mooses come walking

Happy RED, WHITE and 'Deep BLUE Sea" DAY!

I'm in Michigan for the weekend. Clio, MI to be exact. It's a teeny-tiny little town about 20 miles north of Flint. My godparents/aunt&uncle live here. They have 2 daughters, one is 8 years older than me, and one is somewhere between 10 and 12 years older than me. Kristina, the 8+ cousin, had a baby in November, and we got to meet her for the first time today. Here is the happpppy baby Morgan getting a quick sink bath before dinner out:While I don't get to see any fireworks this Fourth of July (although some will be done with Connor and Jack next week, I'm sure), it's pretty great. Morgan is the single happiest baby in the world. I have never heard a baby talk as much as she does; Kris said she was born cooing and what not. And she has the most expressive face and eyes ever.

I don't get to see this family very often, and the two cousins less than my aunt and uncle, so it's always a nice visit. Plenty of talking about/making fun of/story telling gets done about the Flanigan side of my family by my dad and uncle (the non-blood-Flanigans) that always makes it so much more interesting. I get to hear all sorts of stories about my grandparents when they were young, and my great grandparents too. Of course, there are a couple of stories that get told every time-some because they are important enough to be told every time, and others because my uncle will say "have I told you the one about...?", forgetting he tells it every year. It's generally a good time.

There is the BIGGEST OUTLET MALL EVER a few miles away up here, which my mom was vague about whether or not we would be going. A trip to Michigan on the 4th of July without bout fire works AND the outlet mall? Not fair. My aunt announced this afternoon that tomorrow, after a big sit down breakfast with fresh sausage links and scones, we are going. Hoooorayy!

Also, I brought a few movies to watch on my laptop during the 6 hour car ride. Of course I slept the whole way up here so I wouldn't get car sick, so I didn't watch any. I brought one of my FAVORITE movies EVER-The American President. I grabbed it out of my backpack to watch tonight while I go to sleep, and I just realized how coincidentally patriotic of me it is.

Lastly, remind me to tell you the Story Of The Unbuyable Book Quest And Its Conquering. It's a doozy.