The Darnell Family Store is now open! We also have a store on EBay. Mike's Collectables and More is now selling comic books and other collectables.

We have a store on EBay. Mike's Collectables and More is now selling comic books and other collectables.

Mike and Michael attended the Introductory Blacksmithing course at Tillers International. Mike became interested in blacksmithing last summer at the Pioneer Scout Reservation during Troop 109's summer camp. We were fortunate to attend this class taught by Tim Carr, an experienced blacksmith from Muskegon, Michigan.

Mike and Michael returned to the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base with Boy Scout Troop 109!  We left on Sunday, June 28 and returned on July 5.  We participated in the Scuba Adventure. This was our second trip to Sea Base. Our first trip was in 2007. Click here to see the photo album from the trip.

Mike was inducted into the National Honor Society on May 7! We are very proud of his accomplishments!. Click here to see some photos..

The Okemos High School prom was May 16. Mike attended with three of his friends. Click here to see some photos..

We went to Cleveland on April 3 - 5. We visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center. Sadly, the Hall of Fame doesn't allow photography, so we have no pictures there. However, the trip was great fun. We ate at Lola, Iron Chef Michael Symon's restaurant. It was one of the best meals we have ever had! We also ate a another Cleveland restaurant, Mallorica. It was an unexpected delight, ad a very close second to Lola! Click here to see some photos.

We attended the March 1 performance of "Spring Awakening" at the Wharton Center in East Lansing. This is a very intense musical, based on an 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind. Rock music and lyrics were incorporated into the play by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater. The play deals with the sexual awakening of a group of teenagers during a time of great repression. The play reminded us of "Rent" which we saw last year. I recommend the show. It's rough, dealing with issues of suicide, abortion and child abuse, but overall a highly enjoyable experience.

On March 20, Mike and I went to the Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo to see the Video Games Live concert. Unique! Video game music composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall joined with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra to perform music from video games synchronized with video clips from the games. The show opened with a video of the Leet Street Boys performing "Yuri The Only One For Me".

What can you say about a song which has lyrics such as "Like a Pokemon, I Pikachu". It was a lot of fun, and Mike hopes to see the show the next time we are near a performance.

On Thursday, March 26 we attended the Chief Okemos Council Ojibwas District recognition dinner. The dinner is held every year at the Masonic Temple in Okemos. Click here to see some photos from the dinner.