Random Stuff

I have really been enjoying these beautiful sunny days we are having. It's been hot and humid too but I'm not even going to mention it because it's hot all over and a lot worse in some places!

Last Saturday we went to see Rich's niece Janeen's new house and pool. His sister Judy is in town from South Carolina. It was so nice to see them all since we hadn't seen them since the pandemic and also since Judy's  daughter, Ann died from metastatic breast cancer in February, 2020.

Janeen and her husband have a beautiful house out in the country.

The pool in the backyard was wonderful and we had a great time! Maxwell and Levi had a blast playing on the  steps! 

I bought two of these cute little shelves at T@rget last week. I love them but can't figure out where to hang them! 

                                          

I have this one sitting on my desk temporarily. 

This is a set of sheets folded and stored in one of the pillow cases. It may look neat on the outside but inside is a hot mess! I can't fold a fitted sheet for anything! 

This is one of the outdoor cats looking inside at Smudge our indoor kitty! He wanted in and Smudge wanted out! Neither one was happy to see the other! 

That's about it for now. I just got home from having brunch with a former co-worker from U of M. It was really nice to see her and hear about the happenings at my old job! 

Speaking of job I may have one but I don't want to jinx it by talking about it yet. It's perfect and exactly what I am looking for. Wish me luck! I should know by the end of next week! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends! 

More Vacation Fun

We tried to pack as much activity into our vacation as we could and still be able to have plenty of down time and relaxation. 

On Monday we went to the Call of the Wild Museum. I always see the billboard advertisement on the expressway whenever we head up north but have never actually stopped there. Shauna wanted to take  the boys to see all the animal dioramas. 

I think they loved it but had more fun pressing the buttons to turn on lights and listen to narratives of the scenes. I didn't take too many pictures but the grizzly bear and a full grown moose are huge! I would hate to run into them in the wild! 

We also went putt-putt golfing but I didn't take any pictures. I was trying to just be in the moment! Of course there was a gift shop and the boys got some new wildlife related toys! 

Tuesday was a rainy day so we just kind of kicked back and took it easy. 

On Wednesday we drove to Petoskey MI. Maxwell wanted to see a lighthouse so we walked down the pier so he could see the lighthouse (unimpressive) and watch the boats go by on Lake Michigan. 

And of course no trip to Lake Michigan is complete without searching for Petoskey stones. I took this from Wikipedia

A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized rugose coral, Hexagonaria percarinata.^[1] Such stones were formed as a result of glaciation, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in the northwestern (and some in the northeastern) portion of Michigan's lower peninsula. 

I managed to find four of them in the 15-20 minutes I had to search for them. You have to look at or past the waterline because when they are dry they just look like any other stone. 

 

Here I sprayed them with water so show what they really look like. You either have to polish them or paint them with clear paint or nail polish for the pattern to show all the time. 

The boys liked being on the rocky beach and throwing rocks into the water to their hearts content! 

One evening we took a walk and came across some construction equipment sitting on the side of the road. Maxwell and Levi LOVE any construction equipment so they were over the moon!  It took us a while to get them away from it! 

We spent our last full day there at Otsego Lake State Park which was only a few miles from where we were. They had a huge beautiful beach for the boys to play on. The water was nice and warm, too! 

We built sand castles for them to knock down a soon as were were done with them! We also dug a giant hole in the sand and Maxwell and Levi (with a little help from us) filled it with water using buckets and watering cans that I made them from laundry detergent bottles. 

Sitting on the picnic table eating ice cream was a regular thing! 

Maxwell even made himself a unibrow! 

Sometimes we just goofed around and got our silly on! 

Every morning we enjoyed sitting on the porch looking at the water and listening to the loons call. 

And in the evening the sunset never failed to be beautiful! 

This vacation was always about just spending time with my family and it did not disappoint! Every day was a joy and wonderful memories were made! I tear up thinking about how grateful I am for my wonderful family and the opportunity to spend this time together! 

Brad is already checking out places for next year and I can't wait! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends! 

 

Vacation and Birthday Party

Boy, weeks sure do fly by when you are on vacation! We had a blast and getting to spend a week straight with my family was everything I hoped it would be! 

We had a wonderful week in an Airbnb on Lake Manuka in Gaylord MI. The house that my son-in-law got for us was absolutely beautiful! It had two bedrooms and a full bath upstairs and one bedroom and a full bath downstairs. It slept 9 people.  

We had the downstairs bedroom with a doorwall outside to that awesome front porch.  Every morning we sat out there drinking coffee and looking at the lake. Sometimes we could hear loons calling or see muskrats swimming by.  

Chris and his friend drove from New Hampshire on Friday and came up to Gaylord for a few days. The boys were over the moon to see Uncle Chris again!

Shauna's birthday was on Sunday the 11th and she turned 40 years old. While her and Brad when to the grocery store that day we decorated the house for a birthday party! 

I had bought a cake and candles earlier. 

After we all went to a nice dinner to celebrate we came home and had birthday cake. I took this picture off of a movie I took of the kids singing happy birthday! As soon as we finished singing Levi blew the candles out! Then we had to relight them so Maxwell could blow them out too! 

Way back in January I had a necklace made for her from some family diamonds. 

The top diamond is from my grandmothers engagement ring. They told me at the jewelry store that the diamond is probably 100 years old. They can tell by the cut, I guess. 

The middle diamond is from a pair of diamond earrings that my dad gave my mom for their 25 anniversary. She wore them every day after that. One of the earrings I lost on the day she passed away. I think I accidently threw it away with tissue in the hospital. 

The bottom diamond is from my original engagement ring. 

Shauna absolutely loves it and we both cried when I gave it to her. 

I took this snap from a movie of me getting ready to put it on her. Levi was a little concerned with his mom crying. 

Finally Brad surprised her with a 4-day trip to Las Vegas next month. He planned lots of things for them to do while they are there. Us and Brads parents will take turns watching the boys, of course. 

It was a successful birthday celebration for her! We had her in tears a few times! 

Next post I'll tell you about all the things we did while there! 

Until then stay safe and well my friends! 

Heading Out

Today we are heading out to stay a week at a AirBNB on a lake in Gaylord, MI. I actually am writing this post on Friday and scheduling it to post on Saturday morning. 

I am looking forward to a week of being with my grandsons every day! Maxwell is always asking for a sleepover so he's getting 7 of them!

My daughter is turning 40 on Sunday so we are having a birthday party for her. I have a special gift I had made for her and I'll tell you about it next time I post. 

I made the red, white and blue dessert for our 4th of July party and it was delicious!

I think it came out ok. They never look as good as the picture of the recipe though. I cut a angel food cake loaf into slices for anyone who wanted to add it in with the fruit and cream cheese. 

The only thing was there was too much fruit and not enough of the cream cheese mixture to make it look even. If I ever make it again I will probably only use half the fruit! 

Anyway, I have a lot to do before we leave. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Until then stay safe and well my friends! 

Long Weekend and Mother Nature

Funny how now that Rich and I are retired long weekends don't seem so exciting anymore! 

Tomorrow (Saturday) we are babysitting for Maxwell and Levi while their parents go to the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament. It's an all day thing but we are only watching them from 7 am to about 1. The Brads mom is taking over  because we have a barbeque to go to in the evening.

I'm making a red, white and blue dessert and if it turns out good I'll post a picture of it next time! 

Chris sent this picture of his garden this year. I don't think I've seen a neater garden ever! He works hard on it and grows practically every vegetable you can think of! Plus they have a couple peach trees that aren't in the picture.

I took a walk in a local park and this duck family was not happy to see me!

I was standing on a little bridge and they were quacking at me and herding the babies away! They are so cute!

Then this morning when my friend Marie and I went to breakfast this mother duck and her ducklings were walking across the lawn outside the window where we were sitting! I worry about them because the restaurant is on a busy road and I think she had a long way to travel to get her babies to water! They are so cute though! 

I also saved a turtle the other day! I was driving on a pretty busy road and it was sitting in the middle on the double yellow line tucked up in it's shell. First I drove past it but only got a short way before I knew that I couldn't just leave it there with cars whizzing by on both sides.  So I turned around and drove back. I straddled the lines with my car and turned on the flashers! Luckily the traffic had cleared a little. When I went to grab the turtle it started to scoot across the street so I was kind of nudging it with my foot. When it got almost across it started to go to the right so I picked it up and put it on the grass about 6 feet off the road. 

Then I got back in my car and drove up the street. By the time I turned around and got back to where the turtle was it was up an embankment heading to a pond on the other side! I have to admit my knees were shaking a little bit but if I had left it and then saw a squished turtle later I would have felt really, really bad!

That's bout it for now. I hope you all have a enjoyable weekend with good food, friends and fireworks! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends!