autumn sunset

duck hunt

We drove to downtown Plymouth tonight to get ice cream from Dairy King. We're pretty sure Zooey remembered that this is the place where she gets a little dish of vanilla...

... which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Afterward, we were walking around a bit, and suddenly, out of nowhere, a duck stumbled into our path. She and Zooey both froze, just staring at one another.

Zooey was literally a statue for at least 5 minutes.

The only time she moved was when she decided to point at the duck.

It was hilarious. Finally, the duck got bored and started waddling away, at which point Zooey tried to lunge after it... we decided a duck killing in the middle of Plymouth might not be the best way to end our evening.

best of: plymouth, mi

For the past 3 years, Doug & I have lived in Plymouth, MI. Although I've been growing increasingly annoyed with this little city, there are several things I do love about it. So, I thought I'd highlight those for anyone who reads this blog and finds themselves in Plymouth.

However, before I get to the goods, let me get my whining out of the way.

A quick Worst of Plymouth, MI:

-Railroads.

-Potholes on Lilley

-Post Office

-Inflated real estate

And now I present...

Best of Plymouth, Michigan

Best Ice Cream: Dairy King

(Best flavor: Mackinac Island Peanut Butter Fudge in a sugar cone)

Best Bar&Grill: Hermann's

(Best app: potato skins)

Best Fresh Produce: Schmidt's Roadside

(Okay, technically this is in Canton, but it's right on the Plymouth-Canton border. It's a little slice of farm in the suburbs!)

Best 1st Apartment: 383 Starkweather Street

Best Wildlife Refuge: 537 Mill Street

Best Apartment in a Hair Salon: 308 Farmer Street

(See also Best Looking Couple, Best Home-Cooked Meal & Engaging Conversation, and Biggest Egos)

Best Nail Salon: Tic-Tac Nails

(Why they didn't call it Tic-Tac Toes I will never know...)

Best Subs: Joe's Deli

Best Soups: Dilly Dally Deli

(Best soups: Chicken Noodle and Chicken Tortilla)

Cutest Boutique: The Haven

Cutest Boutique with Outrageous Prices That I Can't Afford So I Never Actually Shop There: The Haven

Best Coffee Shop: The Coffee Bean

Best Ethnic Food: Zapata's

Best Downtown Event: toss up between the Ice Festival and Art in the Park

Best Eyebrow Wax: Christina at Salon International

Best Resident Famous Athlete: Chris Osgood

Best Dog: Obviously.

I'm sure there are more things that I should add, but that's it for now.

zooey saves the day!

So, one of our pet peeves with Zooey (see what I did there? Pet peeves?) is her tendency to bark every morning around 5am because her little bladder is on the verge of exploding. I'm thankful for my saint of a husband, who gets up with her every morning, allowing me a precious 45 extra minutes of sleep!

This morning, true to character, Zooey started barking around 5:15. Doug mumbled something about "just want to sleeeeep" - so for some odd reason, I got up to let the dog out. On the rare occasions that I let Zoo out in the morning, I leave all the lights off, hoping she'll come back in, go in her cage and fall back asleep. So I stumbled, half asleep, through the kitchen to her cage and let her outside without turning on any lights.

This time, however, Zooey continued barking while she was peeing, which is not normal. So I was at the door, watching in confusion, when I saw a light through the window of our garage. At first I thought maybe it was a reflection of a car driving by, but then I realized, "No, that is an LED flashlight IN MY GARAGE." At the same time I had that realization, Zooey let out this absolutely ferocious growl that could freeze blood and started freaking out, barking viciously.

So I RAN back through the house and yelled up the stairs, "DOUG! THERE IS SOMEONE IN OUR GARAGE!" Then I ran back to the door, at which point I saw a MAN WALK OUT OF OUR GARAGE with Doug's golf clubs over his shoulder! So I screamed, "HEY!" - and the guy started running, then I heard him drop the golf clubs, presumably to move faster.

Right after I screamed at the guy, Doug ran downstairs and out the door, yelling after the guy... barefoot, in his boxers with a baseball bat. AWESOME.

Long story short - dude got away. We're assuming he parked around the corner and took off. The cops came (after Doug was clothed...) & everything, but not much they could do since he hadn't taken anything and was gone.

So pretty much, Zooey is a hero and I won't be complaining about her bark anytime soon. AND now I have a really good excuse for why Doug needs to be the one to get up with her in the mornings! Score.

Also, for your enjoyment:

Doug's bare footprint.

family walk

As promised, pictures from our family walk on Sunday afternoon!

Trails along Hines Drive

Model #1

Amazing colors

Model #2

Maybe my favorite picture of myself ever. Also love the sun through Zoo's ears.

Daddy's little girl :)

Zoo spotting Doug

Rolling hills

Perfect day

Of course, a self-portrait.

& 2 more pics of our awesome pup. Please excuse the poor picture quality - they were taken with my broken lens (still being repaired; I'm borrowing one in the meantime!).

Our dawg is sweet!

Up next... some pictures of the apartment.

i heart visitors

This past weekend was absolutely delightful. It all started on Friday with the arrival of Jeremy & Victoria. And Victoria has such an adorable baby bump, housing what is sure to be the world's most delectable little morsel - and I mean that in the most non-cannibalistic, healthy baby-adoring sense possible. Anyway, we had such a fun weekend: crafting (really, do I even need to mention this whenever V & I get together?), IKEAing, eating, chatting, watching the pups terrorize one another... suffice to say, I wish we were neighbors.

Bannister Babes

IKEA... & we match the store...

You are what you eat...

Making Oreo truffles

Our little Cider n' Donut party

V & the kids

V & Jer - we had an awesome weekend with you guys. Thanks again for driving all the way out here. We love you!

Coming later, some pictures from our family walk on Sunday afternoon...

bit by bit

We are almost entirely moved in! We still have some random things at the old apartment, and we need to clean it & "check out" ... and then there's the whole unpacking process, but nevertheless - I am sitting at an organized desk in a new office in a new house. Wow, that was quite the run-on sentence.

Anyway - I just want to send a HUGE thank you to Sara & Dave, Debbie & Kress and Ellie for helping with the move - and also to Vanessa, who puppysat this afternoon while we moved. We have been blessed with some seriously amazing friends.

So, hang in there, oh devoted readers - pictures will be coming. And an update on our weekend at home. 

Until then - check it out! Doug and I are famous. We went to the Leadership Summit put on by Willow Creek and telecasted to several satellite areas. It was an awesome experience - so many excellent, inspiring speakers who are excited about changing the world. 

One of the speakers was from Detroit - Harvey Carey. Doug & I went to visit his church, Citadel of Faith, with Dave & Sara one Sunday and it was awesome. Anyway - each speaker at the Summit had an intro video, and we made the video! Watch the video and find us!

weekend visitors!

This past weekend, Lyndsay & Andy came to visit. We had an awesome time with them! Our weekend consisted of...

Friday:

-Lynz & Andy got here just before 8 & we enjoyed a late dinner, introducing them to the delight of Hungry Howie's pizza.

-We walked to downtown Plymouth for ice cream.

-Andy & Lynz taught us three new awesome games! My favorite was Ruckus - if you have never played this game, go out & buy it now. It's worth it for the illustrations on the cards alone.

-Lynz & Andy also introduced us to Oram's Donuts - oh sweet bliss. Marla's picture made me drool, but didn't adequately portray the SIZE of these donuts!! Sweet, sugary bliss!

Saturday:

-We had pancake breakfast, of course.

-We drove to Canton (& I gave a running tour on the way) to play beach volleyball with our friends Katy & Andrew. While we were waiting for them to arrive, the four of us tried to play beach badminton. It was really windy. It was ridiculous. But awesome. When Katy & Andrew got there, we played 3 games of volleyball. We girls lost each time, but our scores got dramatically closer each time. Which explains why the boys chickened out of a 4th game.

-After volleyball, we drove by the house where Doug grew up, then went home to grill hotdogs.

-After lunch, we drove to downtown Detroit to give another tour. As we were driving around downtown, I realized that other than Tigers games, I had never walked around downtown (a shameful admission on my part), so we parked and walked around. There was some festival going on, which I just googled and discovered was the "Ribs & Soul Festival" - sweet! 

-We arrived home and got Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner - yum. 

-We spent the rest of the evening playing games and eating Oreo milkshakes. 

Sunday:

-I had to get up early and go teach Sunday School.

-When I got home, we had sweet rolls for breakfast and played some more games.

-Our friends Dave, Sara & Brittany had really wanted to meet Andy and Lyndsay, so they came over for lunch. We grilled burgers & hotdogs and had a little picnic outside. We were entertained for quite some time watching a squirrel sniff around a trap (set by our landlord), trying to get the nuts inside. I wish I had a video.

-And then, always the sad part of the weekend, Lynz & Andy had to pack up and head back to Beaver Falls. 

We had such a fun time with you two! Thanks for braving the opossums & visiting us. We can't wait to return the favor!

intense swinging

This little girl had this focused/annoyed look on her face anytime you put her on a swing, but she hated getting off the swing.

Also, please notice the saggy underwear of the little girl I'm holding toward the end of the video...

--

Also, some of you may have heard through the Bannister Family Rumor Mill - we are moving. Last Monday night we had a(n?) opossum in our bedroom, which was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Say what you will about us changing apartments like you change your underwear, but we're out of here on August 25th. We're moving about 2 blocks away - just another step in our plan to take over Old Village Plymouth!

enforce a quarantine

Uh-oh...

Looks like someone's got a nasty case of swine flu.

~

No school today or tomorrow because of a potential case in the local public schools. I'll pay that kid $5 to fake it for another day so I can fly to Florida with Doug on his business trip...

today...

gorgeous sunny day: check

playing in the dirt: check

cleaning up a playground with friends from imprint: check

walk around old village looking at yard sales: check

bocce with doug: check

doug tossed the white ball and it rolled into the old log, as shown. yellow ball is mine! however, doug won the game 11-9. 

lying on a blanket outside grading: check

ben & jerry's coffee heath bar ice cream: check

pink nose, cheeks & arms: check

little italy night with the girls: check

fabulous saturday: check!

weekend update!

Dad, Mom, Emily & Jayne came to visit this past weekend. It was their first time seeing our current apartment, seeing my school & seeing downtown Detroit! 

For our venture to The D, we all piled into our little Accord - the girls squished into the back.

We showed them Peaches & Greens, the school that CDC is hoping to purchase, Comerica Park, Ford Field, the fist of Joe Louis & a bunch of other cool [slash abandoned, boarded up, broken windowed] stuff. They also got to see Last Chance Academy for the first time.

In case you thought I was kidding. Photo by Dad.

If you've never had the dubious pleasure of visiting Detroit, here's a taste. Dad's pictures are pretty awesome. I suppose he had the added advantage of the front seat, rather than being crunched in the back. :)

Photo by Dad.

Photo by Dad.

Photo by Dad.

Photo by Dad.

Photo by Dad.

Oh, Detroit. "All I can say. All I can do." ($5 to anyone who knows that song.)

We had an awesome time & a lot of great discussions. Can't wait to see my fam again soon!

days like today...

... when it's nearly 8pm and it's still 52 degrees, almost make me forget that it's February in Michigan and it was, oh, -8 degrees (NEGATIVE EIGHT DEGREES) last week. 

It was so pleasant that I went for a walk in just a sweatshirt. Um, and jeans. Just to clarify.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go remind myself that February's not even half over, which means we've probably got at least 2 more good snowstorms ahead, and then drown my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream.