The Huddle

Signs of spring...... Mud and lots of mud!    Time Change (spring ahead) Birds chirping.  Spring sports schedules wallpapering the fridge doors Lent Soup Suppers and Worship March is reading Month  this is our last year of One School One Book - we are ready "The Chocolate Touch".   It is a silly book and easy read.   I have enjoyed the One School One Book over the years and maybe Reese and I will continue to read a book together every March Selecting classes for next school year Boat in water and walleye fishing starting! Getting motivated to do spring projects/cleaning and making lot of lists.  Next week is School Spring Break and then we start a very crazy couple of months. 

Last Saturday night I supported my parents and Marine City business community by attending their 3rd annual Llama Races.   I have been to many different fundraisers and was excited to attend this one! My dad's power parachute business Eagle Airsports LLC. became a Marine City Chamber of Commerce member a few years back to help promote his flights and to generally just be social!  The concept of the Llama Races is 24 businesses decorate a cutout wood Llama!   At the beginning of the night all the Llamas are on display and there is a jar next to each one for dollars to go in!   The Llama with the most dollars wins Best Dressed!      My mom worked so hard on their Llama and it looked amazing.    "Eagle One" was voted the Best Dressed.   My parents were so pleased and I was so proud of them.  Then comes the races.   Each race included 6 Llamas and a roll of a dice is how they moved ahead.  Fir...

For 24 years our Congregation has hosted a Chili Cook-off Fundraiser.  It started in the church basement and grew to filling Perch Point Conservation Club.   I have probably attended 20 of the years!  It is held the 1st Sunday of March and is a great way to break up the long winter and early thawing of spring.    Congregation members, their family & friends, community and anyone that loves Chili and fellowship, laughs and bake goods assemble to try out multiple pots of chili.    The pots of chili have numbered close to 30 and this year there were 22.  Aaron has been the head judge for many, many years and always finds 3 other pals to judge with him.   It is not for the faint of heart or picky eater to taste all of those pots of chili. Not knowing who the chef is that made the chili they are tasting, makes the judges even more brave.  The judges like sweet/spicy chili and preferably made with homemade canned tomatoes....

This year was Reese's last Daddy Daughter Dance.    It is always such a magical night for the girls and the mom's that plan and set up / clean up take so much pride in creating a memorable night for all the girls.  This years theme was A Night in Paris!  I was stationed at the sign in table so I got to see all the girls and the sparkle in their eyes when they proudly told me their name and teacher and I in turn told them how beautiful they looked.  There were berets and black & white strips, there were big dresses with crinolines and girls wearing tennis shoes with their dresses.   Curly hair, braids, sparkly headbands and corsages!  The decorations were pink & black and oh so Parisian!  Reese and Aaron went out to dinner with friends before the dance.   They have done that for the last couple of years and it is a nice time for the dads to spend with their daughters. 5th Grade is full of events that are...

After the craziness of the weather and of life in January and February it was great to have a night with just the gals to laugh and be creative.      My great friend Lisa , invited Reese and I to paint signs with her and her daughter Julia  (and 10 other gals) at a  cute place in St. Clair called The Craft Loft.  It was a snowy night, but it was so warm and cozy inside the loft space we painted in.   We had snacks and drinks and laughs!   It was fun to put everything aside and focus on making a beautiful sign.   Everyone's was so different and an expression of their personality.  I didn't realize until I got home that night and could reflect how great it really was to just have a night where I wasn't on the sidelines of a sporting event and that I was just with the gals!     Being able to do things like this with Reese is so special.   She did a great job and is becoming so grown up.  ...