Happy Easter! - Week of Mar. 30th

A long break from school began on Thursday for Cameron.  He and Kelsey tried a new game of traversing down the stairs in snowpants!  It provided a good cushion as well as slide power.

On Friday, Cam and Jane met buddies Liam and his mom, Betsy at the movie theater.  We were excited to finally see the Paddington movie!  We all recommend it and between the four of us, a large tub of popcorn was easily devoured.  As Betsy and I have proven in the past, when our boys get together, it is a near impossibility to have them looking at a camera at the exact same moment.

Easter morning we were all busy getting ready to meet the Raisch family for church.  Cam and his parents enjoyed meeting some new people and the service was good.   As we ventured towards home, someone was anticipating an Easter egg hunt.  After finding 12 expertly hidden eggs, Cam relaxed with his Oma & Opa on the porch swing.

There were also special baskets for the family.  For Jane & Chris -flowers as well as a beautiful basket filled with the freshest fruit.  Cam received some delicious chocolates, a new book and bubbles you can bounce on your hand with a special glove!

We were so happy to see cousins Coco and Libby, who joined us for Easter dinner.  For the first time, Cam said the prayer for our dinner and thanked everyone for being there.


After dining, with our bellies stuffed full of spiral ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies, fruit and rolls, we huddled together for a family pic.

Later, Chris & Cam decided it was time to work off some of that delicious food by exercising...and laughing!

Big Helper - Week of Mar. 23rd

Cam has always been ready and willing (and asking) to help with things.
In Chris' office, there are many different options one can work on and each of them usually involves technology.

Jane walked into the office one evening to hear Cam telling Chris to "re-boot it Dad" - valid advice that seems to fix most issues.
Sometimes, though, a closer inspection is required and Cam actively assists his dad with all troubleshooting activities and is definitely much more patient with electronics than his mom is!



Over the weekend, we had some buddies visit.  Emma arrived for egg decorating festivities.
She had a great idea to use tape to make a cross on her egg and then dip it in the colored solution.  After it dried, we took off the tape to reveal

the cross-- pretty creative.  Cam was quite intent on dipping the eggs to just the right color equation.  We even colored one half of an egg blue
and the other half yellow.  Many thanks to Oma for bringing us the hard boiled eggs in advance- that certainly saved some time!

In the afternoon, buddy Will and Auntie Jo stopped by to hang out for awhile.  It's always cute to watch these two together.

One year apart and getting older, but not too old to give a good buddy a hug!!

Afternoon Dates - Week of Mar. 16th

Sometimes, people come into your life for a moment, a day, or a lifetime. It matters not the time they spent with you but how they impacted your life in that time...

Cam spends quality time with two lovely ladies after school.

In the beginning of the week, Kelsey awaits her buddy's arrival off of the bus.
The warming trend allowed the duo to have an impromptu picnic outside for a late afternoon snack.
Kelsey works to help Cam with his physical therapy activities, being sure to wrap smiles and fun around every challenge.  Whether it's working on taking steps, sliding down the stairs, or balancing on a ball, each and every exercise has a purpose.


Taylor comes over mid-week and finds different crafts, baking, and homework to occupy her time with Cameron.
The favorite treat at the top of the list is definitely brownies.  For some reason, Cam always volunteers to clean out the remainder of the chocolaty goodness.
Taylor asked if she could take the handsome boy to see a play at her school on Saturday.

From the time Cam woke up on the weekend, he kept asking what time the play was and when he was being picked up.
For his first official play performance, he wore his dress shoes and black pants.  The play, "Once Upon a Mattress" was put on by the Forest Hills Central High School.  Taylor's best friend, Paige, was performing.



It was a long afternoon for Cam, being picked up at 2pm and returning close to 6pm.  He had a great time and enjoyed a tasty chocolate snack during the intermission.

Taylor posted a pic on Instagram with the caption "Best date!"   A big thanks to her for thinking of taking Cameron and spending the quality time to introduce him to his first play.

Cam liked seeing all of the performers after the musical.  Hopefully, this is just the beginning of his love for theater!

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!!