R.D.C. Goes to IKEA!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Today we loafed around in the morning but took a trip in the afternoon. We waited for Esti to come home from her day camp and then we went to IKEA!
We had a guest camper along for today’s trip as Bassi’s friend Batsheva Britvan was able to join us.

We enjoyed looking at everything and the girls were constantly asking, “Ta, can we please get this….?” There always lots of nifty stuff at IKEA and Esti particularly enjoyed jumping on every single couch, chair, and bed that was on display. She enjoyed touching all of the glass stemware as well, which made me just a little nervous.

The only camera I had on me was my camera phone, so please excuse the less than stellar quality of the photos.

Here are the girls perusing an office layout:


And sitting at this nifty table that when it’s not in use, the chairs snug up perfectly against it and it takes up almost no space at all:


Batsheva had never been to IKEA before, so Bassi and Rivky had to show her the circular bed:


Bassi and Esti tried out some recliners that were tucked into display shelves:




And lastly, I got a real kick out of the kids sink in the bathroom. Isn’t it cute?!


When we got home, we were treated to a delicious supper of tuna patties and clumpy rice.
As I was looking through the pictures to post on the blog, I realized that we were missing pictures of our most delicious and cutest camper: Ahron Roberg.

So here he is hamming it up for the camera:


And this is one of his favorite places in the kitchen: sitting on the counter helping Rivky bake or helping me make coffee in the morning:


And one last one for good measure:


That wraps it up for today!
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos!
(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)

R.D.C. Goes Bowling!

Happy Monday everybody!

The boys had their first day at YBYDC (Yeshiva Beth Yehuda Day Camp) so Bassi, Rivky, and sometimes Ahron are our campers for the next few weeks.

The weather started off nice today, but got cool and cloudy as the morning went along, so we went to Borders again to read books. This is going to be a common activity at RDC since our whole camp is a bunch of bookworms.

The girls read up on the latest Candy Apple books and Geronimo Stiltons, and I read some Photoshop books and some Weber “how to grill” books. We love Borders!


In the afternoon, we picked up Esti to give Mommy a rest for a while and went bowling at Bowl One in Troy.
Bowl One is having a special where kids can bowl two free games per day for the summer. They only have to pay for shoes. Mommy signed up for the deal and gets the coupons in her email.

When we arrived at Bowl One, we were the only ones there and had the place to ourselves.
Here is Rivky in the vastly empty bowling area:


The girls bowled some great games, and Bassi got over 100 for the first time in her life!




And here is Esti keeping score:


Actually, the score keeping is 100% electronic which is really nice. How many people remember the old days of arguing how many pins were actually knocked down or is one standing but hidden, etc. We really enjoyed ourselves and came home to tasty baked ziti and cinnamon buns that Mommy baked and Rivky iced.

Opa stopped by in the evening and played a game of Bananagrams with the girls.
That wraps it up for today.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos!
(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)

Howell Balloon Fest

This weekend was the Howell Balloon Fest. We took the kids to see the hot air balloons and skydiving, but the wind was too strong for either. However, there was a nifty Renaissance festival and fair going on, so there was lots to see and do when we arrived.

We spent some time looking at all kinds of swords and muskets on display, and we even got to see some armored gladiators battling with the old weapons and shields.
Here is Sendy holding up one of the swords from the collection:


We also saw a police / security station and Sendy got to pose with one of the policemen:


We found out that there was some really awesome face painting going on so we searched for the booth and waited in line. While we were waiting, one of the sky divers was walking around and handing out stickers. Here she is giving a sticker to Ahron:



Finally it was our turn to have our faces painted and Bassi, Rivky, and Mordechai all volunteered. They picked a design from the board you see here on the left of the photos and the artist applied it to their face. It was amazing to watch. The artist was fast and I really enjoyed watching the artist’s skill.

Bassi Starts to have some base color airbrushing applied:


Next came the stencils:


Bassi shows off one side and then the finished product after some glitter was applied




Next, Rivky gets some base color:


Then some stenciling:


And finally some stars and glitter:


Mordechai then gets some base color and stencils for his leopard face:




And here are our three models all complete!


We spent the rest of the day watching some fun plays, bands, expert kite flying, and dogs catching frisbees. We ate sandwiches in the car on the way home, and then we had some juicy barbecued hamburgers. That’s about it for today.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos!
(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)

R.D.C. Celebrates Opa and Bubby’s Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Dad & Mom!

Today (June 26) was my parents anniversary.
We wanted to bake a cake but decided on something way more refreshing.
For first activity, the girls got a quick lesson from Rochi on how to ball a melon, and I helped carve a watermelon basket.
The girls took over and created a beautiful and delicious anniversary gift.
Here are the girls carving away:


And here is the finished product:


The melon was delivered when Rochi dropped off Bassi and Sendy to eat the Shabbos seuda with Dad and Oma. Rochi and I walked over after our meal to pick up the kids, but we all enjoyed some of the fruit before we walked home.
By the way, Mom, if you are reading this, we tried to call you twice at Gila’s house but you weren’t home. Hopefully, you got the message that we called. We will try again later.

Today we also said good bye to two of our most precious campers: Sendy and Mort.
The boys will be starting Bais Yehudah Day Camp on Monday, and will not be participating in RDC for the remainder of the summer.
As a special good bye gift, they both got slurpees consisting of a mixture of every single flavor available. Yum!

That’s about it for this week.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos!

(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)

R.D.C. Goes to Borders

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Not much to report today. Rivky had a friend sleep over last night, Bassi had friends that came over in the morning, and Ahron took a really long nap, so we didn’t leave the house until about 2:30 in the afternoon.

We went to Borders to read books. The girls polished off four Candy Apple books since they are speed readers, and Sendy finished one or two Geronimo Stiltons since he's a speed reader as well. Mordechai and I found a really huge book about airplanes. Huge, as in about three feet tall. Mort liked it so much, that he read it twice!




We stayed out until about 5:45 and came home to delicious homemade pizza. Yes, even the pizza dough was expertly homemade by Rochi.
After supper, Rochi and I went to return some books to the West Bloomfield Public Library where I spotted a turtle slowly crossing the road by the outdoor book return area. I was afraid that the poor turtle was going to get crushed, so I picked it up and put it on the lawn.

That wasn’t good enough though. I was afraid that it would wander back into the parking lot. So I had to overcome my fear of holding a turtle the size of a flattened softball, and carry it to a swampy area several hundred yards away near the library entrance. Rochi made me hold the turtle out of the car window b/c she was terrified of the turtle. We are such morons.

Anyway, I got the turtle near the swamp, set it down, and watched as it didn’t move. I thought I killed it or something. But it suddenly came out of its shell, and wandered into the water where I quickly snapped a photo of it.


That’s about it for today.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos!

(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)

Scavenger Hunt Day!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Today was Scavenger Hunt Day.
Last night, Rochi and I sat down and composed a list of items that the kids had to find in Somerset Mall. Of course we didn’t tell the kids so as not to spoil the surprise.

We pretty much hung around the house and cleaned and chilled out until after lunch.
Then we headed to the Somerset Collection and met at the designated debriefing area near the center court by the glass elevators.
The kids were split into two team:

1. The Power Puff Girls (Bassi and Rivky)
2. The Smarty Pants (Sendy, Mordechai, and I)

The rules were as follows:

1. The teams had to find each item on the list, write down the price, description, and the store were the item was found.
2. only two items from the list were permitted for a single store. In other words, no finding all of the items in Macys or Nordstrom.
3. Only Somerset North was permitted. The teams were not allowed to go on the skywalk to Somerset South.

Here is the list of items that were required:

1. Bluetooth Headset
2. Red T-shirt
3. Two-tone Earrings
4. Flat Screen TV
5. Stuffed Animal
6. Something Round
7. Black & White Headband
8. Watchband
9. Tripod
10. Pair of Sandals
11. Fake Flowers
12. Something White & Blue
13. Drink
14. Pair of Jeans
15. Pen & Pencil Set
16. Sunglasses
17. Cup of Coffee
18. Something that Makes Noise
19. Wallet
20. Perfume/Cologne
21. Children's Shoes
22. Laptop Bag
23. Backpack
24. Baseball Cap
25. Something Fuzzy
    

The most interesting thing is that after team Smarty Pants found all of their items, we called the Power Puff Girls to gloat and brag, but they were calling us at the exact same time (using Rochi’s cell phone) to tell us that they just finished! The calls cancelled each other and went straight to voicemail. But in reality, I think the girls won by a minute or two. Rats!
Better luck next time, eh?

Here is a picture of the girls headed back to the debriefing area. They are in the glass elevator on the second floor. If you look carefully, you can see their colorful shirts in the glass box.


Here are the completed sheets for the two teams:




If you look carefully, you'll notice we found a pair of jeans for $284.00!!! I can't imagine who on earth would buy jeans for $284?! And even if someone did spend that much, who would notice?! Whatever.

We then headed home and some of the kids went swimming while others just played on the computer. I’ll give you one guess who wanted to play on the computer. Hint: it rhymes with "gordechai"

For supper we initiated our new barbecue with some tasty hot dogs that didn’t get burnt at all.
Tonight we are headed off to Southfield Fireworks and the weather is just about perfect.

***Edit***

We just got back from the Southfield fireworks and I'm pretty happy with how my photos turned out. Here is a quick sample of some of them. You can click on each one of these images and you will be taken to a larger view. You might have to click on your browsers 'Back' button to get back to this page though:








Thanks for reading, and enjoy the photos!

(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)

R.D.C. Day 2

Happy Tuesday everyone!

First things first:
Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting or emailing about yesterday’s blog entry. I received questions from several people asking how to post a comment.

At the end of each blog post, there is a link that says “0 comments” or “3 comments” or something similar. Simply click on those words and you will be able to post a comment.
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Today was another exciting day. We got off to a lazy start which worked out wonderfully with everyone. I got home from Yeshiva at about 10:15 and we eased into the cleanup and planning stage for the day.
After everyone passed bedside cleanup inspection, Bassi expertly made sandwiches for the entire camp and Rivky packed up the snacks. The boys went to One Stop Kosher to purchase some Powerade.

We then headed off to a store I’ve been meaning to check out for a while called Restaurant Equippers Warehouse Store. It’s where Big Lots used to be if that means anything to anyone.

It turns out that it’s a really cool store that sells all kinds of commercial equipment that restaurants need to operate, such as: salt shakers, napkin holders, pizza ovens, ice machines, meat slicers, janitorial equipment, etc. The kids had a blast!

Here are the kids showing some of the attachments for those big floor-standing Hobart mixers like we used to have in the camp kitchen in Agudah Toronto.

We purchased some tongs, a spatula, basting brush and some other odds and ends for our new accessory which will get to later in this blog entry.

In Search of Ducks….
We had a bunch of old stale challah and bread pieces that we wanted to feed to some ducks. I gave the kids a choice between Yates Cider Mill and Franklin Cider Mill, and the kids chose Franklin because it was a lot closer. So off we drove to the Franklin Cider Mill and there wasn’t a duck in sight! The water was nice though, so everyone voted to eat lunch there anyway.

We had an adventure though, because I tossed Bassi her water shoes, and one bounced on the rocks and landed in the water! Look at the following picture. The (obscured) tunnel in the background goes under Franklin road:

That water is moving pretty fast, and that water shoe was wisked away (it floats). I went running after it and had to run across Franklin road and down the other side as the shoe was floating merrily merrily merrily merrily down the stream. I finally was able to run down to the river, and into the river (yuck) and catch the shoe. But catch it I did, even though my shoes, socks, and pants got soaked.

We finished lunch but still wanted to feed the bread to the ducks, so off we went to the Rouge River near the intersection of Civic Center Drive and Telegraph Rd.

Well, not a duck in sight. Anywhere. Zip. No ducks.
And the water was really gross looking to boot. We walked along anyway since we had never been there before, and wanted to see if there were ducks farther upstream or downstream.
There were none. But we did enjoy walking along the river and actually walking underneath Telegraph Rd, which is cool because it’s such a busy road.








We saw a fisherman along the way, and finally got tired of schlepping our challah bag with us, so we dumped out the crumbs into the Rouge River off of a bridge for any fish or some other some such that would be interested in some tasty challah.






We finally finished the day by going to the new Detroit Keilim Mikvah, which is beautiful, and toiveled our new RDC accessory. Here it is back in our living room:


And after assembly:


Rochi and I purchased a tiny Weber Smokey Joe Grill when we first got married. It was great when our family only had two people. It doesn’t work really great anymore. So after talking about it for more than eight years, we got a grill that can actually feed our family.
I’m looking forward to making delicious tender and smokey flavored food for the crew throughout the summer.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures!
(For larger images, check out these images in my SmugMug Gallery by clicking on this sentence.)