michigan

as mentioned in the 'about me' section, tyrell and i are living in michigan. it is far away from home and depending on the day, i find myself a little home sick. but there are lots of things to like about michigan. it is so pretty and green and there is more water than i have ever seen in my life. it rained everyday for the entire month of june it seemed and there are lakes everywhere. but despite all this water we are yet to swim in it. (well unless you count the time tyrell had to chase the canoe down the river at our ward camp out, diving in for it was his only option). the streets are lined with trees and the branches make a pretty canape over the road. there are all sorts of woodland creatures in my back yard and fire flies at night. we have been able to travel from american suburbia, to the middle east, to the ghetto all in a 5 mile drive down one street. our neighbors are very friendly. one of the first nights we were here, our neighbors showed up on our door step, after we had gone to bed, with muffins and wine. we graciously accepted their gift and were unsure if this would have been the appropriate time to inform them that we do not drink. needless to say the wine is in on our shelf and hopefully the bishop does not find us out when he comes to visit.

we moved out here with out a place to live, not necessarily something i would recommend, but we were blessed to find the house we live in in such short notice. it's older but it is perfect for the two of us. my only quarrel is with the old house smell it has. if anyone has air freshening advise, i am all ears.

this place is called motor city and rightfully so. but we have discovered that not only is it the headquarters to the big 3, but people are crazy about cars here, as evidenced by the frequent car shows. there is a particular type of car show that is interesting. really it's like a moving car show/parade of old/classic/supped up cars, where there is also regular traffic. odd i know but they have designated streets on certain weekends and everyone brings out their fancy cars and drive them up and down the street (along side regular traffic), while the spectators line up on the side walk and in business parking lots to watch. they cat call and the drivers rev their engines and everyone cheers. it was pretty funny.

telegraph cruise (moving car show)

i have also discovered that in michigan, while you are outside in your yard or on your porch, shirts are not required. men of all ages, shapes and sizes enjoy sitting on the porch with out their shirts or working in the yard half naked (and there was that 80 year old man in his whity tighties out to get the mail, my personal favorite). tyrell is the only one who wears clothes around here. i figure they are enjoying the warm weather until they have to bundle up outside and leave all their half naked escapades for the comfort of their own homes. so what's not to love about michigan, greenery, lakes, trees, wild life, fire flies, culture, very comfortable weather (in the summer at least), car shows and half naked men.

we went home the first of the month for my family reunion at the whiting homestead. tyrell thought such a huge organized gathering was a little weird and i guess it kind of is. it was fun and tyrell was a favorite when he set up the zip line for the kids. they loved it and he really likes showing people a good time. we were also able to go to lyman lake with his brothers so he got a lake fix that may hold him over for a little while.

cousins

lyman lake, that is amber being ignored in the background

we do miss az and the wide open spaces. there are so many trees here that you are never able to look out very far. tyrell, being the country boy that he is, is starting to feel a little cooped up here in the city. he bought a dirt bike (part of his, my wife is pregnant and i live in the city mid-life crisis) and because the bike tracks are so far away, sometimes he just rides in circles in our back yard. it's pretty funny, he's like a caged animal back there. we need to get back to a small town one of these days of tyrell might go crazy.

i get an ultra sound next week!