Lots of Hot Air

Every year on the 4th of July weekend Ashland has the Balloon fest...it's balloon races and balloon glows at night with tons of other festivities going on. Ice cream socials, parades, the usual. I didn't do a lot on Saturday but I decided I would head over to Freer Field early Sunday morning to catch the last race. I got the scoop on where they were going to land and had to laugh because it was right near my house! I could have saved the ride into town, but then I really wouldn't have known where to go next. So up early, off to town, back to car, out to field, and I'm glad I could watch...it's so peaceful to see the beautiful balloons floating above you and for some reason it's just fun to watch!
Each balloon has it's own design and that's the fun part..seeing the creative and the funny...This is an expensive hobby and hopefully people will still be able to afford to race and I'm grateful that we get to enjoy them without having to go up in one!
The balloons lifted off 2 miles from Freer Field and did a fly over to start the competition.
Waved a hearty "good morning" as the balloons flew over us on the way to their stopping point. Which, by the way, was only a few miles from my house!I hopped in my car and took off to the community soccer field.
Getting closer...
The balloons were heading over the trees from the soccer field and I jumped in the car and met them in the field on the other side.
Touch Down!
Look at the People by the balloon basket and you can get a good idea of how big these suckers are! But so pretty on a beautiful early morning July 4th...Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mid Week Lake Treat

Donna invited Jack and I to join her and Larry on the lake this afternoon. Jack had a Boy Scout meeting but I couldn't resist this beautiful day so I was happy to come along for the ride. She asked Connie from work if her family would like to come also. Connie was on call but her girls, Claire and Gwen gladly came for the fun. Donna picked them up earlier in the day and they helped her make a picnic dinner. They are really cute and sweet girls. As you can see from the pics, the sky was a crystal, clear blue. The temps have really gone down (70's), but the sun felt wonderfully warm! Claire and Gwen seemed to have a great time.
Scooby, Donna's Yorkiepoo was happy to come for the ride and bask in the sun.
We spotted this cute sailboat off in the distance. I don't enjoy sailing, but I love the look of a sailboat on the water!
We took a nice, peaceful ride on the lake and then pulled into this pretty cove that Donna called picnic area 2. It was the perfect spot to stop and enjoy dinner. Why does food always tasted better outdoors?
Larry was so good and patient with the girls. He helped them load up their hooks with worms and cast out to get some fish!
While everyone was fishing, I enjoyed sitting back and taking in the scenery. I love the little islands that dot the lake.
Donna and the girls put together a yummy picnic dinner. Larry grilled the dogs to perfection and the blueberry dessert was to die for!
After dinner Larry took us to a "hot spot" for some more fishing...a place he knew the girls would get a catch. Success! Claire snagged a nice size catfish that she released asap after I snapped this quick pic.
Time to head back home. The diamonds on the lake sparkle and shine. It was a lovely, perfect mid week treat..Thanks Donna for the yummy dinner and Larry for being such a great captain as well as teacher of fishing and hot dog grilling!

I Be Jammin'!

Sometimes Jack's patients will bring us little treats such as fresh eggs, spareribs, and this week is was fresh raspberries! I knew I wanted to make some freezer jam and she had given us just the right amount for a batch. It's fast, fun and yummy! I love these cute freezer jars with the snap on lids. So on the 4th when the homemade icecream is done I know what I'm spooning over the top...MMMMM!
On another note here's a plug for one of my fav spots in Ashland:
There's a little shop not too far from Jack's office called "Backdoor Primitives"..it's down a little alley and behind a house. Very cute shop with antiques, hook rugs (she has classes) and other sewing things (I'm not a sewing gal)..some of my fav figurines by Lori Mitchell that I've blogged about. I love this little treasure trove and have found some cute and reasonably priced items. I found this cute roseville pottery piece for $5..it's cute with some flags stuck in it for the 4th of July. I forgot to take a pic of the little yellow 1950's kitchen stool that I know the grandkiddos will love sitting on at the kitchen island..Jack always gets me a gift card from there and I always manage to pick up something! I will have to take a pic of this little shop for the blog soon. You will want to stop on in I'm sure!

Doggone Week

This weekend has flown by, but for Eddy it was a fitting ending to a sore week. First, in the beginning of last week he thought chasing after a raccoon was going to be fun. However, he forgot he was in Jordan's car and leaning out the window before realizing that might not be a good thing. He fell out the window and did a few somersaults on the road. The raccoon laughed and moved on. Eddy ended up with a cut lip, head and hair missing from his back...but He was fine and atleast nothing broke! Then on Thursday he took a walk somewhere, we're not sure where. He was out with us in the yard and after Jack went in the house I came in about an hour later and he thought the Edster was with me, and I thought he was with Jack...2 hours and much driving around the area we finally found him. He was slowly walking back home down our country road. Thankfully not hit by a car or taken by Coyotes...Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But perhaps he overheard us talking about what was to happen Sunday. Today he got...ahem...his manly hood altered...his Saturday night privileges taken away. The Rascal Unit/AKA neuter scooter came and he got caught up on his shots and "fixed". Jordan waited because he thought he would breed him, but decided, with my encouragement, that he wouldn't do that. So now Eddy is recouping at home, groggy, whiney, and a little confused at what happened. Time heals all wounds and soon he'll be his old self..well almost his old self!

Strawberries and Dads

This weekend I took some time on Saturday to sit at the Polk strawberry festival that's held every June. That's when the strawberries are ripe and juicy and great for making homemade icecream and having an old fashion icecream social and kiddie carnival. Booths are set up for vendors to peddle "whatever"..our hospital decided to set up a site to peddle our "total joints"...you know, knee, hip, shoulder, ankle,wrist,finger..well you get the point. I'm not sure Polk really will bring tons of patients our way, but we sat there anyway! This is a picture of downtown Polk..yep, just a cross road with a general store. I'm not kidding..that is the Polk general store. Hey, don't knock it, it has an ATM and I'm sure you can rent DVDs if you need to. You should blow this pic up to really get the true flavor...it would really be perfect if an Amish buggy was passing by when I took the shot. I could have gotten closer for the pic, but I didn't want them to think I was making fun of them. You know, the city slicker taking a pic of the hick joint.
People found the charts interesting. It is fun to look at xrays..atleast I think it is!
Here are the demo implants that we had to show what exactly goes into your new knee when it gets "replaced". Aren't they pretty? Maybe it's not everyone's cup of tea!



Father's Day was Sunday...a time to express our love and appreciation for our Dads. Jack's Dad passed away in 2001 and my Dad passed away in 1976. We both miss them and sure wish we could say to their faces how much we loved them. I know someday we will all meet again and Im really grateful for Jack and for being a good Dad to our boys. Thanks babe for all you do and all you've done to help raise those crazy and wonderful guys who now are Dad's themselves..except for Jordan..unless you count Eddy of course! Phil, Amanda and the girls stopped by on the Dad circuit..first us and then Amanda's Dad on Sunday. Thanks for stopping by and the girls took a few moments to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather for a dip in the pool.

Addy is trying to figure out why YaYa put that hat on her head..I don't think she liked it.
Lexi didn't care about wearing that silly hat, she was happy to float around in the pool and enjoy the day!

What a Kroc!

Our community has been blessed with this fun water park that is part of the Salvation Army Kroc Center. Ray Kroc was the owner of McDonald's hamburgers and this foundation chooses various towns to build these centers. They donate a huge sum and the town has to raise the rest. It's really a fun place. They have a gym, laser tag, rollerskating, many classes are offered for a very nominal fee and this fun water park and play area is free and open to the public. They even offer free lunches to kids. I took the grandkiddos on Saturday and they enjoyed it. We packed a picnic lunch and they played until the weather turned rainy. Jack thought it was funny that we left because of the rain since we were wet anyway! Katie was afraid of the dark clouds and even though there wasn't any lightening I felt it was better to head for home. Here is a wide view of the park. It is divided into different sections that appeal to kids of various ages. I had never been here so I'm glad I now have an inexpensive and fun place to bring the kids!
There were cute features like this dolphin water thingie all over the place.
There is a special section of the park that is made for the littlest kiddos...very small water spouts that won't scare them.
Taylor enjoyed all the action water toys like this machine gun.
Sophie had a knack for orifices...could not resist exploring them when they are at face level...like this aligator..just ask Eddy the Boxer.
I guess Eddy holds no grudges to Sophie for putting her finger where it did not belong...Eddy loves Sophie.
And Sophie loves Eddy!

This is...What?

This is what happens when your kids move 6hrs. closer to you..you get to see them 2 weeks in a row! Craig, Amy, Katie, Taylor, and Sophie came down to see us so Amy and Craig could go to Columbus to visit a friend and also attend the Temple. I have a ton of pics and will actually blog some more later, but by and far the biggest hit of the weekend was the pool. We finally got it all up and running and even though the water was chilly to say the least, it didn't stop anyone from giving it a try. Those kids love, love, love water and we had a blast! They got to see their cousins too. On Friday Phil, Amanda, Alexis, and Addy came for dinner, then on Saturday, Jack and Driana, Summer, Anthony, and Cameron came for dinner. Whew, it was a whirlwind and as I said, I have so many pics I have to do another blog entry to get them all in! I love times like this when everyone gets together and enjoys each other's company.

This is what pure joy looks like.
This is what you do when you get out of the pool and have zero body fat to keep warm!

This is what really serious about swimming looks like.
This is what Anthony does on a hot, muggy afternoon.
This is what you play in when the bigger pool is :1) too cold for you..or 2)to scary for you! Don't worry Cameron, you'll get the hang of the bigger pool soon!
This is what you look like when you go and visit your YaYa's work place...Taylor's not a doctor, he just plays one in my kitchen...and he didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn!
This is what you look like when you think your flowers have fallen off your cute shirt!
This is what happens when 2 people fall in love!

It's a Slam Dunk!

Friday after work we headed up to Grand Rapids to see Katie get baptized on Saturday. The drive is so much easier now that they are only 41/2 hrs. away instead of 10. However, the weather wasn't too cooperative. We had torrential rains on and off the whole way. But we made it without any mishaps and the weekend was great. Saturday the weather was very nice early on (only rained that night).In the Mormon church children are baptized when they turn 8. Katie was very excited for her day and she looked adorable in her white dresses..one to get dunked in and one for after. Everything went off without a hitch and there was a good turnout. It was a quick trip, we came home today and it didn't rain at all! (until tonight)Craig and Amy are coming down this next weekend so even though we didn't stay long it made saying goodbye easier when we know we'll see them again in a few days. Hooray! Here's what the clouds looked like..a bit scary and the winds were crazy too!
This is the dress that Katie got baptized in. It was nice she didn't have to wear a jump suit that the kids sometimes have to wear..she's a girlie girl and this dress looked great!
Katie would need a towel to dry off with and I had my friend Dawn make this one for her to remember the day..I thought it turned out really cute. Thanks so much Dawn!
Group shot..everyone smile!
Family shot!
Craig and Katie just before the baptism. Daddy's little girl is 8..can't believe it!
I really like the white dress that Katie changed into after the baptism part of the ceremony.
This is one happy little girl...and so cute too!
After all the excitement of the morning it's time for a little swing time in the back yard..It was a fun weekend and we're proud of our little Katie Peanut!