Mike & Renee

*This is a late post, and its out of order, but I really wanted to include this adventure in our blog record!

We have some wonderful friends.  The kind that you know would drop anything to be there for you.  They were our neighbors for 4 wonderful years here in Brownsburg and then decided to move to Michigan to be closer to family.  When they moved we promised to visit them, often, and they promised to visit us in return.  In October we went to see them, as they live close to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village and there is a Halloween festival of sorts there on the weekends.  Since we had gotten a membership in May when we went, we thought we'd take advantage of Fall break and go again.

 This time we went to the Ford Museum and spent most of our time there.  They have the original Oscar Meyer Hot Dog Car, along with all kinds of unique and one of a kind cars.  Many of the presidential limos are there too.

 There was a display about the different decades of the 1900s ... it was a little weird to see stuff from the 80's and 90's on display - stuff from my childhood is history?!  Hailey and Dan liked like 1950's school room display.

 There was, of course, lots of displays on Henry Ford and the Ford concept.  We participated in a assembly line and then also helped to 'build' the model T that was in the exhibit. 

 Everyday they take all the pieces to the model T and have all the visitors help to screw the nuts and bolts and put the parts in place to make the car.  The kids loved to be a part of that and at the end of the day we went back and got our picture in the completed Ford.

 Miss Lilly was learning about Rosa Parks at school and was so excited to be able to see, in person, the bus she was riding on.

 That night we went back to Greenfield Village for the Halloween festival.  Everyone was in costume! My ninja,

 my Link, and

my prairie girl...

 There were candy stations throughout, lots of carved, glowing pumpkins, dancing scarecrows, singing ghosts, a haunted pumpkin tree, the headless horseman ... a fantastic Halloween time!

 Before going home the next day we went to get apple cider doughnuts and fresh apple cider at a local orchard.  I didn't realize what a uniquely Michigan thing this is.  It was so delicious that I was craving it when we got home the next week and went to find some and there weren't any in all of Indiana - no apple cider doughnuts and no apple presses that I could take the kids to see.  So, if anything, this is definitely a reason to go to Michigan in the fall!!!

 A few weeks later Mike and Renee came to visit us.  The kids and I took Renee to see McCloud, as it is so beautiful in the fall. 

 It was a little cold, and even though it was the beginning of November, there was plenty of fall color!

 the boys and their walking sticks ...

 Miss Lilly peeling the bark off of her walking stick ..

 the kids and Renee

And a fuzzy caterpillar!  I know this means something about winter ... just can't remember what!?  It was so crazy because Renee pointed them out on the road driving home.  We took the back roads through the farm country and if you were watching closely, they were everywhere trying to cross the roads!  You could see them inching along.  She also pointed out a persimmon tree in our neighborhood walk while she was here.  It is on the border of the park and the acreage owed by someone else adjacent to our neighborhood, but the tree hangs over the wire fence, so we ventured over to try them.  They were very sweet, but after that first bite into them, there is a reaction in your mouth that makes it so dry its hard to even swallow.  Its like it sucks up all the saliva all at once.  Crazy! Apparently persimmon pudding is a Hoosier favorite.  We had it at J.D.'s family's Wakefield reunion this summer.  If I live here long enough, maybe I'll have to try making it ...