Category: family

Weekend Getaway-Pt. 2 – All Aboard and an Art Museum

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, family friendly16 Comments

Yesterday I shared a little bit about our crazy day getting to our destination, and about an amazing bookstore. Today is all about the train! Buckle up, this is going to be a long, photo heavy post. Maybe refill your coffee..

Our Airbnb was 40 minutes from the station, so we got up early to drive to Akron. I was super nervous. The train itself is not wheelchair accessible, however it does have an ADA car that wheelchair users can ride on. The area we sat in, the skydome car, is not at all, so our plan was to leave the wheelchair in the car and Billy would carry Wyatt up to our seats. I have no idea why I was nervous about this, but I was. I didn’t need to worry however, because boarding went perfectly.

We felt pretty fancy, heading up the small staircase in the train to our seats. There were about 8 tables that sat four people in our area, and windows above us, forming the dome. The car we rode on is called the Silver Lariat, and was part of the California Zephyr back in the day. Now it transports tourists up and down the tracks, alongside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Wyatt absolutely loved every second of the ride. And so did Billy and I!! The ride was beautiful, and we saw a beaver marsh, lakes, trees, and a woman working on the most amazing cut flower garden in her yard. There are stops along the way throughout the park, but since we didn’t have Wyatt’s wheelchair we just rode the train as a roundtrip ride, a total of two hours.

This was such a fun way to start the day, and we loved it so much that we want to go back, maybe during the winter. I totally want to see snow out the window and pretend I am in the movie White Christmas. It was well worth the drive to go on this ride, and well worth the relatively inexpensive tickets for the skydome seats.

After the train ride, we went to the Visitors Center at Boston Mills in the park. We had some ice cream, and Wyatt completed his Junior Ranger Badge.

When we finished up at the National Park, we weren’t ready to pack it in quite yet. So we found a nearby nature center, the Brecksville Nature Center. The building was really cool, with carvings decorating the beams. It also had a nice sized trail that we could take Wyatt on in his wheelchair. We even saw a couple getting married in a small intimate maybe 5 or 6 person wedding ceremony. We tried to keep a respectful distance and maintained quiet while we passed them.

After tooling around the nature center, we were ready to head back to our house. We were a little wiped out! So we got some takeout, took it back, and relaxed in front of the television. We were packing up the next day to head home but we had one more adventure before we did.

We weren’t sure in the morning where we wanted to go; there are so many options! The Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, the zoo, the aquarium – we just didn’t have enough time left to hit them all. Thank goodness we are just around the lake and can go back easily enough!

We ended up choosing the art museum. I wanted to make sure that we had more than enough time to spend in the Natural History Museum, so we are definitely going back for that soon. And while Wyatt may not have had as much fun as he did on the train, he did have fun. Billy and I however really enjoyed our visit. There are so many famous artists on display here! Picasso, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Rodin, Warhol, and Monet. Sigh. Monet. I love Monet. And I got to stand in front of one of his Water Lilies paintings and it was incredible.

We also saw a dining room rug that once was in Louis the XIV’s palace. It was immense and absolutely gorgeous.

I also may have accidentally set off an invisible alarm system….ok, I did. But I didn’t mean to, and I wasn’t really breaking a rule. There were these chairs, you see, tapestry chairs with wolves in the center, and going into full homeschool mom mode, I was standing next to it, gesturing and pointing to the wolf in the middle and explaining to Wyatt how they were based off fables and blah blah blah – and my hand went over the invisible alarm in my wild gesturing apparently. The alarm was not silent. Wyatt’s eyes went wide and I was like what is happening. A security guard did come over and she told me I set off the alarm, and told me so many people do that – and said that some people even sit in the chairs!

Billy and I also went nuts in the Asian arts area, over all the pottery. We felt so knowledgeable after watching The Great Pottery Throw Down. We were throwing out terms like we were experts.

Wyatt was super bored in this area. He perked up when we went to the armor room though. Both Billy and Wyatt really loved that room.

I met them over there though, because I wanted to spend time fawning over the Faberge…

And I need to wrap this up!! We of course all had favorites. Wyatt loved the armor room the best.

In addition to the armor room, Billy really liked these two pieces, but particularly the Bats and Peaches dish.

My favorite pieces were the Faberge, a Monet called The Red Kerchief, which depicts Monet’s wife Camille, which is said to have been kept with Monet his entire life, as he loved it dearly. I also absolutely loved this painting of Nathaniel Olds, painted by Jeptha Homer Wade.

I love it so much. This is what it says about it on the website. (and on the placard under the painting)

The green-tinted spectacles worn by Olds were designed to protect the eyes from the intensity of Argand lamps, a type of indoor light used during the early 1800s. These lamps burned whale oil, and many people worried that its bright flames might damage eyesight.The painter of this portrait founded the Western Union Telegraph Company in 1854 and soon became one of Cleveland’s wealthiest industrialists. His grandson, Jeptha Wade II, was a founder of the Cleveland Museum of Art and donated the land upon which it stands as a Christmas gift to the city in 1892.

It also apparently has inspired Halloween costumes in the Cleveland area. I can see why, it is such a cool painting!

And like I said, I need to wrap this up. After exploring for a few hours, it was time to hit the road. Thankfully our ride home was uneventful, and we were all happy to see our pets when we tumbled into the house two and half hours later.

If you get a chance, check out the train and the Art Museum. They are definitely worth the trip!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, family, Michigan15 Comments

Hello everyone!! It is a rainy day here today, and I have to admit, it is making me feel all happy inside. I needed a rainy day. Wyatt and I are going to go slow this morning and then later on we are going to the museum to see the dinosaur exhibit before it is gone. When we get home, we are painting. It should be fun!

Where to begin? I will start with Billy’s medical procedure on Tuesday. It was a regular type thing that everyone gets at some point as they age, but it was the first time Billy had ever had anesthesia so it was freaking me out a little. They told me that they were only going to give him just enough for the short procedure, and that most people wake up immediately once back in the room. He spent the day before getting ready for this procedure (I am sure most of you can guess what this was at this point) and Wyatt and I kept busy doing other things which I will talk about next, and then we had to be at the hospital bright and early the next morning. I am all over the place, I apologize. I blame the fact that I am still drinking my first cup of coffee.

We were shown to Billy’s little room and they told me I could stay there while he was having his procedure done. I did take my embroidery with me, and so many nurses came in and looked at it while I was stitching. They all thought it was cute, and mentioned that they had been thinking of doing something like it. One nurse told me that she used to do it with her grandmother when she was little and would like to pick it back up. It was sort of neat how it was a conversation starter. And the anesthesiologist was right on – Billy started to wake up almost immediately when they rolled him back in. He was very groggy and doesn’t remember it but he was up (ish). We got a good report from the doctor and then we were on our way! Wyatt was with his grandma while we were gone and she reported that he did excellent as well – although he refused to eat or sleep while I was gone. So I need to work on that guys! We are just together so much. I don’t have many sitters available and then there is homeschool and his therapy anyway.. but we need to work on this.

So that was Tuesday. Let’s throw it back to the weekend. The Sunday before Labor Day we went to my brother’s for a fire, and it was such a relaxed night. Little Wild Child doesn’t give her parents a break though, she cracks me up. Mermaid Girl was a kid that would sit and color and play for hours in one spot – Wild Child never ever stops moving and running around and getting into everything. And she gives you the most mischievous smile as she does! She is funny. I did get her to sit down for a few minutes. She likes to put things into containers now (at that stage lol) and I took the game Qwirkle with me, which has a million little wooden tiles in a bag. So I dumped the bag and mesmerized her for a few minutes with them. Mermaid Girl was there too – she brought out a whole collection of cat stuffies and toys for me to view. It was cute.

On Monday, Wyatt and I went to Greenfield Village briefly. We were going to ride the train a few times and walk around but the bees and wasps were insane! I am not sure what the problem was but they were just swarming us it felt like. So we rode the train once around and then went to the gift shop instead – which Wyatt told me was his favorite part. Of course. Lol. I don’t even buy this kid stuff everywhere we go, so it is funny to me he likes to shop. He did pick out a sticker for his water bottle while we were there though this time and he was very happy with it.

Wednesday, Wyatt had therapy where he continued to do awesome, then in the evening we went to my mom’s senior apartment building because Elvis was in the house! My mom hasn’t been doing well with her mental health lately and it was nice to get her outside and doing something fun. And honestly, it was really fun. The impersonator did a great job and had many of the residents up and dancing. Wyatt was bopping along to the music, and even Billy and I were singing too. It was a wonderful evening to be outside too, perfect really. It was a nice night.

And now it is Friday! Pizza night! Field trip, art day. Tomorrow is game night and Sunday is when Billy and I watch our movies for Comfy Cozy Cinema – this week is the Great Exotic Marigold Hotel. We may have a few other surprises in store as well for the weekend, we shall see.

And that is that for today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Up North Trip – Part 3 Raven Hill Discovery Center

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family7 Comments

Our last full day, Friday, we split up. My little family went one way, and my brother and his family went another. They headed to the beach and rockhounding, we headed to the woods. I had done some googling and was curious about this place called Raven Hill Discovery Center, which was about 45 minutes from our cabin. It is a place of learning that combines art, history, and science, and best of all, the website said it was accessible! I spent some time inspecting the website and images online, and saw that at the very least there was an accessible treehouse in the woods. We weren’t sure what to expect honestly, but we were so pleasantly surprised by what we found!

This place was like a hidden gem, tucked away in the quiet northern woods, away from the tourist crowds and tourist attractions. From the initial grounds, it is not overly impressive. Just a few low buildings, a parking lot, and you can sort of see some of the stuff from the car, but not really. But we were willing to see what it was all about, and headed on in! And boy, was there so much to discover!!

We got there just in time for the reptile talk, which you know our family enjoyed. If we hadn’t just sprayed ourselves all over with bug spray we could have draped the corn snake over our necks, but we had so we just admired her beauty. We did get to meet the bearded dragon though, and the sulcata turtles, of which they had four. All of their reptiles are rescues from the area – one reason they have so many sulcatas. They start off so small, but then get gigantic. They also had two tarantulas. I had been considering getting one but now, no. I am uncomfortable with their urticating hairs that fill the air like fiberglass if they decide to shoot them out. I noped out of that decision after learning that.

After the reptile talk, we explored the rest of the building, which had so very much to look at! There was a big magnet table in the middle that had a very powerful magnet, with signs saying to stay three feet away if you had something in you that would react to the magnet, like a pacemaker. Wyatt’s shunt is now magnetic, and although I know that he can go in an MRI machine, it still freaked me out so we stayed away from that part of the room. However, it didn’t matter since there was a lot of other hands on things to play with and explore.

I talked to Cheri the owner while the guys played a bit, getting the lay of the land and learning the map and which areas were the most accessible, then we headed outside.

Our first stop was the Earth Tones Music Garden, which reminded Billy and I of the Blue Man Group. Wyatt of course loved playing all of the giant instruments, and once he got tired of it, we headed through the Exploring Beyond Jurassic Park trail, which is a short trail that details the geologic history of the earth, complete with “fossils” for kids to touch, and from there, we walked over to the schoolhouse and played around in there a bit. Wyatt really loved ringing the school bell, and Billy and I posed for silly pictures.

After we finished fooling around at the schoolhouse, we decided it was time for the woods and the treehouse!

We played around here a bit, then walked over to the Ancient World. It was much, much larger than we anticipated, and would be such a great field trip for a school group or a homeschool family, especially if you were learning about a particular time in history. Wyatt loved “Ancient Egypt” and the Easter Island head was amazing, especially when you learn that it was built by middle schoolers!

(Easter Island Head photo credit goes to Raven Hill Discovery Center website)

Can you believe we still weren’t done? We completely missed a few trails, including the Connections Trail that was built during Covid. We did see part of it though.

Before we had left the facility itself, Cheri had asked us if we would check the accessibility for a new feature they are building, a boardwalk for the pond. After doing the Ancient World, we were ready to see the pond and headed over to the building, where Cheri joined us. She told us that it had originally all been swamp, and now it is a beautiful pond for visitors to enjoy. I believe she said it is part of a Boy Scout’s project, and is designed for all to view how the pond goes from shallow to deep, and to get closer to the water and see down to the bottom. We saw some turtles swimming about while we were there!

Cheri had one more “job” for us – previewing the loan they have from the Smithsonian, called the Musuem on Main Street! She wanted us to wheel through and see if the wheelchair could fit, and it did! She explained to us that this exhibit is only on display in rural areas, and designed to bring the museum to areas that may not have many museums, which I think is awesome. The exhibit itself was really neat from what we could see, but by this point Wyatt was done and rushing us through.

Overall, we had a blast at Raven Hill. At just $10 per person, it was a very affordable day as well! I highly recommend this place to any family visiting the area, for those looking for accessible options to explore outdoors in Northern Michigan, for local schools in that area, and of course, for homeschool families! What a fantastic resource this place is! It looks like they do a whole heck of a lot more too! For more info check their website, it looks like there are classes and workshops and all sorts of different creative outlets as well.

This was an awesome way to spend the last day! After exploring we met back up with my brother, and all of us went out to dinner before heading back to the cabin to clean up and pack for leaving the next morning.

We had such a fantastic trip, so many memories were made, so much relaxing and shopping and exploring was done. I am so glad that we had this time together!

Up North Trip – Part 2

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Michigan, mom life12 Comments

Days 2 and 3 were filled with perfect weather. Sunny, warm but not too warm, the kind of weather you want on your vacation, you know? I loved sitting outside in the morning, drinking my coffee and listening to the birds. I have another app – the Merlin app. My little family of three gets up hours before every else, so the first two days we would get our breakfast and head outside. I would put on the Merlin app and watch it light up with all the bird names that were in the area. It picks up and identifies the bird calls and if you pay attention, it helps you learn the different calls yourself. It is really neat. I think we wound up with 19 different species of bird?

Being early birds worked out well! By the time we had our breakfast and had hung out, everyone else was tumbling out of bed and getting their coffee and food. So of course to be helpful, Billy and I volunteered to hold the Peanut so that her parents could eat more easily. Such a hardship I know, right? She is the happiest little morning baby! All smiles and giggles. We also had a morning of painting in pajamas, which was super fun too. I had Peanut “hold” a crayon and scribble so her art could be displayed as well.

Once we were all ready, we would head out for our daily excursions! The first full day we opted for nearby Petosky, which was a lot of fun, and the second day we explored Indian River itself (that was painting day, so we had less time).

However, Indian River has another attraction I have always seen advertised, but never actually had visited, called The Cross in the Woods. We spent a lot of time wandering the grounds, which were beautiful. I can’t imagine attending church there, it would be amazing honestly, out in the woods like that. Very different from the small Chapel in the Pines, but just as lovely. The Peanut slept very peacefully while we were there.

While we were there we saw this statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Native American from the Algonquin-Mohawk nation, who was known as the Lily of the Mohawks. She became a Catholic saint. I am not Catholic but I did find her story very interesting. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Her statue was lovely and the base was covered in turtles, which I found to be such a wonderful recognition of her native heritage of Haudenosaunee.

After visiting The Cross in the Woods, we just putzed around some more in town and at the cabin. I always liked winding down in the evening too, with this crew. We actually didn’t get to have many fires, thanks to the weather that developed, but we did have one, and it was pretty awesome.

The next three days though all, were cold and rainy. It did interrupt some of our plans but we let those plans go and just had fun together however we could. We explored nearby small towns, Wyatt got his beautiful hair cut because no one liked not being able to see his eyes (which I will admit, his bangs were way too long) by a barber in Cheboygan. This barber was so nice guys, his name is Brad and his shop is right there on the main street. He cut Wyatt’s hair for free because we didn’t have cash, and he knew that up front. We did discover my brother had cash though and ran it in after, so we did pay him. We visited Mackinaw City, which to my dismay is very different than I remember. A lot of the stores, like the Island Bookstore which I loved, are gone, replaced by souvenir t-shirt shops. Like most of Mackinaw City is t-shirt shops. I am guessing the economy and the pandemic hit the area hard, or maybe just tourism sunk its teeth in years ago. It’s been a long time since I was up there so I am not sure. I was also disappointed to read that the Forts in both the City and on the Island were not super accessible for wheelchairs. I mean, I understand on some level as they are historical buildings, but the one in town is not super accessible because you have to cross 500 feet of sand to get to it – that can be changed somehow, I would think. Wheelchairs and sand just doesn’t happen. It was pretty cold and foggy and we opted to skip the island, at least during those days. My brother was considering it for Friday, when we were all sort of splitting up for the day. The kids did go to the local Build Your Bear (like Build a Bear) and each got a stuffie. Wyatt got a wolf, and Mermaid Girl picked a cat. They were both enamored with their choices. We also spent a quick chilly hour at the beach gathering rocks, and stopped in at Chillermania where the kids got tons of books and met the author Jonathan Rand, who signed their books. So the days were not a total loss. We also had our best meal during those days, at the Noggin Room in Petosky. Delicious!

And while we had some gray skies and rainy days, our friends and family back home were going through the worst weather – those tornadoes that hit. Five of seven of the tornadoes were within 10-20 miles of our home. My brother and I were watching the weather and texting friends to see if we needed to alert our mother. No tornadoes hit our actual city, but everyone says it was the scariest round of storms they have ever been through, even family and friends who are not normally afraid of storms.

The most important thing was that we were together, just hanging out with no agenda or schedule or somewhere we needed to rush off too. We made memories that these kids will remember forever, being with family, especially grandpa.

I have one more day to cover guys, and that is it. I promise! But it was a really good one, so it gets its own post.

Northern Michigan Memories

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Michigan22 Comments

If you live in Michigan, chances are you have gone “up north” at least once in your life. Some of us travel about, stay in different areas, while others have had permanent homes that have housed decades of memories, or even rentals that their families have stayed at for decades as well. Some people camp, some stay in hotels, but regardless, you are up north.

We went a few times when I was a kid, sometimes all the way up to Traverse City, sometimes a little bit south of the TC for my grandma’s birthday which was in July. I remember swimming in the lake with my cousins at a rental on Houghton, endless video games in the game room at the Holiday Inn in whatever city that was we stayed in, walking up really hot sand dunes with my mom and dad when my legs were only 4 years old long. (Not the big dune!)

Billy and I always used to head toward Mackinaw or the UP on our trips. We camped, we stayed in a hotel that was really little tiny cabins, we stayed in a big hotel. We walked on beaches, hiked through the woods, visited the Sawmill at Mackinaw at least a dozen times.

We’ve eaten fudge like the fudgies we are, visited historic Fishtown, shopped in Glen Arbor. Spent days in Traverse City, sampled the wines at Mission Point, and visited the lighthouse. Just so much. So many memories that I can’t do them all justice in this post. My dad took me and the family all the way up to the Upper Peninsula in high school when I was considering Northern for college. We saw Copper Harbor, mighty storms on Superior, waterfalls, Paradise, the shipwreck museum, and ate in a restaurant that was the living room of a home. Billy and I have ventured to the UP as well, to Germfask renting a tiny cottage and visiting Pictured Rocks. Thomas Dambo just built a troll up there in Germfask, so we will have to go back!

It’s been fun watching these two through the years. They are so big now it seems! And now our pictures will have tiny Bebe too!

We may never get anywhere like Disney together, but to me these days up north are precious and full of fun. Of game nights, crafting, sitting around the fire. Kayaking, swimming, stories, and laughter. Looking for Petoskey stones (and now I want to find a Yooper Stone!), cedar forests, the scent of conifers, one of my favorite things in the whole world. I always know when we have reached “up north” – when the road at the side of the highway is just lined with all the big evergreens, reaching toward the sky, pointing our way ever north.

Look at that little face!

Thanks for looking back with me!

My Sorta, Kinda, Camping Shopping List

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, travel11 Comments

My husband was bound and determined to get us in a tent camping this summer. The idea did not thrill me, I am not a camper. It’s too much outside. Like, I like to be outside and do outdoors things but at the end of the day I like to be in a house or a cabin or a lodge or hotel room or something. Not a tent that is basically like being outside, where it is hot and stuffy or cold or just smells weird or bugs can get into or bears can take out the side with one swipe of a mighty paw. But… the guy puts up with all my whims with barely any complaints so… I made a reservation for a campsite through hipcamp. Baby steps guys. This one is on a farm nearby and looks super cute, and is only two sites, and they are not close to each other. I thought it would be a good starter camp for us – well, Wyatt and I. Billy camps all the time. Just not with us.

Of course, this meant though that I had to browse the internets to see if we needed anything for our overnight camping trip. Which led me down a path of adding things to a camping list. I mean, we don’t need all this for our intro trip, but if it goes ok and we do more camping, we may need to add to our stuff. Billy has all the actual things we need, those things that are useful and actually needed for camping – my list is more…. extra.

Note: This list does contain affiliate links that would provide a small compensation to me if you were to purchase something, at no extra cost to you.

This nifty neat picnic table cover that is fitted is calling my name. I love a citrus fruit pattern in the summer, and I am always a bit squeeged out by picnic tables. They always have yuck on them. This looks perfect to cover up the yuck and keep the table area clean while we are camping.

Um, fun right? I would like to see unicorn flames in our fire. Not like burn a unicorn obviously, but just pretty unicorn and mermaid colors. These magical flames would probably be cool for Wyatt to see too!

If you read here, you already know that coffee is an important part of my morning. I am a literal zombie until I get at least a cup in me, so the coffee situation needs to be a high priority. I really like this percolator! I love that it is stainless steel, a good sturdy material, has a lifetime replacement guarantee, and the company is veteran owned. This is something I am probably going to get for our upcoming trip, for sure, because I think we could even use this on the stove in our kitchen, so dual purpose! Or what about in case of a power outage? We could make a fire in our firepit in the yard and still make coffee! Coffee is so important! LOL.

So this is something else I am thinking about getting before our little trip. I can’t decide though between the quippy little phrases or the names. I think it would be a fun surprise. I mean, it would be even better over magical flames, do you agree?

Remember, I said this list was going to be a bit extra. Look at this! A cutesy little s’mores caddy!

And for a little in-tent comfort…. a tent fan and a giant mattress. Confession: Billy purchased a giant mattress already for camping. He did it last year in hopes that I would agree to go. So we do have this already. He used it alone on his last camping trip and he said it was really comfortable!

And of course, one of my own camping journals!

And just for me things! If I make it through this camping overnight, I could definitely wear that shirt. The headband might be a necessity though! With my insane hair I will 100% have camping hair and sometimes I just don’t feel like braids or a pony.

So are you a camper? Or an outdoorsy non-camper like me? Or are you more of a city or beach vacationer?

A Full Father’s Day: Classic Cars and a Picnic

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, family10 Comments

We had a very vintage Father’s Day. Every year on Father’s Day, Greenfield Village has a Motor Muster, and is jam packed full of classic cars, vintage style refreshments, and historic re-enactments. We have been going for a few years now, and this year by far was the absolute busiest we have seen it. There were also three times the cars on display as well!

I took fifty billion photos but I will refrain from sharing all of them – I really took a million. We all had favorites though, and favorite areas! Billy loves all things VW and they had so many this year. Our favorite was a 1977 Camper Van that has been in the same family since 1981. Wyatt wanted to get in it so bad – he is apparently a new fan of them as well. They would be pretty cool to tool around in! One of my friends in high school had an orange one and I didn’t appreciate how neat it was until much later. The green one pictured is the one that has been owned by the same family since 1981 – it is even the perfect color!

This year Hagerty Driver’s Club had old Broncos on display, and they were a huge draw, especially since the new Broncos are out. This is the Motor City all, so we are all about cars here. I dream about owning a vintage Bronco, they are so awesome and massive.

I settled for a polaroid of my guys posing in front of it.

Wyatt and I both also liked this crazy looking van. It was so super glittery and colorful how could you not like it? Wyatt also wanted to get in there and play too. Apparently we need some sort of van.

We all loved the historic re-enactments – they were all CCC and Forest Service related, so of course we did. Billy and I love that whole era so it was really neat to walk around the CCC encampment, and meet the women of the “She-she-she”. I loved that they were teaching women real skills so that they could get jobs, things like refinishing furniture and sewing. Eleanor Roosevelt did not like women being left out of the opportunities that were presented by the CCC so she started her camps for women to learn these skills. There were also “Forest Rangers” from the 40s. During the war, these men were usually out managing timber for the war efforts.

However Wyatt’s favorite moment of our time there? Meeting the pack horse librarian who gave him a library card. Prepare for us to go exploring a new rabbit hole together!

Ok and finally, the Vernors truck!! Vernors is the ginger ale choice in Detroit. It is the cure all you know. It can heal any ailment! And look at that mischievous looking imp on the logo.

Ok last photos just for fun…

We left after lunch and headed home for a quick little nap. After nap, Billy wanted to go to our favorite picnic spot, where we like to just go and relax and enjoy the shade and breeze that we always get there.

It was a very full, outdoors kind of day and was completely wonderful!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, family, garden13 Comments

Good morning everyone! (or afternoon or evening or whenever you are reading this!) I felt like just having a chat this morning while I drink this wonderful, lifegiving, cup of coffee.

I’ve been sharing about so many of our big events lately, Wyatt’s EEG, RicStar, but I haven’t shared many of our small moments or just small joys – even as simple as just this cup of coffee, which is nothing special, but still one of the best moments of my day, that first sip of that first cup.

Every morning, I get Wyatt his breakfast, make my coffee, and check on all of my little creatures. Our tadpoles have made some exciting new developments!

They are now teensy tiny little toads! Well, except one late bloomer. That one is still hanging onto its tail and is still very tadpoley. It is swimming around in the water. This container is pretty small and the water shallow because they need more land right now and don’t necessarily have the strength to swim in deep water yet. Sadly, I learned that the hard way. These little ones are the size of my pinky nail, I swear. They are so small. I am going to raise them a bit longer because they will just get eaten or drown if I release them now, they are just so baby still. Although I told Billy it will be hard for me to let them go, and I do have two giant tanks still, just sitting in the basement…. I could name these three Peter, Paul, and Mary! Or Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Or Huey, Dewey, and Louie. So many options. Toads are more of a pain to take care of than lizards though, at least for me. So, they will probably end up being released into the pond when they are big enough.

My caterpillars are getting huge too. Monsters! They are at the eating machine stage right now and have quite a few that have already gone into chrysalis. I also still have some wee little baby caterpillars too. I am at capacity with caterpillars right now! So many!! These are Black Swallowtails, I am not doing monarchs this year, and after this little group I will probably be done with caterpillars for the season too, although caterpillars will keep being born on my rue and lovage until fall.

My strawberries are going like crazy too!

We took Wyatt to a city street festival the other day. It occurred to us that he has not really ever been to one, and our city has them constantly. He was pretty excited. It was the BBQ and whiskey fest, so we went early and had macaroni and cheese that was delicious, and left before the crowd got crazy. We also got a blue-raspberry slush from this super ornate tent with slushes. And seriously, we are terrible parents because this kid has never seen an amusement park ride apparently in his life. He could not get over the Ferris wheel or little mini tiny kid roller coaster these things always have set up. Wyatt is not allowed to ride anything that can whip his head around due to his shunt, so it just never entered our thoughts to even take him to things like this before. He was content to watch, and didn’t ask to ride it, he was pretty blown away by watching it rocket around. He also enjoyed watching people come down the big giant slide – thankfully not like the Belle Isle slide debacle from last year!

Annnnnddddd…. the most exciting news of all! Wyatt’s adaptive bike came on Sunday! Two weeks ago the clinic where Wyatt goes to therapy, the social worker there, and I all worked on his application for an adaptive bike. One week ago I got the email that he was approved, and then Sunday, we got the bike! We were all shocked that it came so fast!! Wyatt was so excited that despite being super exhausted from our super fantastic and very full Father’s Day (more on that tomorrow) he wanted to get on it immediately, no shoes, not properly hooked up, but just on it. We were all super excited, honestly. I am so happy that we got it so fast, now we can use it for months and months before winter comes.

And that is all from my little corner of the world this morning! How are you all doing?

Strawberry Moon Party!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, mom life7 Comments

Saturday was the Full Strawberry Moon, and we finally revived our moon parties! We had missed a few due to illnesses and surgeries and babies being born, but now we are back on schedule! And the strawberry moon is one of my favorites in the whole year – it’s just such a fun theme.

The Strawberry Moon derives its name from Native Americans, as this is the time when wild strawberries would ripen and be ready to be picked – and eaten! My strawberries are just starting to ripen too, and honest to Pete, we had our first red ripe strawberry in the garden Saturday, just in time for the full moon that bears its name.

Anyway, I was super excited about this moon and celebrating with the kids. We always have such a good time, and this past party was no exception. I spent Saturday hitting up the dollar store, baking a cake, and decorating, and while I puttered about Wyatt and Billy headed out and bought the plants the kids were going to plant.

When Mermaid Girl arrived, I already had the Merry Magic Mac and Cheese (frozen Stouffers, the kids’ favroite) in the oven. While it was continuing to cook, we read the full moon story that is part of the Kids Moon Club, and the kids colored in their strawberry coloring pages. By the time we were done, it was time to eat!

The kids enjoyed the mac and cheese, and the cake especially. I enjoyed the cake too! (Duncan Hines for the win!) Oh, we also had strawberry watermelon juice which was also delicious. Billy and I felt like kids eating this obviously designed for children menu, but it was fun!

Next up – the main event- the craft! This is always the kids’ favorite part. This time I had them paint terra cotta pots to look like little strawberries, and once it dried, plant the plants inside. They turned out super cute! We played the game Pop the Pig while we waited, which is a super simple, fast game if you are looking for one, and kids crack up when the pig eats so much finally that his jacket pops open!

However, the fun did not end here! We still had our strawberry lantern sunset walk ahead of us! I had bought these battery operated lanterns from the dollar store, and drew little dots all over them to look like seeds. Then Billy took construction paper and made the top leaves and voila! Done! So simple and the kids loved them. Our walk was beautiful too – it was the perfect evening, cool and breezy but not too cool and breezy, you know what I mean? (also how did my kid get paint in his hair?)

By the time we got home, it was time for Mermaid Girl to go home and for the kids to get ready for bed. I was sure ready for bed! We did get to see this little peanut too, for a minute.. she was a little cranky but I did get some smiles out of her! She was tired too.

Tiny Bebe.

By the time Wyatt was all cleaned up and put in his jams, and happily sleeping and hopefully dreaming of strawberries and moons and playing with his cousin, the moon was up. My brother texted that it was huge and pink but I literally could not see it from my house! I did hang up the lantern though.

Next month is the Full Buck Moon, and you can bet I am already planning for this one! Then in August we are planning a big ol’ party, with all of his little cousins and his friend Tadpole Girl, at his grandma’s pool for the sturgeon moon, which I think I might just make more aquatic themed… I mean, sturgeon just aren’t that fun, are they?

A Bear, A Beer, and a Bit of a Scare

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Michigan17 Comments

Friday morning we loaded up the car, picked up my mom, and hit the road, heading north to Bellaire, MI. We were meeting my brother, SIL, niece, and SIL’s mother there for the start of our vacation! And after four hours, we did.

But first, we saw a bear. Like a real one, just standing by the road, looking all bear like and big. I was happy to be in the car! Then, just a whole ten minutes down the road we arrived at our first stop, Grass River Nature Preserve for a hike, and I was not as happy. That bear could be there too! Or another one. Or many others. And I am sure there were! When I went into the visitor’s center I mentioned it to the woman working and she was stunned that we saw one, which did not make me feel any better. She told me that it is really unusual to see one during the summer and that it was probably heading to town to eat from a bird feeder. She did ask me to let her know if we saw it on our hike.

Our plan was to just take a short walk, about a mile, then head to Short’s Brewing for lunch before heading on to our cottage. It was a great little walk – I love the scent of pine needles and pine trees and the minute we got out of the car we enveloped in it. Our walk was quick, with the Galloping Grannies leading the group at a grueling pace (not really but it was very fast paced lol). The rest of us were moseying, looking around, spotting wonders in the underbrush. Like the mushrooms Dead Man’s Fingers! They are well named and rather creepy. My niece also entertained us with stories of glowing pink wolves and giant foxes that lived in the woods there, and overall it was a great walk through nature. We didn’t have time to explore the whole preserve but I am planning on going back to do just that!

We then drove the few minutes into Bellaire for lunch at Short’s. My brother had been there before but it was our first time. And it won’t be the last! It was absolutely delicious. I had the Someday sandwich, which was like a club sandwich, while Billy had pulled pork and Wyatt had the kids pizza bites, which he devoured. For beverages, I tried the Gitchy Gitchy, which is a Kolsch with lemon and cucumber. It was fantastic and refreshing. Billy had the Prolonged Enjoyment, which is an IPA. We went into the take out order area, and ate across the street in the lot where they have tables set up for outside dining. And promptly divided up into two camps – the full sun people and the shade people, or as my brother said, the sun people and the moon people. Lol.

Guess which camp I was in?

After a very filling lunch, conversation over a beer, and some shopping for howlers and growlers to take to our cottage (we got a howler of Sandia Loca, my brother got the Empress Catherine) we were back on the road.

We pulled up to our home away from home after about half an hour or so, and were so ready to just settle in and relax.

But we also were excited to check out the lake..some of us more than others.

Billy, Wyatt, Chrissy, and Mermaid Girl headed down the hill to the lake while the rest of us were doing I have no idea what. Probably checking out the rental. After a few minutes though, the rest of us headed outside too.

My brother, mom, and I were standing about halfway down, chatting about the lake and how pretty and all that when I heard a splash. I immediately was on the alert, and saw Wyatt being held by Billy on the dock and Chrissy patting his back. And knew that my kid had somehow fallen in. Wyatt can’t swim yet although he loves the water, and apparently he was reaching down for the water, lost his balance and fell off the dock! (Billy was sitting right next to Wyatt on the dock and was halfway in the water before Wyatt even made it to the water. He was in the water a second or two before Billy hoisted him up. I still of course had a heart attack) However, he was with two extremely fast acting adults who love him and jumped into action, with both Billy and Chrissy jumping right in after him, no hesitation. The water was shallow and clear and he was up and out in seconds. By the time I got there, he was trying to slide back in, the little otter. And since he was wet and it was shallow, we let him, but with many close eyes on him. And of course once he was in, it was game over, Mermaid Girl was in as well.

The water was warm and the kids had a blast, before we all headed up, showered the kids, and all settled in for the night.

And that was the end of day 1!