeks we've had them, not sure why, maybe over feeding, but Madeline accepts their death and moves on quickly. She is responsible for feeding them in the morning and afternoon and loves having the fish. We've come a long way in less than a month!

Madeline started her new school, Daycroft Montessori this year as a first grader. She's passed with 100% two spelling tests now with "Super Speller" stickers, and is learning Spanish. It seems her favorite class might be music. She learns a song in class, and recites it at dinner for us. She has a great memory that girl! Her writing skills have improved so much! The letters and numbers are going in the right direction, and she's reading everything! This was a good decision. She's making a lot of friends and just generally seems to still really enjoy school. I am noticing that waking up in the morning doesn't come as readily anymore. She's up about 30 minutes earlier this year I think and that may have something to do with it. She sleeps in later on the weekends too though, so we'll just have to keep an eye on the whole sleeping in thing. Her mood is a bit more unpredictable this year. We think it's the growing/regression pull that happens with big changes. There's a lot of "I can do it myself!" as well as "Why won't you help me with this?!". It's actually good to know that she trusts her home environment so much that she feels comfortable she can let these feelings go where they go. I'm not saying, it's fun by any means, but I would be worried if she wasn't expressing. There are certainly days when we're better off in separate rooms, but really for the most part, she's a genuine pleasure.

Alright, well, Madeline is doing famously. She hasn't lost any teeth, but loves the dentist and looks forward to her cleanings. I think her arm finally "popped" this morning so maybe she'll have more mobility from when she broke it. The doctor warned this may happen at some point. At least, I hope that's all it is. Today is picture day so those will be coming soon. We don't have any vacations planned until March when we venture out for Peter & Jenny's wedding. Chat soon.