Today was the annual tailgate party that one of my storage vendors throw at the University of Michigan football game. This year it is for the U of M v Minnesota game, and once again I was lucky 
enough to get tickets for Melissa and I to go in to the Big House and watch the game. The tailgate was a blast, and being in the stadium to see the game is always fun. Michigan winning the game (58-0) was also a huge bonus. This year was the first year that we tried parking at work and walking to the stadium though. I think this worked out well for a number of reasons: 1. we didn’t have to ay for parking 2. there was plenty of parking to choose from 3. we didn’t have to deal with all the traffic going in to the game or leaving the game. The only real downside was that it was almost a two mile walk from work to the stadium. Now that’s not a lot and going to the stadium was easy because it was all down hill, but coming back after a long day of partying was a little rough. Also, the wind was very strong today and made for a long cold walk. We still had a blast though and as you can see from the picture, Melissa and i had a great day!
First Grade School Portrait
Owls
They say you learn something new everyday, and today I learned that in order for Zales to properly inspect, clean, and put a new back on Kylie’s earrings they need to send them out. Apparently each back is custom to the stem, at least for the current stems on her earrings. 
I was not expecting this and so in order to let them do this we first had to find a new pair of earrings to buy Kylie so she could still wear a pair and we could send out her diamonds. So off we went to other stores and after some serious searching Kylie found these owl earrings that she liked. So tonight we got new earrings and sent out her diamonds to get cleaned and fit for a new back.
Mad dash to the mall
Tonight after Kylie got done taking her shower we discovered that she had lost a back to one of her diamond earrings. This would normally not be an issue because she could just put in another a pair, but she doesn’t have another pair at Daddy’s house. So at 8:45pm Daddy jumped in the car and headed to the mall, which closed at 9pm, to try to go to Zales and get a new back for the earring. Needless to say Daddy made it to the mall in time and was able to get a new temporary back for her earring. The back is temporary because it is a yellow gold back and her earrings are white gold. Tomorrow we will need to go up to the mall and see about getting a new back that matches and also get them inspected and cleaned.
Boy Trouble
Looks like the “problems” that started last year with Kylie and her 
boyfriends are going to continue this year as well. Of course these are only “problems” for Daddy and they are likely to get worse as she gets older, I guess I’ll need to find a way to deal with this eventually. So what am I talking about? Well today when Kylie came home from school she was toting along a long stemmed red rose that she got from Lestat. Not sure what I am going to do about this…
Update 9/18
Here is a picture of the rose in question. Clicking on it will bring you to the larger image in the gallery.
Ten Years, Never Forget
A Great First Day
Today was Kylie’s first day of 1st grade, and as we had hoped, she woke up excited and had a great day. She completely forgot about how nervous she was last night and when Mommy got her to school she went right up to the “big doors” and found her friends. Today was a half day as well, so when Mommy picked her up after school Kylie was a bundle of excitement, talking about all the friends from last year she saw and all the new friends she made today by meeting all the new kids in her class. It would appear that the night before jitters have all been forgotten and we are in store for a wonderful year of first grade!
First Grade Jitters
Tomorrow is Kylie’s first day of 1st grade! Unlike last year, I wont be able to take the day off to head down and see her off in the morning. However Kylie and I have been talking about the upcoming start to the school year and she has been pretty excited about going back and seeing all of her friends, so imagine my surprise when Kylie called tonight to talk to me because she is nervous about starting first grade. Through talking with her and Mommy we found out that she is worried the older kids might pick on her or bump her when they go in through the “big doors” or when they are standing outside. This is a new experience for her, going in through the “big doors,” because last year the kindergarten classes had there own door into and out of the building that basically went into the school right on the kindergarten wing. This year though, because she is in first grade, she will stand out at the main doors to the school with all of the other students, except the kindergartners. She has obviously had interaction with kids in grades above her and knows some of them through peer mentoring programs and such that the school utilizes, but the thought of being with all the older kids at one time in one common spot has her feeling a bit apprehensive. Mommy and I explained to her that even though all the older kids will be there as well they will still be in their own line based on who their teacher is. Also that the teachers themselves will also be there to make sure that no pushing or shoving goes on and that everyone is being nice. After a few minutes Kylie said she felt better but was still a little nervous. We told her that it is okay to be nervous and reminded her that in addition to all the older kids that will be there, all of her friends from last year will also be there and they will have lots to talk about, telling each other all about what they did over the summer. She agreed that would be fun and then decided she should get some rest, but insisted she was still nervous. Hopefully when she wakes up tomorrow she will be to excited to remember that she is nervous.
Are you new at this?
Today was Kylie’s annual pre-start of school year physical. All of her numbers are normal, and she is now 46” tall (3 feet 10 inches) and weighs 54.5 lbs, additionally her blood pressure is 90/60 (the nurse told us that is normal and good). The funniest thing happened at this checkup though, and I include her blood pressure because that’s the funny part. The nurse was attempting to check Kylie’s blood pressure but had some type of an issue with her pressure cuff that required her to take it apart and replace the pressure bulb. She had attempted to get Kylie’s pressure twice before deciding it was time to take it apart and when the nurse was fixing here problem, and right before she tried for the last time, Kylie calmly looks at her and asks “Are you new at this?” Mommy and Daddy laughed before we could stop ourselves and explain to Kylie that that comment was not particularly nice. The nurse thought it was funny too though and told Kylie that she was not new, but that her equipment was not getting a proper seal and so the cuff wasn’t inflating properly and she had to fix it. Thankfully the nurses are all great at Kylie’s doctor’s office and so understanding of children.
At This Minute, Ten Years Past
Today is a special day, an anniversary if you will. Ten years ago today Tiffany and I were driving out in Dearborn on our way to Fairlane Town Center when we drove past Vet Select and noticed they had a sign saying they had kittens for adoption. We had been talking about getting a pet but hadn’t really made any decisions yet, so we decided that if they were still open when we were done at the mall that we would stop in on our way home. Much to our surprise, as we drove past hours later, they were still open; so true to our plan we went in. As it turned out they had only one kitten left; an approximately six week old female tortie. She was the runt of her litter (born stray in a woman’s yard who brought them all in to Vet Select) and the last one left, but she looked so cute and lonely in her cage so we asked to see her. They brought her out and set her on the counter next to us. She was tiny with very large eyes and she immediately came over and started to nuzzle up against us and meow. When Tiffany looked up at me I knew I wasn’t leaving without this kitten. I told the staff we would take her, but I needed to go next door to Pet Supplies Plus and get some items first, because we had nothing for a cat. We filled out all the necessary paperwork and paid her adoption fee, then we decided on a name. Tiffany originally wanted to call her Mischief, but I suggested Princess, and that is what we settled on. They said they would get Princess ready, they needed to take her stitches out as she had already been spayed and determine what shots she still needed, and when we got back with all her new supplies (food, water and food dishes, toys, collar, leash and carrying crate) we were all set to go home with our new addition. Once we got in the car we immediately found out that she was not a fan of car rides as she cried the entire drive home. However once we got home and in the house she was fine. We kept her secluded to a single room for the first few days, and once we opened the door to her room so she could explore the rest of the apartment the first place she ran to was behind the toilet. To this day that is one of the first places she runs to when she is frightened. Over the years a lot of things have changed, but threw it all Princess has been with me; my constant companion. Melissa tends to say that she is more like my dog than a cat because Princess will, more often than not, come when I call her and sit by me. In fact she has a way of sitting next to me and glaring at Melissa sometimes, or perching herself on the arm of the couch next to me like a gargoyle, so Melissa says she is my little guard cat. I know they say that a dog is man’s best friend, but I’ve never had a pet quit like Princess and I am not sure what I would do with out her.
