Michigan

So we were in Michigan last weekend for Lloydfest (the celebration of Lloyd, Mike’s grandfather, and his 90^th birthday).

I meant to have this post up a little earlier, but I’ve been distracted by the fires. For those keeping score at home, my grandparents’ house is fine. My parents’ house is fine, too, although they were evacuated Monday night. Luckily, the winds shifted and started blowing west to east, pushing the fire back. People were allowed to go back to our neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon - apparently, there's quite the clean-up to be done there since the winds blow a lot of ash around. I realize that the change in winds brought good news to us at the cost of bringing extreme misfortune to others. Here are some photo galleries from the local paper, and here are some sites where you can help.

Okay, back to our (semi-)regularly scheduled program . . . .

We got to Michigan on Thursday night, just in time to see the movie “Run, Granny, Run” about a 90-year-old woman who decided to run for public office in New Hampshire to make a statement about politics. The film is great and really inspiring. Also, my sister-in-law is the associate producer of the movie! If you have HBO on demand, you can check the movie out at your leisure.

My favorite line from the movie comes when Granny D is preparing for her debate and one of her advisors asks her what she’ll say if she’s asked about gay marriage. She pauses, and then she says, “I’m for love.” And there you have it.

On Friday, went to visit scenic East Lansing, the home of Mike’s alma mater. While Mike did his thing, I took a walk around the campus and took a few pictures.

Friday night we had a little birthday party for Mike, complete with delicious carrot cake made by Brenda. We even had a special appearance by an out-of-town guest!

Saturday night was the big event – a good time was had by all! The party featured pictures of Lloyd from all his different adventures (military, figure skater, father, grandfather, etc.). There were also speeches by the family, a magician, and super-yummy food.

Oddly, it had been MUCH warmer in Michigan than it was in Seattle when we arrived back on Sunday.