Mamas and the Papas

All the leaves are brown(and red and orange)...and the sky is NOT gray! In fact, October has been simply gorgeous! Lots of sunshine and pleasant temperatures. Both sets of parents have come up to visit over the last two weeks, and it was so wonderful to have them here with us. Ted's mom and dad came up for the Michigan State game, and my mom and dad came up last week for the Iowa game (such great fans they all are!). Here are lots of pictures from their visits...THANK YOU all for everything!!!

Porch decor

I bought this beautiful mum at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market the other morning...my friend Emily snapped this photo of me holding it. We laughed because we couldn't believe how big it was..it hadn't even fully bloomed yet! (and it was only $8!) The lady said it should last about 8 weeks...we'll see if I can keep it alive for that long!

Our First Fall Visitors...

Were Mimi and my brother Carleton! They drove up last Thursday afternoon and we got to spend 6 wonderful days together. We ate well, shopped well, and cheered very hard on Saturday at the Michigan Football game :) I dropped the ball on my picture taking (sweet Ted, I didn't manage to get any of him or of the four of us together). I'm sorry honey :( We had a blast though and appreciated so much them coming up here and loving on us...I drove them to the airport on Tuesday afternoon. Mimi graciously gave us her old (but in pristine condition) Honda Accord b/c she bought a new one for her that sits up a little higher. So I'm saying goodbye to my Mazda, "Fosse" and hello to my Honda who I've named "Mimi" :) Thanks for coming guys, we love you so much and had a GREAT time. P.S. That first picture has Christmas Card potential you two :) ha! ha! (we were being goofy in the grocery store parking lot!)

Labor Day Weekend

As most of you probably know (and in case you didn't and are wondering why your boyfriends/husbands need to be around a television at all times)College Football season is officially here! Oh, I must admit I'm super pumped myself and love this time of year. The colors, smells, the cooler temps, and yes, college football games! This weekend here at UM was the re dedication of the stadium (The Big House). For the last 3 years, Ted's office primarily has been working on adding suites and indoor and outdoor club seats-which has been no small task. Well, Friday evening was a sneak preview if you will of the finished product (sort of a "Christmas Eve" type feel). The University Development along with the Athletic Dept put on a lovely event to recognize The Stadium Project and to celebrate its completion. Here we are with two of our favorite donors/tail gate friends :) And of course, a few pics from Saturdays game. Folks seemed to really love the new additions and a win was certainly icing on the cake...way to go Blue!!!

Another test, sorry

This is only a Test

Testing Testing 1,2,3

Is this thing on?

Oh, why I am so "blog challenged"?!

Tailgate Dress Rehearsal.

Saturday night, a group of us had a "game day tailgate practice run" over at our friends the Jobe's house... It was a BLAST. We decked out in our Michigan gear, dined on the finest of tailgate food, and even watched a Michigan game (We selected the 2007 UM vs. Florida...we won that one!) I did not do a great job on remembering to take very many pictures, but check out this fabulous football cake Emily made :)

Anne's Weekend...Ted's Post coming soon!

Last weekend, Ted and his buddy Jon Ripperger("Ripp" as we call him) went on a golf trip to Wisconsin and Chicago. They took lots of pictures on Ripp's camera, so as soon as we get ahold of some copies I will do a "Ted post". Bless his heart, he hasn't had one in awhile-it is definitely his turn, ha!

Friday night I went to the movies with my dear friend Emily and her mom Carol (who is in town visiting from NY). We went to see "Eat Pray Love". It was really good...then Carol treated us to a delicious pasta dinner (which you'll want to do immediately after the movie...either that or travel to Italy!). Saturday night, our dear friend Katy Jackson got married. It was a GORGEOUS wedding, and a ton of fun. The girls you see in the pictures are all teachers I taught with at a studio here in MI. It was so good to see them and catch up. Sunday afternoon, we all went to a Tiger's game. Katy's family got a group of tickets and invited us all to come. It was a beautiful day, AND the Tigers won!

Oh No!!

Our blog went blank!! I'm trying to figure out where it went...hopefully I'll find it and bring it back :(

Before I begin this post, I wanted to squeeze in a brief report on week 4 of summer camp, "All About Ballet". I completely forgot to take pictures on Friday, but the girls looked so cute in their tutus (which they made themselves)and did a great job on the dance we learned that week from Sleeping Beauty. So immediately after camp Friday afternoon, I raced home to finish packing and meet Ted, and off we drove to Lewiston, MI for a fabulous weekend "up north"(yes, Michigan IS north but we went MORE north). We went with our good friends Randy and Jan Hoffman, Randy's dad Charlie, his sister Debbie and her husband Skip. Friday night we arrived a little after 9pm. We stayed up and talked for awhile. Saturday we slept until...oh I'm embarrassed to say, okay I will, 10:30am! Jan made a delicious breakfast. Ted, Jan and I went for a walk around the area, then came back to the cabin to change into our swimsuits. We then spent the afternoon and early evening at the lake tubing, skiing and riding the sea doo(spelling?) Saturday night we went to Tally's. They are known for their burgers and man are they YUMMY!!!!!! To finish the night, we made smores around the camp fire. Sunday, we went to a really nice golf course called Garland. I rode along and took pictures while Ted, Randy, Jan, Charlie, and Skip played. It was a beautiful course...there was even a bald eagle's nest on the 11th hole (saw the nest, but not the eagle). We made it back to the cabin where Debbie had prepared a delicious lunch, watched the PGA Championship, and then hit the road for AA. Thank you Hoffman Family for a wonderful weekend!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Summer Camp-Week 3

This week was Theater Dance Camp. We did two numbers from the Musical "Annie". The girls did a great job on their singing and dancing, not to mention the dramatic flair they all gave each time they performed :) We learned "It's a Hard Knock Life" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile". We made our costumes (old t-shirts + scissors + markers and paint = orphan costume). The girls loved it. Today we actually watched "Annie" just so they could understand the whole story. They were GLUED to the television. My sweet assistant Marika, helped me do their hair and "make up" (which was eyeliner smudged onto their cheeks to look like dirt). We had several parents and lots of other campers come to be our gracious audience. The girls were fabulous and most importantly, I think had a lot of fun...their teacher certainly did :)

Summer Camp Week 2

Happy Friday Blog Readers! Hope everyone has had a good week. Camp this week was all about Creative Movement. We made up walks, games, and dances. Here is a picture of the girls being silly and showing me their "peace" signs :) We had a good week and they performed 7 dances, including "Party in USA" which was a group choreography number...good old Hannah Montana!

Summer Camp-Week 1

This summer, I am teaching 4 weeks of dance camp at Emerson School here in Ann Arbor. Summer at Emerson offers half day camps which are open to all students K-8. This is technically week 5 of the camp session, but for me it was week 1...and it was SO much fun! The camp I taught this past week was called "Dance Your Heart Out". Every day we learned a different style of dance. Monday-Jazz, Tuesday-Tap, Wednesday-Ballet, Thursday-Swing. The kids learned 4 dances (one from each style) and today we got to present them to some of the other camps. The kids did an amazing job...they were an absolute riot! I had 12 girls and 1 boy. Here is a picture (of most of us) after our performance today. Stay tuned for next week's camp...Creative Movement!

My favorite line of the week was from one of my precious little campers, Esme, who told me on Monday "Boy Ms. Anne...I'm a little rusty and out of practice on my polka step...but I'll sure try my best". :)

Reunited!!

Thursday evening, two of my dearest college friends/ballet major buddies Meredith and Laura, along with their hubbys, came up to AA for a long weekend visit. We had a blast! It was so good to see them catch up. The guys bonded instantly (Ted had not met Laura's husband Kyle, and had met Mick who is Meredith's husband, only once). The three of them talked about and did nothing but golf! So us girls were pretty much left to entertain ourselves (which we were totally capable of, ha!) Friday, we went to lunch at Zingerman's Deli which is a world famous establishment I believe (it's CERTAINLY popular around here!) Friday night after Ted got home from work, he took us to tour the Big House. We then went to Grizzly Peak for dinner, yum! Saturday, the guys spent most of the morning/afternoon at the golf course. The power actually went out early Saturday morning so us girls got up and ready and headed out for the day (thankfully the electricity came back on later that afternoon). We went and spent the day in downtown AA shopping and touring around. Saturday night, we went to the Ann Arbor Comedy Club...something that is kind of cool and unique to us here. We then went and walked around campus. Sunday afternoon, the guys (you can probably guess what they did!) golfed! and the girls went to IKEA :) Later we all met up and our dear friends the Jobes joined us and we went to dinner at our favorite place, Prickly Pear. Got up early this morning and took everybody to the airport...it always goes so fast! Thanks for coming to visit us guys, we love ya and hope you enjoyed your first trip to Ann Arbor :)