Camping

The first camping trip of the season is in the books. We had a fantastic time. Last year, we did a trial run for one night with borrowed equipment. Everyone had such a good time, we decided to get our own gear and do this a few times a year.

One of the nice things about living in Michigan is the proximity of two National Forests. We live within 45 minutes of one of them, and camping in them is an absolute blast. We have a few more trips planned for this year, and we can't wait.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Happy 1st of July

Sometimes practicality overrides tradition. That's what happened in a little town south of here that decided to have it's Independence Day Parade today (Saturday, July ) 1, instead of on July 4th. Nevertheless, we went because Molly was in the parade, riding on the float of one of the local banks. Her friend (whose Mom works for the bank) invited her, and she was quite excited.

We all hung out on the curb, waving to the veterans, the firemen, the bands, the candiates for local office, the Cub Scouts, the Girl Scouts (they didn't have cookies), the Harley riders, and the policemen. Lots of tractors too, and a few clowns. Who knew that simplicity could be so much fun.

Happy 1st!!!!

Maggie at Camp

Last week, Maggie spent 6 days at YMCA Horsemanship Camp. She certainly surprised us a few weeks ago when she told us she wanted to do overnight camp instead of day camp. I think Mom and Dad were more worried than she was.

She spent 4 hours a day learning everything there is to know about horses, from feeding, to grooming, to equipment and of course, riding. The pictures below are from the last day, when we picked her up. We had a picnic, she told us all about her week, and she was able to demonstrate for us all that she had learned.

Here's Maggie describing camp in her own words...

Camp was AWESOME!!!!! My horses' name was Lightening and he was very stubborn. His name is Lightening because he was born during a lightening storm not because he is fast. My counselors names were Hannah and Amanda(she is from England). My instructors names were Maragret and Mary. My friend name is Samatha and in horse life we are sisters because our horses are brothers. My swim test went well but I had to try again to get to blue.

Did she have a good time? She's already told us that she's going again next year.

Baseball Trip 2006

Every year since 1999, Jay and his buddies have taken a baseball trip weekend. This trip includes 3-4 games over 3-4 days at Major League Stadiums, lots of laughing, the "quarters" game, lots more laughing, and more laughing after that. This year, Jay got to see his beloved Mets (who have the best record in the National League) in Toronto, as well as the Tigers hosting the Cardinals. If only every day was as enjoyable as watching grown men play a kids game. We can only dream....

A Bird in the Hand...I mean, The Box

One Saturday, Aunt Heather called, and said she had a baby bird she wanted to show the kids. Nothing like bringing the zoo right to your front door...

Pow Wow

Every summer, at Riverside Park, which is right down the street from our house, the "Three Fires" Pow Wow takes place. The term "Three Fires" refers to the three nations in the Great Lakes region -- the Ottawa, the Ojibwe (or Chippewa) and the Potawatomi. These nations have a centuries-old alliance for purposes of trade, political relations and defense. And they come together every year to celebrate their history and their heritage. We thought we'd take the kids to learn about another culture. As you can see, we had a great time.

School's Out!!!!!

Well, summer has officially started in the Hidalgo household. The past few weeks have seen a slew of "end of the year" activity. Here's a sampling of how the kids finished out the year...

Joey finished up fourth grade with an all day field trip to one of the local county parks. Hiking, games, and a water gun fight made for the perfect end of the year party.

Maggie, who finished 2nd grade by receiving the annual Moral Character Award for her class, enjoyed a field trip as well. For the 2nd graders, it was a picnic, followed by a trip to the bowling alley.

Molly finished kindergarten well by participating in a wonderful "commencement" ceremony that brought smiles to all who were there. She's definitely ready for first grade.

Now that school is over, we're all looking forward to a fun filled summer.

Jackie Boy

Jackie Boy (just about everyone's affectionate name for our 3 1/2 year old Jack) plays hard and eats hard. When when he's out of steam, he crashes hard as he did here one night while finishing dinner (notice the mouth still full of food).

Hiking

We went hiking yesterday. One of the things the kids love to do is have "family day". And one of the things we like to do as a family is to go hiking. So, off to the state park with packpacks, water bottles and snickety snacks.

It all started pretty well, until 15 minutes in. Jack needed a break. Not a quick break mind you, a "wong west" until his feet were "wested". About 35 mintues in, we were at the beach, and 56 degree water didn't keep the kids from dipping their feet and cooling off. But soon after that, the adventure began. The trail we were on wasn't as well marked as we would have hoped, and we got a little of course. Have you ever hiked 300 foot sand dunes with 4 kids? They were troopers though, and the "family hike" was now being referred to as the family adventure. We had lost the trail, and a little worry had started to set in with Joey and Maggie. Jack however, was OK as long as Daddy was carrying him.

However, we had nothing to fear. Joey was our man, our trail tracker and eventually led us to the trail we had started on, and then back to the car.
From there, pizza, ice cream and baths capped off our Memorial Day Weekend Family Hike.

Welcome

We've talked for some time about having a family website to keep our friends and family more up to date on the happenings in our life. It won't replace the periodic emails, New Year's cards, etc. that we already send. But it will be a place for those we love to come on a regular basis to see what's going on in our little world.

We call it the Hidalgo "Thamily" because that's how the word "family" has been pronounced by our Molly for some time. And it just fits us perfect.

What has prompted us to finally do this, you may ask? Well, we'll tell you: we just got a digital camera, and now uploading photos is a heck of a lot easier. We'll do what we can to keep things up to date.

Blessings...