It's Monday...

It's Monday...come on over to Simple Woman's Daybook blog and see what is going on with me today.. (The link is to the right above my picture!) God bless and have a wonderful Monday!!

We're Home!

We got home from our "wandering around Michigan" last evening...we had a great time..lots of driving and seeing sights...stopping whenever we seen something that looked interesting..(which was often) and spending lots of time with just each other..awesome 6 days!! Here's a brief recap of our mini trip...... We started out on Sunday the 22nd to take Alyssa (granddaughter) back to Mackinac Island. Here is a photo of her and Fred on the boat...on our way to the Island...

When I got ready to take the photo she said oh Grammy you're acting like a tourist!! LOL!!

Fred and I had reservations at the Hart Haven hotel on the island for 2 nights..the weather was perfect..not too warm but not cold..just right! We spent Monday walking and enjoying the beautiful flowers, water, etc. then in mid afternoon, Brenda from Bree's Mackinac Island Blog came over to the hotel and we had a great visit sitting outside at one of the tables under an umbrella. It seemed like I had known her forever after reading her blog for the last 2 years..it's an awesome blog and if you have time check it out..Here is a picture of Brenda and me that hubby took that afternoon.



Monday evening Alyssa and her puppy joined us for an evening of hanging out..(after she got off work)...then we left the island on Tuesday took a side trip up to Paradise and Whitefish point (Lake Superior) Here is a picture of the lighthouse..beautiful day..



This is an awesome light house and museum, after taking our time just enjoying a beautiful sunny day we headed to Munising and after lots of side trips to see the sights....checked in to a nice hotel and on Wednesday morning went on the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise
This photo is not the best..to see what the Pictured Rocks really look like click on the link and enjoy the website!!




Our boat ride ended up being quite the adventure as Lake Superior was quite rough and as the waves got between 7-8 foot the captain decided to turn the boat around..but we had already seen almost the whole tour..and got a 50% refund off of our tickets..It was still a fun ride and made for lots of conversation!! This picture was taken out of my "closed" window!!



Leaving Munising (after a delicious white fish lunch) we headed down to the bridge and to Mackinaw City...we called ahead to our favorite hotel and reserved a room which incidentally is the same room we request whenever we stay there...after enjoying the evening looking around Mackinaw City we left Thursday morning for Traverse City area..lots of beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan..spent our last full day touring around that area, seen a couple more lighthouses and lots of lake shore beauty..








After wandering around the whole day it looked like we may have a slight problem finding a hotel in our price range..but found a really nice one on the bay in Traverse City that had just been renovated and was actually the best price of the whole trip! PTL!!! So that's about it..oh one more thing..we came home a different route than our normal expressway route..we went across the state to a town called Harrisville...







(and found this beautiful state park there) this is on Lake Huron..so all in all we seen 3 of the Great Lakes on our adventure..had a picnic lunch on the beach here and then we were finally headed south and back to the expressway..Can you tell it was a fun time??? Hope you enjoyed my short story!! Such great memories were made!! God Bless!!

Beautiful Wedding!

Today was our grandson Josh's wedding day...Josh and Kari had a beautiful wedding in spite of a steady rain all day. The ceremony had been planned to be outside on a deck overlooking a lake..but...because of the rain it was moved inside to the hall next to the deck where the reception was already planned to be held..Everyone helped out to relocate and it was a gorgeous wedding...here is a picture of the gorgeous couple.
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I do believe you can see by their smiles they are a very happy couple.

Fred (hubby) did the ceremony and it was awesome to hear him pronounce his grandson and his new bride, husband and wife!! I am sure I will have some more photos and some better ones in the days to come..
Our granddaughter (who is Josh's sister) Alyssa made it home from Mackinac Island where she lives and works for the wedding...but...has to be back to work by Monday morning, so Fred and I are taking her back tomorrow and seeing we will be right there we are staying on the Island for a couple days and having some R & R...then we are going to take our time and roam around our beautiful state for a few days..so I will be absent from here for a few days. Not even taking my laptop on this trip..just a bunch of books!!

Get prepared for a lot of updates when I get home!! Have a wonderful SONday tomorrow!! Many blessings!!

Had to include one more picture of our youngest granddaughter Morgan that was in the wedding...
(and she loved every minute of it!!)

Wednesday weather....terrific!!

Had a really nice Wednesday..met my bestest friend Cathy for lunch at Chilis...sort of a late birthday celebration for my birthday..we had a long leisurely lunch..got another Willow tree angel and some votive candles..(spoiled me!)

Then I made a trip to Target..picked up some photo prints that I ordered online and also ended up picking up some cleaning supplies and misc. "stuff".

Later this afternoon I made a quick trip over to Ed and Angie's...Angie and Morgan had taken care of my flowers and the fish while we were up north with Lori and the girls. I had brought them a little gift as a thank you and hadn't made it over there...so we had a short chat and then home for the last session with Josh and Kari before their big day this Saturday!! It was neat to watch them, they are both so excited and that tickles me!!

As those of you who read here know that our granddaughter Alyssa lives on Mackinac Island..well Josh is her brother and she is coming home for the wedding but needed transportation back on Sunday to be back for work on Monday. So Fred and I are taking her back and we have reservations for 2 nights on the Island at a B & B..we have stayed at this one before but it's been a few years. We are looking forward to a couple of very relaxing days on the Island and not being on any kind of schedule..ahhhh that sounds awesome. Oh yes Josh doesn't know she's coming..it's a secret!!!

Well I want to share a picture with you that was taken in the last few days...this is a mandevella vining plant..love it!!

Have a wonderful "rest of the week"!!

Monday...already!!

It's Monday...come on over to Simple Woman's Daybook blog and see what is going on with me today.. (The link is to the right above my picture!) God bless and have a wonderful Monday!!

This Weekend ...I

☼ Had a really relaxing couple days.

☼ Saturday I did some laundry in the morning.

☼ Saturday Fred and I took a ride out to the pond store for some supplies for the pond.

☼ After we got our supplies Fred headed out towards Swanton and took a long ride back in Ohio farm country.

☼ Came home and made stir fried zucchini, sliced tomatoes, left over steak, and salad..all yummy.

☼ Rest of the evening was spent watching the Tigers, reading and just being lazy.

☼ Finished the book..The Elevator by Angela Hunt.

☼ Sunday morning I was in church...Praising the Lord for all He has done. What a blessed place to be!!

☼ In the afternoon I ended up outside in the swing reading...started a new book The Novelist by Angela Hunt.

☼ Around 4:00 we headed to TGIFriday's for lunch/supper..had a delicious meal and then headed home...stopped on the way home and got gas in the truck...$$$

☼ The rest of the evening was spent....reading outside, coming inside and watching some tv, talking to Pam on the phone...nice ending to a relaxing weekend!!
Oh yes and tomorrow I get to celebrate my birthday!! Going to Pam and Dan's for birthday supper!!


So...how about sharing about your weekend?!? Easy way to catch up on what has been happening with all of us!
Check out Keys to the Cottage to find out more about.....

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2010

What's blooming in your garden on this beautiful mid-August day? Here are some of my flowers that are blooming at our place on August 15, 2010...I think this is an awesome way to share what is blooming in our yards and gardens on the 15th of each month..so here I go..Click here to check out the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day blog!!

This flower I have bought a hanging basket of it every year and for some reason this summer I cannot remember the name!! But I am going to share it anyway..it's so pretty and the hummingbirds love it!!




And a close up of one of the blooms...


This mandevilla vine was a last minute purchase...it was marked down and looked like it was more dead than alive but as you can see it has done great!! Loaded with blossoms and lots of green leaves and vines...

My white butterfly bush was a little late in blooming but is now doing really good!! A bee was enjoying it here....


My wheelbarrow full of annuals looked a bit peppier last month but is still doing really well.



My Rose of Sharon is just starting to blossom..mine always blooms in late August so it's a bit ahead of schedule this year!!


And one last photo...black eyed susans!! Love them!!



Just want to leave you with this thought:

Who plants a seed beneath the sod,
and waits to see believes in God.

Vacation Tidbits..(Last days..Aug 6th and 7th)

Wow seemed like we had just gotten up to the cabin and it was Friday already..the girls and Lori were ready to just spend the day at the cabin, (and the beach of course) so Fred and I took a short day trip by ourselves..up to Lake Superior again and Muskallonge Lake State Park..it was so gorgeous..sunny and cool but beautiful!! Picture of Lake Superior through the trees...gorgeous view... The path in this next picture is the path to get down to the lake..Fred made the walk down but I stayed up by the truck and took pictures from afar!!! Then we made one more stop at the IGA store in Newberry for some basics like milk, bread and some soft drinks!! Didn't want to buy too much because of leaving in the morning. While we were out we seen a couple lighthouses (from afar!!) When we got home we had a late lunch..and then around 6, Fred and Lori started building a huge campfire to use later for cooking a late supper..all in all it was a great day..we spent most of the evening around the fire, cooking, eating and enjoying our last night at the lake. And then the last sunset of our week.... Saturday morning we were on the road to Mackinaw City at 8:33 (check out was by 9:00 so we did good). It had been a chilly night..first night we had all the windows closed...it was around 55 degrees when we left and when we got to Mackinaw City it was in the low 70's...what a different an hour or so made!! We did some shopping and lots of looking and then of course picked up fudge to take home. Had lunch at Scalawags Whitefish (I actually had shrimp which was delicious!!) and then around 1:30 we were on the road to home..Hope you enjoyed the vacation tidbits...it was fun remembering the week and the great memories that were made!
Here is a collage of some of the flower pictures taken on Mackinac Island...

Vacation Tidbits! (Thursday August 5, 2010)

Well after a rather laid back Wednesday we decided it was time for another day trip,

this time it was to......

Big Spring (Kitch-iti-kipi)

Michigan's Largest Spring.

Named the "Mirror of Heaven" by the early Indians.

Located in Palms Book State Park near Manistique in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan

A self-operated observation raft guides visitors to vantage points overlooking fascinating underwater features and fantasies.

This raft is on a cable that is pulled across the pool by a park employee or can easily be operated by any visitors to the park. The fast flowing spring can be seen through the viewing windows or you can look over the side of the viewing raft. This beautiful crystal clear spring can also be enjoyed from the shore.

So now I will share some photos of our time there..of course all of us (except Fred) loved the visit to the gift shop too!! Lots of neat "stuff"!

The raft coming back across the spring for us to get on for our turn!!









Megan being the captain!!!



Just enjoying the ride!!




Me and my honey!!



When we left there we stopped by a lighthouse..that was on our way back to the cabin. All in all it was a great day...had lunch out and then came home and all of us enjoyed relaxing out by the water...lovely day!!!

Seul Choix Point Lighthouse...on Lake Michigan....

Trip to Frankenmuth..

Fred and I took a trip to Frankenmuth today..we like the chicken dinners at Zehnders...(click here for their web page) and we signed up a few years ago to the birthday club. We each received a "rewards" club card for a free 'all you can eat' chicken dinner during the month of our birthdays...well Fred's was last month and we didn't make it up there but he still got a discount on his dinner..and mine was free!! Even included hot fudge sundaes!! (which we could hardly eat as we were so full!!)

Frankenmuth has beautiful flowers up and down the sidewalks and 'everywhere'...



We visited a couple shops but both of us were ready to head home after walking around a bit..so that was our adventure today...just wanted to share it with you..now I am going to add another day of our vacation tidbits!!