Caitlin's NHS induction

Caitlin was inducted into the National Honor Society last night. We are very proud of her, she was also in the National Junior Honor Society this year. In addition to maintaining a high GPA, she is required to do at least 20 hours of community service per semester.

More baby pictures

Click this thumbnail to see more pictures of the day our wonderful grandson Austin was born.

Introducing...

Austin James ----
May 6, 2007
2:43 AM
8 lb. 9 oz.
21.5 inches





What a wonderful, alert grandbaby!! Everyone in the family is doing great. I am going to bed now, it's been a long, exciting night :-D

It's Official ;->

Another fast weekend

Boy, another weekend is over again. One week from today, our first grandchild is due! Where does the time keep flying off to?
Saturday, Brad and Caitlin worked on a church community service project, while I worked until about 1:30, then took Buddy on a long walk and stopped at a garage sale down the street. I haven't been to a garage sale for awhile, though I used to go almost every weekend when the girls were little. I found a cute little decorative tulip vase with tiny painted wooden tulips, and a small delft painted vase the family had gotten from the Netherlands, which reminded me of our own Holland. The tulips we have planted here are looking beautiful, but it is just not the same as in Holland where there are miles and miles of them.


Saturday night, we played Wii bowling, and Caitlin and I learned a trick that Jacki told us about to get a 91-pin strike in one of the training games. Caitlin taught Brad the trick on Sunday. It is really fun; you roll the ball along the railing. At the end of the railing it falls off, creating a sonic boom that knocks down all of the pins from the center outward. Click on this link to see a video of it on YouTube.

Sunday after Mass, we cooked ribs on the grill (well, Brad did the grilling) and they were delicious! Saturday and Sunday were both beautiful days. Later in the afternoon, we bought some perennial flowers and Brad did a great job planting them. We are supposed to get some rain in the next few days, so that should help them grow well.
Sue Janusz called and asked to borrow one of our Dutch costumes to wear in the Children's parade for Tulip Time this year, so I got that out and she picked it up. They were in town because Cara graduated from the U-M Saturday (Bill Clinton was the commencement speaker).

Visit with Heather at the U-M Plastination Lab

Heather, a good friend of mine from GVSU, is now a high school science teacher. She brought her Anatomy class to visit the Plastination Lab at U-M yesterday. I was able to meet up with them and see the facilities as well. It was incredibly fascinating, but not for the faint of heart. It was great to see Heather, and I hope we can get together again soon since she is only about 45 minutes away.

Found the camera recharger...

The camera recharger somehow slid under the back seat of the van. Brad found it during his work travels today. Now we will have two when the new one arrives, but that's okay. Nick (that worked in our lab last semester) has four cell phone chargers! I uploaded some of the pictures I took last week to yesterday's blog.

Busy week...and lost camera recharger

We had a busy week last week. I took pictures on several occasions, but the camera battery gave out Sunday. We can't find the charger, either :P so I can't upload and post them. Brad ordered a new charger online (it was not too expensive), so we should be getting it in a few days and can post our pictures then. Hopefully, Baby Boy Gill (Buff;)) will wait until we recharge to put his appearance. Jillian is due two weeks from today, so he could really come any time. Jillian was born two weeks early, but that probably doesn't mean anything. We are very excited, I know I have been dreaming of babies!!

Anyway, last Tuesday, Brad and I went to the U-M Biomedical Graduate Student Council (I am a GSC representative) fundraiser for Detroit Community High School. We buy science equipment for them with the proceeds from the fundraiser. It was at a bar/restaurant called the Arena. The GSC raised over $1300 this year! I have gone every year and never won anything at the raffle, but this year we won two prizes- a $35 gift certificate for Douglas J salon, and $25 gift certificate for Seva vegetarian restaurant. Rachel and Jim won a $25 gift certificate to Best Buy. The big prizes were a Wii, a spa package, and airline tickets. It was an exciting night.











Thursday night Brad, CCG and I had dinner at our friends Melissa, Todd and Henry's. Rachel and Jim were able to come, too. We had a potluck and played our Wii afterwards. Another fun night out. I am happy that CCG was able to finish her homework early and come with us. I think the prospect of taking all the adults to school on the Wii games was good incentive!

Saturday, we had a picnic here with a visiting Fulbright Scholar (Alex) and his family (wife Chia Ying and three daughters-Jasmine (8), Jamie (6), and Janelle (3). They are in the U.S. from Malaysia for three months and he is working in our lab while he is on sabbatical. They are renting a house right around the corner from us. We barbecued chicken and ribs and had s'mores for dessert. The girls were bundles of energy- they enjoyed making bubbles, drawing on the etch-a-sketch and playing with Buddy, although he scared them a little at first. Buddy was a very good boy, and even laid his head in Alex's lap, hoping for a treat. We all had a great time, and played Wii games most of the afternoon. We even made new "Miis" for each of the girls.














Sunday, we drove to Sandusky to attend a wedding shower for one of Brad's nephew's fiancee. The shower was fun, and we got to catch up with a lot of family we haven't seen lately. It was a beautiful day, and a pleasant drive. I was glad to get the chance to spend the afternoon with Jillian before the baby arrives. She looks great, but is getting a little tired and sore. She doesn't look like the baby has dropped yet, but it won't be long, now! Brad and Brit played golf while we were at the shower, and Brad won by one stroke.






Jillian had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, but I haven't heard how it went, yet, so I guess that's all for now. I am looking forward to watching the new episode of "Heroes" tonight.

Dan May concert

Saturday, Brad and I went with our friends Rachel and Jim to Dan May's concert in Maumee. He is a friend of mine from high school. Brad's niece's husband David played percussion for the band. We had a great time and there were a lot of people there from Sandusky and St. Mary's.

Hope College visit

We took Caitlin and her friend Colleen to visit Hope College Friday. It was a fun day, and really reaffirmed Caitlin's plan to apply to Hope next year. Sue and Craig invited us to dinner afterwards and it was delicious.
The night before, Caitlin had Dutch Dance practice and costume inspection. We then picked up Colleen and she stayed at the hotel with us because the college visit started at 8AM the following morning.

American Idol

I know I don't usually comment on my blog about television shows, but watching American Idol is one of my guilty pleasures.
I don't really have a clear favorite, but I kind of like Blake. I don't think he will win, but he may get as far as third.
Brad is totally enamored of Jordin Sparks and thinks she is going to win it all. Ask him about her and he will go on for fifteen minutes about her talent, stage presence, etc...
I sure hope that Haley goes home this week. She looked like a prostitute last night, and I am afraid she might do a pole dance next week to get votes.
Sanjaya was surprisingly good last night. I could have done without his deep, soulful gazes directly into the camera, though. That was kind of creepy.
My choice for the bottom three this week: Haley, Phil and LaKisha. I think LaKisha may be going home in a surprise elimination.

Easter

Easter morning, we discovered that the Easter bunny had stopped by our house and left some treats. We still have fun with this, even though there are no little ones in the house any more. Caitlin and Buddy had fun finding them, but we are all looking forward to next year, when Jillian and Brit's little one will be here. Hopefully, he will be old enough to enjoy the hunt. Caitlin really liked the bendy bunny we found, it reminded her of "Tom the giraffe" she got at the San Diego zoo when she was four. She named him "Phil the bunny" :) Brad had fun hunting, too, and also found a little time to relax afterwards, before we got ready for Mass.



Brad, Caitlin and I then drove to Sandusky to eat Easter dinner at Roadhouse with Jillian and Brit, my brother Joe, my Dad and Rita, and some of her kids and their families. It was good to see everyone, and the food was good. We did not need to spend the money, though. We are trying to cut down on our unnecessary spending, but something always seems to come up.

Afterwards, we went to Jillian and Brit's to play with our Wii game the rest of the afternoon before heading home.

Jillian's baby shower

Jillian's in-laws had a baby shower for her and Brit on Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of fun, the food was delicious, and they got some great gifts to help them welcome their new baby in style. Jillian's college roommate Shannon was also able to make it, even though it was a long drive for her that day. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Jillian and Brit's visit

Last weekend, Jillian and Brit came to visit, and we had a great time. Jillian was able to see my new lab space while Brad and Brit cooked lunch :)
Doesn't Jillian look radiant, and the two of them look so happy? Only a little over a month left...

First flower 2007

Here is a picture of the first flower that bloomed in our yard this year-a purple crocus!

Wii had fun

The other day, Brad and I had our friends Melissa, Todd and Henry, and Rachel and Jim over for dinner, followed by playing with our new Wii. It was lots of fun, I think Wii boxing and bowling were the winners of the evening. Henry had fun playing with Buddy-he kept calling him "cat", though, because they have cats. Buddy enjoyed following Henry around, because Henry was shaking Buddy's treat container and treats kept falling out.
Brad just found the cord to connect the camera to the computer, so I can now post some pictures :) Brit's family threw Jillian a baby shower yesterday, so later I will upload the pictures I took and post them.

Groove

Brad and I went to see "Groove" perform at the Michigan Theater last night. Groove is a group of U-M students that "performs using traditional and non-traditional instruments (garbage cans, brooms, toothbrushes...you name it)", similar to Stomp or Blue Man group. The beginning and the end were the best, but the middle had too many long pauses, and "guest" dancers and musicians that took away from the percussion we came to hear. It was a lot of fun, but last year's show was much better, when an undergrad in my lab, George Mike, was in Groove. He graduated last year with a degree in Computer Science Engineering, I think. Not every undergrad who does work-study in our lab has been a science major. He is a great guy-very nice and funny, too, as well as smart. Anyway, we didn't realize Groove played more than one show a year, so next year we will have to check out some other performances. The tickets were only $7 adults and $5 students. It can be embarrassing to show my student ID, but what can I say-we're cheap and like a bargain :)

Looking forward to Spring

I am still waiting for the early Spring that Punxsutawney Phil promised us this year. I guess pictures of flowers will have to carry me over until we can see the real thing. Click on the flower below to see a few more pictures I took, mostly last summer...


by tmroth