The Norcross Family

Moving to a new site

2010-05-09T20:37:00.002-04:00

We are planning to leave for Italy on May 27 for a 26 day adventure. We have a new website where we will post photos and blog about our travels. Go to https://www.msu.edu/~rosseter/Norcross_Family/Norcross_Family.html to access our new family website.

Gigi and Mathieu

2009-06-03T17:12:00.005-04:00

Gigi just finished 1st grade and Mathieu finished 3rd grade. They are out of school for the summer and both busy with sports.

Mathieu (9 3/4 years old)
Gigi (almost 7)

Bullwinkle

2009-04-03T20:22:00.007-04:00

Bullwinkle arrived as a stray at the Russellville, Kentucky shelter as a puppy, and ended up in Williamston, MI at a Pointer Rescue in August 2008, which is where we met him. He is happy, energetic, and full of life. He’s ready for anything… he just has to be shown what to do. He LOVES toys.
Mathieu was THRILLED to finally get a dog. He has been begging for a dog and after our trip to France to see my sister where Mathieu played with her dogs, there was no putting off getting a dog any longer. We met Bullwinkle on a Sunday, then Marc and I decided to adopt him on Tuesday. On Thursday while the kids were in school I ran around and bought all the necessary items (bed, food, leash, etc), then picked up "Wink". When Mathieu and Gigi came home from school he was in the kitchen waiting to surprise them. Unfortunately, Mathieu came home with a 101 degree fever, but he was still really happy.
Gigi is doing great with him, considering that she is scared to death of most dogs. But Bullwinkle does not jump (at least not so far) and is very calm, so within a very short time, Gigi was asking to walk him and brush him - a major step for her. Now, she and Mathieu argue over who can take him outside (I hope that will last and it won't end up being just Marc and I).

Visit to France

2009-03-26T16:56:00.017-04:00

Earlier this month I took the kids and my mom to France to visit my sister and brother-in-law who are living there for a year.

I was really worried about flying overseas with Mathieu and Gigi, but they did great! I bit tired and "cranky" when we arrived, but not too bad for flying all night. Here is Gigi on the plane when we arrived in Toulouse (notice that "happy" face).

Gigi had never been to France before and loved the cheese and variety of foods! She even drank her water with a drop of wine in it.

Mathieu had a great time playing with Dashell and Stella (the dogs) and hanging out with Bruce and Alisa. He would have been happy being anywhere, it didn't matter that he was in France. He also LOVED the chickens "Fanny" and "Rhoda".

Here is Mathieu's video with "his" chickens.

Mathieu had a great time with his Aunt Alisa, always walking with her or riding in their old car that they call "Claude" (no seatbelts!).

A Wii for Christmas

2008-12-26T15:11:00.004-05:00

Mathieu and Gigi asked Santa for a Wii for Christmas. Christmas morning Mathieu woke up at 5am because he was so excited about getting a Wii. We convinced him to go back to bed for a few hours and finally agreed to go downstairs at 7am. Mathieu woke up Gigi and they went to see what Santa had left. Under the tree all they could see was two sleds, their stockings and the presents that had already been there. It was quite obvious that Mathieu was a bit disappointed, until he moved the sleds and found a Wii hidden behind them. Santa came through one more year! Well, almost...Mathieu then ran upstairs to check his tv in his room. The tv has no cable and is used only for his PS2 player, but he had also asked Santa for cable tv. Well, he came back down and announced that Santa didn't bring cable tv. But, they were still very happy with their Wii.

Christmas photos? Is it impossible!

2008-12-24T09:56:00.003-05:00

This is my attempt at getting just one good photo of Mathieu and Gigi for Christmas, and these are only the ones that turned out half good. I already trashed a bunch and still I don't have one great photo.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T12:21:00.002-05:00

A Christmas song from Mathieu and Gigi.

2008-12-22T17:23:00.009-05:00

Gigi lost her first baby tooth!Gigi just lost her first tooth and was so excited she posed with this silly face while the hole in her mouth was still bleeding. She is such a goofball, and such a joy - she makes me laugh all the time. This morning under her pillow she found a Sacagawea dollar. Gigi then asked where the tooth fairy came from, and does the tooth fairy visit children all over the world? Hmmm...good question. It seems that in Europe long ago there was a tradition to bury baby teeth that fell out and it is from this tradition that the Tooth Fairy evolved from the tooth mouse depicted in an 18th century French language fairy tale. In "La Bonne Petite Souris," a mouse changes into a fairy to help a good queen defeat an evil king by hiding under his pillow to torture him and knocking out all his teeth. I wish I knew the tradition of the tooth fairy in Georiga.

2008-12-22T17:17:00.003-05:00

It was so very cold out yesterday, we never left the house. Mathieu ventured outside for a few minutes then quickly came back in to sit in front of the fire. Marc is the best at making a hot fire! He had the temperature in the kitchen/family area up to 83 degrees while it was 0 degrees outside. People must think we are crazy wearing shorts and t-shirts around the house when it is so cold outside, but is it nice and cozy warm.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-19T13:58:00.010-05:00

With screams of excitement of the news that the last day of school before Christmas break had been canceled due to snow, both Mathieu and Gigi jumped out of bed and prepared to go outside to enjoy the snow. And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed all morning

Gigi's favorite thing to do outside is eat the snow and icicles, while the rest of us spent most of the morning digging out the driveway. We all had fun making snow angels in the drifts and attempting to build "Frosty the Snowman" (although he doesn't look too good).

"Meteorologist Mathieu" informed us that there is at least 10 inches of snow that has fallen since early morning and more is on the way. What would we do without our own personal meteorologist and of course The Weather Channel.

We are going to spend the rest of the day making Buckeyes (Mathieu's and Gigi's favorite).

Halloween

2008-11-02T10:39:00.004-05:00

(hit the play button above to start slide show)
Halloween was once again a huge hit this year. Mathieu and Gigi, along with their friends Ben, Allie and Nick, went "trick or treating" with their dads all around the city from 6pm - 8pm. Diane and I sat in the driveway handing out candy to the 100s of children who seemed to appear out of nowhere. We had a great time drinking a lovely wine/brandy mixture Diane cooked up, while the brie was warming in the oven.

Mathieu and Gigi chose to be "Tom and Jerry" this year, because they wanted to be able to hit each other with clubs and fight. They were the only "Tom and Jerry" we saw all night. The most popular costumes were skeletons and each a number of Sarah Palins.

The kids came home with TONS of candy! We sorted through it to make sure their was nothing bad in their bags, then hide much of it or else Gigi and Mathieu would be eating candy all day long.

No more training wheels!

2008-09-29T06:08:00.002-04:00

After dinner last night Gigi and Mathieu went out to play, and Gigi asked Mathieu to help her learn to ride his old bike (a bike without training wheels). It didn't take long before she was riding like a pro. I was in the house talking on the phone with my sister Alisa who was getting ready to board a plane for France, when Gigi came inside and told me she had done it. So, like any good mom, I grabbed the camera and headed outside. She was zipping around the driveway as if she had been riding without her training wheels for years, and she was so very proud of herself.

USSF U9 Soccer

2008-09-26T11:54:00.003-04:00

Mathieu has moved up to the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) from AYSO. It was a team he had to try out for and travels to other schools for games. They really work hard and have played some really, really good teams. Mathieu, unlike Gigi, loves to run, but doesn't like to play goalie. Instead he prefers forward. He is also playing football, so we are busy after school Monday - Thursday with various sport practices.

Gigi's first season playing soccer.

2008-09-26T11:45:00.006-04:00

Gigi is on an AYSO U8 soccer league and is loving it. Her favorite thing about soccer is playing goalie because as she said "I don't really like to run." Regardless of running, she is have a great time.

rain, rain, go away.

2008-09-15T13:23:00.005-04:00

Eaton Rapids received approximately 5 inches of rain in the past two days. Today schools were closed due to flooding in the downtown area. People were filling sandbags last night to help keep the water from overflowing its banks, but water always wins!

This is a photo of Island park. Noctice the picnic table in the middle of the water. Almost the entire island is under water.

This is looking across Hall Street at the Playground of Dreams (well...what isn't under water) adn the Football practice fields. Usually this is a pretty small creek.

Here is the baseball and T-ball fields, and football practice fields from the parking lot area (which is currently under water). You can just see the top of the concession stand at the right and the skateboard park is nowhere to be seen.

Luckily we have a pump in our basement which has been working all night so there is no standing water and hopefully the rain will stop today.

2008-09-07T10:10:00.006-04:00

Mathieu turns 9!

Mathieu - 3 months old and 9 years old

It is hard to believe that nine years has already gone by, and now Mathieu is all grown up (according to him). I don't know where the years went, it seems that just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. He has grown into a confident, athletic, young boy, but still has the same adorable face.

BEST DAD (and husband) in the WORLD!

2008-09-02T12:28:00.004-04:00

This is Mathieu's and Gigi's "treehouse". It isn't really a treehouse since it isn't attached to a tree, but is does sit under the tree and when you are inside it seems as if you are in the tree.

Why a treehouse you ask? Well, the kids were at a friends house whose Dad builds all kinds of stuff and they had a fort at the bottom of a hill. When Mathieu and Gigi came home that Friday they begged Marc for a treehouse. Sure enough, on Saturday he began construction and for the past three weekends has been working from morning to night on their treehouse. It is the most sturdy treehouse in the world (Marc tends to over build) and has a climbing wall, ladder with hole you climb through, robe to swing down, disk swing and will soon have a trapeze bar and who knows what else. The kids are so excited, they want to sleep up there!

Finally, back to school

2008-09-02T08:36:00.005-04:00

Today is the first day of school. Gigi is starting 1st grade and Mathieu is going into 3rd grade. Both of them were not very excited about going to school today and kept trying to come up with reasons why they couldn't/shouldn't go to school today.
1. It is Aunt Alisa's birthday, we can't be in school on her birthday.
2. I'm too tired to go to school.
3. We'll do chores if we can stay home.
4. School is no fun, we NEED to have fun.

Well, off they went. I think every parent looks forward to the first day of school after summer vacation, but strangely as I sit here at home it seems much too quite. I don't like being at home alone, the best times are when Marc and the kids are here, it is just not home without them. So now I have the entire day (or at least until 3:30) to myself.

Cheese Heads to Jets?

2008-08-14T09:25:00.009-04:00

Marc took Mathieu to his mecca...Green Bay, to see Brett Favre practice with the Packers. This trip was planned even before Brett retired and then when he decided to come out of retirement Mathieu was so excited. They arrived in Green Bay the day that Brett was to begin practicing, but he never showed up. There were thousands of fans there (I guess Mathieu isn't the only Brett Favre fan) and people were yelling "We want Brett". Gigi was excited to see her favorite player, Donald Driver, but without Brett on the field they just didn't want to stay in Green Bay. The next morning it was announced that Brett may be traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mathieu announced, "Well, I guess we are Buccaneer fans". As it turns out,"we" are New York Jet fans now.

My Dad...

2008-07-15T08:50:00.009-04:00

Edward A. Rosseter, Jr. "Al"
(May 10, 1928 - July 8, 2008)

Passed away Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at age 80. Al was born in St. Petersburg, FL on May 10, 1928, the son of Edward Albert Sr. and Erin (Wever) Rosseter. Al was a varsity basketball player at St. Petersburg High School but golf was number one. He was a member of the winning golf team at the Univ. of Florida, graduating in 1950. Al then became the assistant golf pro under Skip Alexander at Lakewood Country Club in St. Petersburg, FL until 1960. It was then that Al accepted the position of head professional at the Country Club of Lansing. He served the club and its members until 1979, becoming the longest serving pro in the club's history. He was instrumental in starting the Country Club of Lansing Invitational. Al was a lifetime member of the PGA and received a letter of commendation for being a member for 50 years. After leaving the Country Club, Al purchased a number of Arby's Inc. franchises. Al is preceded in death by his parents and a sister Jeanne Hudson. Al is survived by his wife of 53 years, Betty, his children Amy Rosseter, Mark (Jennifer) Rosseter, Anne (Marc) Norcross and Alisa (Bruce Anderson) Rosseter and 4 grandchildren; Maggie and Dane Rosseter and Mathieu and Gigi Norcross. The family wishes to thank Tammy, Rita and all the caregivers and staff at Alterra for the care they gave to Al. A Memorial Gathering will be held Friday from 5-8:00pm at the Palmer Bush & Jensen Family Funeral Homes, Delta Chapel, 6020 W. Saginaw. Memorials can be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing, A.S.P.C.A. or Hospice Advantage in memory of Al.

I was with my Dad when he died. It was very peaceful and now he is in a better place. He will always live on in my memories. He was a great golfer and many people from the Country Club came to his memorial, all talking about what a wonderful golfer and pro he was. I remember one time he took my sister Alisa and I golfing and the only clubs he carried were a putter and an iron. I can still see how graceful he looked when he swung the club. He was also a great dancer!

Summer Sports

2008-06-28T20:00:00.005-04:00

Both Gigi and Mathieu are involved in summer sports -- Gigi plays T-ball (the first time ever and she is working hard in batting and running to first base) and Mathieu plays baseball and went to MSU Football camp (of course, he says he is going to be a pro football player someday). Their sports schedule keeps me busy at least 3 nights a week, sometimes 4 nights and then there is the tournament weekends. I don't remember ever being this busy when I was 5 and 8 years old, but they love it and it keeps them active.

Gigi's first T-ball game. She is just learning to hit the ball and Mathieu has been helping her, and trying to teach her how to run really fast.

Mathieu at MSU Football Camp. He was so excited because he got to practice in Spartan Stadium and some of the coaches were MSU football players. Camp was from 8:30am-7:30pm and when he got home he was exhausted which is really something because Mathieu rarely runs out of energy. They ran drills all day long and then had football games against each other from 6:00-7:30pm.

Zip Line Canopy Safari

2008-05-18T15:44:00.010-04:00

We all did the zip line tour at Manuel Antonio. It was great fun! My mom (80 years old), Gigi (5 years old), and Mathieu (8 years old) all did it by themselves. There were 21 platforms, 9 zip lines, 2 repel lines (one 95 feet and one 60 feet), one suspension bridge, and one "Tarzan swing"!!! The platforms are just wooden platforms high in the canopy (some about 120 feet above the rain forest floor) and so for safety everyone had to be tethered to the platform. The only time Gigi was scared was when she was to repel 95 feet, but they just pushed her off the platform and down she repelled. Afterwards both Gigi and Mathieu wanted to do it again. (You can click on any of the photos to see them larger)

Costa Rica...Mathieu's story

2008-05-18T13:31:00.006-04:00

The city I stayed in is called Manuel Antonio. Monday night my dad went to the bathroom at 12:00am. When my dad sat on the potty he turned on the light and screamed. He thought he saw a tarantula, but he was wrong. It was a scorpion! A black and brown scorpion that was over 4 inches long, but he killed it with a plunger.

Wednesday afternoon my mom was picking up the laundry then suddenly a huge spider (of the tarantula family) jumped on her arm. It was 4 inches around!! My mom screamed and brushed it off her arm. Then she called our neighbor Pete and Moose (the dog). My dad chased the spider under the bed. Then Pete killed it with his shoe.

Then on Friday we went to an aviary at the La Paz Waterfall near San Jose. Gigi was looking at some birds. Then suddenly a turkey vulture swooped down from out of nowhere and chased Gigi down the path. As she ran she cried. Then finally it flew away. (Note: on all blogs, you can click on the title and if I've attached a link to another related site, it will take you there).

Costa Rica - May 2008

2008-03-31T15:23:00.006-04:00

Costa Rica is our next vacation destination. My sister Alisa suggested Costa Rica to us after we found that the airfare to France was over $1500/person this summer. So, we are off to Costa Rica on May 10, 2008. We will be renting this house in Manuel Antonio.

Gigi and Mathieu's song

2008-03-31T09:40:00.005-04:00

At Christmas 2007, Gigi wanted me to videotape her singing her Christmas song and so I did, but then Mathieu step in and added to the "performance". This was totally unplanned, but turned out very, very funny.

First Blog

2008-03-31T08:43:00.003-04:00

The Norcross Family
Hello. I'm new to blogging, but wanted to do this since my sister is moving from California to France and it will be an easy way to keep her up-to-date on what is happening in our family.

My husband (Marc) and I have two children: Mathieu is 8 years old and Georgia (Gigi) is 5 years old. They are very active children and keep us very busy with their activities. I am hoping that they will both be able to add to this blog so that their Aunt Alisa (my sister) and Uncle Bruce in France can see all they are doing this next year.

As for Marc and me, Marc is a driver for United Parcel Service and works long hours, especially during the holiday. Fortunately, I am an assistant professor of art history at Kendall College of Art and Design and so I have much more flexible hours which allows me to be home for the kids on many days. We love to travel and take the kids to new and exciting places. This year we are planning a trip to Costa Rica.