a fun michigan weekend

Mike and Linda

Mike loves his big sister.

We had such a fun weekend in Michigan. We got to Linda and Tom's house around 10pm on Friday night. We slept in "Linda's Loft" as Mike calls it. Thanks Tom and Linda for the nice accommodations and also the great breakfast. Tom made his "famous pancakes" which were delicious.

We left Tom and Linda's around 10:15 am to head to East Lansing. We planned to have lunch with Nick at Cosi's (our favorite lunch spot in EL - the nearest one in Ohio is 90+ miles away). We picked up Nick and off we went. To our surprise, it wasn't very busy. Mike's great friend, Larry Sernick, dropped by to say "hello" before the Spartans hosted the Michigan Wolverines. Larry does the stats for the radio broadcast. He is a HUGE Spartan fan. Unfortunately, my camera was out of battery and I didn't take any pictures.

After Cosi, Mike, Nick, Tim, Julia and I walked across the street to Michigan State and walked to a tailgate hosted by Mike's good friend, Denny Mayer and his brother, Brian. It was great to see Denny and Brian.

Next we found my cousin, Dan VanKirk. He was at the game with his awesome girlfriend, Jessica, who graduated from MSU. We got to meet Jessica's family. It was great to see Dan and have a beer and Screwdriver with him. Mike knew a lot of people that Jessica's mom went to high school with! (small world) Dan was dressed in his Illini sweatshirt and Bears ball cap. All I can see is, GO GREEN! Mike went to the football game with Denny and Nick, Tim, Julia and took off. We had people to see.....ha! (BTW, congrats to Linda and Kaitlyn on the Wolverine victory.)

Julia got to see her VERY best friend, Anastasia. Nastya (her nickname) is also from Russia. Nastya helped Julia so much when Julia first got to the USA. Julia was invited to sleep over with Anastasia. Julia was SOOOO happy; she also got to see Nastya's brother, Zhenya. Zhenya and Julia were in the same 2nd grade class and are great friends.

This is Tim and Anastasia's biological brother, Ilya, whom the Kitching family just adopted. It is quite a story. Ilya is 12 and has been here just since the beginning of September. Tim had a great time with him playing soccer outside while Annie (his mom) caught up with each other. I miss her so much.

Then we drove Tim over to his best EL friend, Colin. Colin and Tim met in 2nd grade and have been friends ever since. I didn't get a photo of Colin. Colin had Tim (well, can we say Tim invited himself) over for a sleepover. Colin had three other friends there, so Tim got to catch up with them, too! Tim had a GREAT time.

While Tim and Julia were off having fun, I got to spend time with Sara. Sara and I have been friends since Kaitlyn and Nina were in Kindergarten together (they are now 21 and each going to graduate from Univ. of Michigan soon). She is a GREAT friend and I miss her very much! Nick dropped Sara and I off at CapCafe and we drank coffee and caught up on each other's lives. I love you Sara and hope I can see you soon!

After the football game, we went to Pizza House. This is Tim Weiruch and his wife, Jan. Tim worked with Mike at the MAC and Mike likes him so much!

Carl and Paula also came to Pizza House. It was so nice to see them and celebrate "life." It was just a fun evening. Megan Garrett and her son, Brandon, also stopped by. Larry and Cathy Sernick were suppose to, but Larry was too bummed after the MSU loss to come.

Mike and I slept in the dorm......yes, you read right, the DORM! ha! Nick has his own room and across the hall is his office with a couch. He also has a private bathroom. Nick was gracious enough to let me sleep in his bed (see photo). Mike slept on the floor and Nick slept on the couch. I had a personal fan and cable TV! What more could a girl want??? Thanks for your hospitality, Nick!

We left East Lansing around 9:10am on Sunday morning. We drove to Ann Arbor to meet Kaitlyn at Panera for breakfast. It was great to see Kait....Julia asked all weekend WHEN we would see Kaitlyn. We had a great time. We will all be together in about two weeks in Florida. I can hardly wait!

It was just a wonderful weekend. I miss our Michigan friends and family, but know that God has us in Cincinnati for this season in our lives. I like it here! I think it's my favorite place I've ever lived.

Karen