Busy Weekend

Thanks to the anonymous comment in the last blog -- Skadoosh yourself!

Yes, more "Kung Fu Panda." Above is a picture of Alyssa at her birthday party this weekend. The theme was "Kung Fu Panda." She had a blast, I hope.

The party was at the Holland Community Aquatic Center. We had pizza, cake then swimming. Most of the kids wanted nothing to do with the pizza and cake -- really! -- and just wanted to swim.

The coolest thing: For the first time, Alyssa went down the big curly slide! She had been afraid of it, but was persuaded on Saturday to do it. And, of course, she loved it. I think she ended up going down it about a million times.

Then, on Sunday, we all went to Jayne's family reunion at Grose Park in northeastern Ottawa County. Alyssa, Elspeth and her friend, Maggie, spent most of the time swimming in the lake. I watched. No way was I taking off my shirt in public.

To get to the park, we can either hop on the expressway, make a huge loop around then arrive. Or we can go the way I like -- the back streets and county roads. So, I had to hear about us "being lost" or "taking forever." Sheesh. I took the family through Beaverdam, Allendale, Eastmanville and Coopersville (home of Del Shannon!) , and they got to see the county landfill and enjoy seeing the heart of Ottawa County agriculture. And they ask, "Are we there yet?"

We took the expressway back.

Thought: Next, ask me about my job.

Kung fu flick

The family went out to see "Kung Fu Panda" Saturday. Believe it or not, we all enjoyed it!

Usually, one of us has something negative to say (OK, I usually have something, what shall I say, "critical" to contribute). Ask me about "Lord of the Rings" and Jayne will give me such a look. This time, though, we all agreed the movie is worth seeing.

I liked how each character had to find out what was important to him or her, then, more importantly, accept it. I feel I can use the movie to talk with kids about self-worth and humilty, among other things.

The movie was a joy visually as well -- the scene where Oogway fades into the peach blossoms is beautiful; and the fight scene on the wooden bridge over the fog is worth the wide screen.

Best of all, the movie was genuinely funny. I think that's because I could see Jack Black doing all those moves. I always like Black as the iconoclast. Go figure that.

Thought: We're not going to see the lastest Indian Jones flick together. It's best.

Edge of the world

Thanks to Geodude and BL for sharing their gas prices. We're back up to $4.05 or more. I expect $5 by July 4. I'm just glad the Kia gets more than 30 miles per gallon ... even if I have to hunch down to fit in it.

Above is a photo of the Holland Harbor Lighthouse, also known as Big Red. I took a ride out to the south pier in Holland last weekend before all the big rain storms to enjoy the views.

I don't recall going to the lighthouse before and I enjoyed climbing all over the breakwater and watching the boats go in and out of the channel.

To get to the lighthouse, you have to check at the guard house to the cottage association then walk (in my case, ride) through narrow sidewalks that abutt the cottages, then down a dirt path that turns to loose sand before you reach the pier. I carried my bike through the sand, much to the amusement of the boaters sliding in and out of the channel.

More water

When I got back from Holland, the storms rolled in. Lots of flooding, 5-6 inches of rain in a few hours, roads collapsed with one washout killing two people. The basement flooded.

Elspeth was really freaked out by the storms. She was sobbing and wringing her hands. She really flipped when the tornado siren blew (it's a few blocks away) and we all went into the basement for the strong storms to pass. The kids and I slpet downtairs that night (me on the floor!). My back!

Alyssa is bothered by the thought of tornadoes and constantly assessed the situation. At one point, she spent 15 to 20 minutes trying to decide if a hurricane or tornado is worse (I told it's the former).

Thought: Here comes the sun ... we hope.