The Search for Miss Direction: Minnie Mouse and 'Smores

Do days get any better than today? I'm hard pressed to remember one that was as beautifully sunny, fun-filled, tasty and enjoyable as this one. Bring on summer, the Gatchel's are ready!

We spent the morning at the library (Daddy picks out the best books so they've been patiently waiting for a time to go with him), weeding in the sunshine, playing in the yard, running some errands - mostly filling it with lots of little things that made it pass in a blur. We thought that was how most of the day was going to be, but yesterday afternoon my Dad made Grant and I aware of an event that promised to be too cool to pass up. So we finished up lunch, poured into Sasha and headed off to Somerset Mall to check out the Grand Opening of their New Disney Store!

Dad, you're Mikayla's hero today for sure. She got an Ariel doll, met Minnie Mouse (who she said to me "Mom, she's the real Minnie! Right from Disney! And she came just to meet me!" Yep my baby, just for you.) and got a treat from the candy store. Her brother made out too as he got to go to the Lego store which is right next to it. I had two very happy kiddos who called Papa on the way home just to say thank you for telling us about it.

Dinner tonight was quite the Massachusetts (with a Boston oriented nod, it seems) feast! I made broiled cod (one more seafood dish for the Bean!), Boston baked corn, and Boston brown bread for dinner with a glass of crisp Boston iced tea to go with it. (Don't worry, the iced tea isn't the only place you'll see cranberries this week - I haven't forgotten that they're important to Massachusetts (though they follow Wisconsin in overall production of them, FYI). Tomorrow's dinner is laced with the super fruit) It was the perfect meal to enjoy outside tonight in the ever warming state of Michigan. I mean, I'm in a sleeveless dress and flip flops - it must be warm!

After dinner the fun continued as we set up the sprinkler in the yard and set out the most amazing fire pit that my parents surprised Grant and I with for our anniversary last weekend. The evening had 'smores written all over it, so we of course busted out the supplies and enjoyed. Even better, Keith, Tess and the kids came down and joined us for the evening. (I have a feeling this is going to be a recurring theme this summer. Oh how lucky we are to have them 3 doors down!!!) Best. Day. Ever.

A quick programming note. The third week in June (God will and 'if the creek don't rise' as they say) the kiddos are headed to Cincinnati to visit Aunt Sarah for a few days and Grant and I are headed up north for our own mini vacation. I'm not quite sure when at this point we're all going to be making it back to the Hills, so I've decided to post-pone the state we had planned for that week, Missouri. I thought about splitting it half and half with the week following, but that is now Michigan, which I have BIG plans for and I don't even want to try to squish that all together. So I'm right now planning to move Missouri to either the last week of the year (which is free), or swap it with Washington DC which will then move to the last week of the year since it probably won't need a whole week to itself. We'll see. Point being, we're going to be taking a State Project break the week of June 23rd (actually starting the 21st, Mississippi is going to be shortened a bit). Which means, we'll finish up Massachusetts, do Montana next week, then Minnesota and Mississippi, take a week off and come back and do Michigan in style! Phew!

Tomorrow morning we're headed to the Science Center for a Mystery I-Max movie for members only - totally excited. And I hear that we may be giving Sasha and Blue baths in the driveway tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait. So until then...

Massachusetts Fun Fact of the Day: The Boston University Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.