Teagan Loves Frogs

This story is so good - it warrants it's own post. Ryan was mowing the lawn tonight when he called out to Teagan - Teagan headed for home and suddenly she was squealing and jumping up and down - something exciting was going on. But what?!??!

Next thing I know Teagan is running back across the street, where her friends were still playing and she was carrying her Frog habitat (thank you Uncle Jon and Auntie Heather for that wonderful habitat - insert only a little bit of sarcasm here). All the way she was yelling "I have a frog and it's bigger than Chub Chub!!" Keep in mind Chub Chub once held the record for the biggest frog she ever found. That record only lasted two days - sorry Chub Chub!

We could not believe the size of this frog - and I was in shock that it was living in my flower bed!! Teagan took the frog out of the habitat so we could all see how big it was (ok, it was Kari who prompted her to take it out) and when she set it on the ground it took ONE big leap - all the kids ran after it but it quickly took another GIANT leap so they kept running. On the third giant leap the frog landed right on the sewer grate and fell down into the sewer. There was a collective gasp from all the aduts and a scream of sadness from most of the kids. It's gone - forever. Or so we thought.



Next thing you know Chris and Ryan are removing the cover to the sewer and Ryan tried to use a net to 'rescue' the elusive creature. No luck; Michigan J. Frog took refuge under the street. But wait - there's more!!! Before we know it the cover is off the sewer directly across the street - if he keeps going he'll head right into our trap!!! Didn't work that way either - he decided to sit right in the middle - under the street. With Chris on one side and Ryan on the other we tried to scare it - but our bangs and screams didn't phase him; then out came the garden hose. Yup, let's push him out with water.

Trust me when I tell you this is Ryan.

And on this side of the street is Chris.

After 15 minutes, and many visions of Stephen King's clowns in the sewer, Michigan J. Frog was in captivity once again.

The laughter was unbelievable - Chris on one side of the street and Ryan's feet sticking out of the other (yes, he was head first in the sewer hole) many a car slowed to see - but none were brave enough to stop and ask.


It was a successful night - lots of laughter and happy kids to end the evening. Where is the frog right now you ask - it's in my garage plotting to find a way out of Teagan's habitat.

Teagan's First Day of Kindergarten

What a big girl we have now! She woke up very excited and did a great job getting ready for her first day! As we dropped her off in her classroom we could tell she was trying to hold back her tears - thankfully there were a lot of new toys to keep her attention off the fact we were leaving.





At the end of the day we arrived to pick her up and all she could say was "Ahhhhh - I wanted to play longer!" I think we could call it a very successful first day of Kindergarten!!

Mackinac Island - Tour of Michigan 2009

The conversation always goes a little like this:

Mack-a-who? Mackinac Island silly! Never heard of it? There's horses - no cars, and fudge - the fudge is to die for, and the ferry with the rooster tail...  this is about where the blank stare turns to a slight chuckle.  But I'm not laughing. Mackinac Island is a great family vacation spot or a wonderful couples retreat - just check it out in the movie 'Somewhere in Time' with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour!

We've been wanting to bring Teagan there for quite some time but it's just never worked out since it's another 3-4 hours beyond Marquette which makes it a 9 - 10 hour trip from Minnesota. This year we had a good excuse to visit the island, however, since Jon and Heather's wedding festivities were taking place on Drummond Island on the far eastern point of Michigan. We took the week off prior to the wedding and made way toward Mackinac Island with a stop over in Marquette for a quick visit with family. It was also our last hurrah of the summer as Teagan starts Kindergarten next week!!

Teagan loved the island and all the fun things we got to do. She was not, however, pleased with the island aroma of fresh horse droppings. It was a bit difficult for me too, being pregnant made those smells seem so much stronger than I remember as a child.

It was still a great time! We ate fudge, rode bikes around the island, ate fudge, relaxed on a horse-drawn carriage, ate fudge, visited the Grand Hotel, ate fudge, and stayed at the Mission Point Resort. It was a great first visit for Teagan!!

The view from 'beneath the bridge' in the Lower Peninsula - where the trolls live! We could have gotten to the island from the Upper Peninsula but Teagan really wanted us to drive across the bridge.

The view of the bridge from the upper deck of the ferry.

There's the Grand Hotel!!

Teagan's legs were not long enough for the tandem bike so we got the tag along for the day! She LOVED it!!

Hanging out in front of the Grand Hotel!

In front of the marina

Next Stop Drummond Island, MI for Jon and Heather's wedding and then a 12 hour drive back to Minnesota to get our little girl ready for school!!