The Gift of Giving- Week of Mar. 9th

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.  ~Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur

The snow is melting quickly now and we can feel spring in the air.  Michigan has experienced an unusual amount of sunshine starting the day with some spectacular sunrises.

The week included building a birthday project for Katherine...the idea was Ms. Ann's, it was created by Chris, supervised by Cam, with support from Jane.  The gift was to build the cornhole game (bean bag toss) with one side set up as U of M and the other side, MSU.  The history of the game is mostly unknown.  One story claims that the game was first played during the 14th century in Germany, then rediscovered in Virginia, and in the tundras of Alaska, within the last century.  Because the craft was quite labor intensive, Ms. Ann saw Cam nearly every day this week.

Saturday was the official birthday celebration for both Katherine and Ms. Ann since their birthdays are so close together.  We dined on delicious steak and crab at Katherine and Paul's house and then played games, including but not limited to cornhole, catch phrase, Hollywood game night and others.

We are often struck by the realization that this group of people, our extended family, wouldn't be in our lives if it wasn't for Cam.  It is the gift that keeps on giving ...the gift of others.

Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  And today?  Today is a gift.  

That's why we call it the present. 

~Babatunde Olatunji, also attributed to Alice Morse Earle

Big Movie Day - Week of Mar. 2nd

Some experiences provide similar reactions whether you're a kid or an adult.  The same anticipation, excitement, and thrill are still there.

Cam's weekend started out with breakfast at Arnie's restaurant.  He feasted on scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns, sausage and fruit.  On the way out, the cakes certainly looked tasty.

Next, we were off to Costco, one of Cameron's favorite stops.  It could be due to the consistent food samples provided at every turn there. One of our items to pick up was a new office chair for Jane.  Upon arriving home, Cam and his dad put it together very quickly.  Of course, the chair had to be thoroughly tested.  Cam took multiple spins around and was a bit dizzy when he stopped.  The office chair passed the spin-o-rama testing and was promptly placed at Jane's desk.

The best part of the day was yet to come.  Emma, Cam and their moms had an outing planned to the movie theater.  We all wanted to see the Disney movie "Big Hero 6."

The experience of buying tickets and standing in line for popcorn is one that never gets old.  Of course, it is difficult to ration the tasty treat before the movie starts.  Quite possibly, we were halfway done with our popcorn when the theater darkened and the flick started.

It was a great movie filled with action, laughter, and a bit of Disney sadness mixed in.  We all giggled at Cam's reactions of "whoa" and "why did he do that?" peppered throughout the film.


Many thanks to our buddies, Emma and Patti who made this such a memorable day.


We were surprised to notice, even though we'd seen it many times before, that the sculpture in the courtyard of the cinema, is actually three C's on top of each other.

We had no idea there was artwork dedicated to Cam next to our favorite theater!

Off to McDonald's - Week of Feb. 23rd

Although winter continues to hang on, the wildlife is out foraging for food as noted by the deer down by our mailbox.  We have experienced more sunshine than usual, though, and the blue skies are a welcome sight.

Oma came into town to spend the night on Friday.  It was an exciting evening filled with books, games and a delicious dinner.  It's always a treat when Cam's grandma is here.  In true grandma-fashion, she's ready to play any game, and provide some baking tips for her grandson. The memory game is one of Cam's favorites and the duo also baked some yummy biscuits together.

On Saturday morning, a family outing to McDonald's was on the agenda.  Auntie Karen sent Cam his very first gift card for Valentine's day!
Although Karen couldn't be here, Oma was willing to go with us.

Cam hadn't had a McD's breakfast, so he decided to try everything.  He and Chris shared the "Big Breakfast" which includes 3 pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash brown, and a biscuit.  Cameron couldn't stop laughing about the fact that he was eating a "big tater tot" for breakfast!  Turns out McDonald's is pretty busy on Saturday mornings.  Cam talked to a truck driver who was headed to Minnesota for a delivery.  The truck reminded Cam of his favorite show "Mighty Machines."  Many thanks to Auntie Karen for such a fun treat!

To round out the weekend, buddies Emma and Cam played some Zingo, which is like bingo with an automatic dispenser.  There was much laughter when the pals each filled up their Zingo card at...the...exact...same...time!
Cam and Emma were convinced this rarely happens.
Pretty exciting times in the Weatherford household!

Welcome Home Mom! - Week of Feb. 16th

On Monday, Cam had the day off for mid-winter break and Kelsey was here to do schoolwork with Cam, play some games and exercise.  One of our favorites is Yahtzee!  This is a family tradition as Jane was a regular player with her Grandpa Orton.
Cam was excited to roll a Yahtzee on this play and proceeded to proclaim it quite a few times!

Jane was off to Dallas, Texas this week for work.  It was a long time for her to be gone... early Tuesday morning departure with a return flight late Friday afternoon.  She wasn't sad to leave the frigid temps behind, but being away from her boys wasn't easy.
However, as boys tend to do, they kept pretty busy.  Chris and Cam, his supervising assistant, worked on a software project called "raspberry pie" while Jane was out of town.  Essentially, it's a video/camera interface that you enable by coding the software.  Shown here is the video being projected on the tv.

Also, while Cam's mom was away, the Forest Hills Focus newsletter showed up in everyone's mailbox.  The lead story was Meadow Brook’s Project Unify:  Not All Superheroes Wear Capes.  A grant was approved and provided to Meadow Brook's social worker, Ms. Ginny, The grant supports four main areas: a unified sport, a school-wide campaign for diversity/acceptance for all, inclusive community service projects, and a Youth Activation Committee. Meadow Brook has the youngest population of students participating in Project Unify in Michigan. There are 70 students participating in Project Unify and LINKS at Meadow Brook this year.  Click on this link to access the full article: Focus Newsletter

On Friday afternoon, Jane arrived home to lots of surprises, thanks to Ms. Taylor, her friend Paige, and Cam.  A delicious cake, balloons and signs decorated the entry and kitchen.  Of course, the best thing to come home to is Cam's super, snuggly hugs!  Jane greatly appreciated her welcoming committee after a long week of work away from home.


Over the weekend, Cam ventured to Emma's house to check out the backyard ice rink.  A favorite ice rink sport is broomball.  Cam is trying out his "brooming" skills in the frigid weather.

It's such a simple quote, but one that's so true.
As Dorothy says "There's no place like home!"

Valentine's 2015 - Week of Feb. 9th

Valentine's flowers from the boys!

The simplest, unexpected spoken word can do wonders for a mundane task.  Jane does the laundry each week, normally in the evening.  Cam will help sort the laundry and will also tell his mom if any clothes fall onto the floor between the washer and the dryer.  On one such evening, after the business of a full work day, Jane walked by the living room with a basket of clean clothes.  Cam said, "Mom, thank you!"  Somewhat surprised, Jane turned and asked "For doing the laundry?" to which Cameron replied "Yes, Mom!"  It is in a thoughtful moment like this that makes doing chores a much more pleasant experience.

"Love Coupons" Craft

Cam's Valentine's party was on Thursday at school and Jane had volunteered to do a craft with the kids and bring in a treat.  The love coupons were created by Cam's mom on the computer at home and then the kids had to write in what the coupon was for.  Some of the more creative ones included "not fighting with my brother/sister" and "movie night with my family" and "breakfast in bed for my mom and dad."  Cam and Jane made heart-shaped finger jello for a treat.  Ms. Erin's is one of Cam's favorite helpers, as shown here.  The students decorated handmade "mailboxes" for all of their Valentine's and each one was busting with treats and cards!

Oma and Opa came to stay with us for a couple of nights due to mid-winter break for Cam on Friday.

Grandma worked on reading with Cam most of the morning.

They baked muffins, played games with Opa, and enjoyed lots of quality time together.  Chris & Jane even had a night of free Cam-sitting and went out to dinner with good friends.  

And Cam certainly was in excellent company himself!  Thanks Oma & Opa for the best Valentine's gift ever- the gift of yourselves!!

Game Night! - Week of Feb. 2nd

Kelsey, Cam & Emma

When you have kids, you realize that one of the greatest gifts someone can give you is... the gift of their time.

Kelsey offered to practice swimming with Cam at the Y.  He's been enjoying his lessons quite a bit and couldn't wait to spend an entire morning with his buddy and pro lifeguard.  Not only did they play and work in the warm water, they also had brunch at McDonald's afterwards.
Quite the double treat for Cam and his parents!

Melissa, Cam & Kayla

Cameron's part time job with Grand Valley started again.  This semester, he is working with Melissa and Kayla.  Ball exercises were the highlight of the PT time with the graduate students.

Friday night kicked off our first annual Game Night with our extended family, Katherine & Paul, Ann, Molly and Gordy.
An official game night isn't complete without lots of silliness!


Katherine and Molly turned into the "Singing Sisters Supreme" as they serenaded Cam in the kitchen and had him act as a backup singer and play the piano.


After a delicious array of taco-inspired dishes and sides, we settled in for a game of Headbands and then Twister!  Hollywood Game Night was  a total hit as well.

The camera timer makes for some hilarious pictures as it automatically snaps ten photos, one after the other, while everyone attempts to get into a different pose.

We can't wait for the next game night in March when we celebrate Katherine & Ann's birthdays!

On Saturday, Emma spent the day with Cam creating their unique Valentine's to pass out in class next week.  We were so busy working on our crafts, that picture-taking was neglected.  But here's a little preview of the finished product...

Unexpected Ice & the SuperBowl - Week of Jan. 26th

We usually pay attention to the weather forecast since it can change so often in Michigan.  This week, however, we seemed to miss the fact that our area was due for some heavy-duty ice overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning.
So, bright and early Thursday, Cam woke up, ate breakfast, and was finishing getting ready when his parents finally checked their technology outlets to find, much to their surprise, that school was cancelled for the day!
Of course, the first thing Chris and Cam decided to do...go outside and test out just how icy it actually was!

Winter didn't subside much over the weekend.  On SuperBowl Sunday, we invited our Windcrest neighbors to hang out and watch the game.  By the time the football game kicked off, it had already snowed close to 6 inches and wouldn't stop until over 4 more inches fell.
Fortunately, our neighbors were all within walking distance!
We had a most delicious dining experience eating tasty chicken wings, cheese dip, make-your-own-salad, fruit, and homemade granola.
We were all hoping the healthy stuff cancelled out the "not so healthy" items.

The football game was exciting and watching the kids play their own games and interact with each other was just as entertaining.

The snow didn't subside all day long, even well into the evening.  Which is why seeing the sunshine "after the storm" certainly makes one smile.

Bouncing Back - Week of Jan. 19th

The week started off with a swimming lesson and looking forward to a visit from Oma on Thursday and Friday.  Cam did not have school due to record-marking days for the teachers.  On Wednesday, though, Cam came home a bit early when he wasn't feeling well.  Instead of having lots of playtime with Oma, they shared quite a bit of couch time together...

On Friday, things were looking up and Cam had his appetite and laughter back in full swing!  We were sad to see Oma go, but so very thankful for her time and help, as well as risking exposure to illness.

We had a visit from Miss Ann on Saturday as she and Cam compared who had the coolest glasses and how smart they both looked.

One of the toughest parts about being sick is not being able to play with your friends. Fort building is an art that some kids really excel at.

On Sunday afternoon, with Cam supervising and Emma creating, the multi-faceted fort was complete.

It just may be that some of our greatest thoughts, ideas and inventions were realized in a homemade blanket fort.

Your friend is your needs answered. ~Khalil Gibran