Westland, MI has an annual tradition called Mud Day. They dig a big pit in one of the city parks, fill it with water, and open it up for a giant free-for-all in the mud. We decided we had to check it out.

Kay and the kids braved the mud first. Unfortunately, Abby only lasted about a minute before she had had enough.

I spent the next hour waiting in line to use the hose to wash Abby off. The line was moving too slow, so I finally gave up and went to find Kay and Oliver. I found them getting washed off by a fireman using the hose connected to his firetruck. It looked pretty cool, but they said the water was freezing.

It turns out that Oliver did not like playing in the mud, either. And he was extra upset that I wouldn’t buy him anything from the ice cream truck. (Really, I just couldn’t pay that much for a Popsicle!) I took everyone to get ice cream cones at Dairy Queen when we got back home, though, so after that everyone was happy again.

We had a fun Independence Day. On the Saturday before the fourth, we went to a huge party hosted by one of our friends, the Tang family. We enjoyed barbecued ribs, snow cones, water balloons, and lots of good company. On the fourth, we went to the Ann Arbor parade and then enjoyed the day playing in the backyard and doing fireworks. I am so grateful for the freedom that we enjoy.

We took a trip to Toledo, Ohio to check out the zoo. There were lots of fun animals, including a cool aquarium where we found an octopus. Abby really wanted to find the sea horse in the aquarium, but we couldn’t see it anywhere. We were on our way out when Oliver came running to us shouting, “Abby, come quick! I found the sea horse!” Abby was pretty excited when Oliver showed it to her. She’s lucky to have such a good older brother.

We managed to squeeze a lot of fun in to the short week that my parents were here. We visited downtown Detroit, saw Ford F150s being built at the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, enjoyed walking around the Huron River, explored the Arboretum, played in the park, and had plenty of downtime to jump on the tramp, build with legos and tinkertoys, and just enjoy each others’ company. We love Grandma and Grandpa!