Frederik Meijer Gardens

Yesterday Dad took Mom and I for a day away.
We had a great time, and saw a lot of new things to us. :)
OUCHY TIME!

It was really neat how you could walk from room to room and feel like you really were in Mexico or many of the other places.

Moonstones

There were so many different kinds!

I was so sure as I was walking through here that I was going to bump into any one of these! But boy am I sure glad I didn't!

This one seems like it would be true to it's name, though it looks nice and soft I'm sure as soon as you started to pet it it would feel like a torch!

Rat's tail

This stuff makes yummy candy. :)

You can't tell how big all this stuff was, some of it was massive!

More of the Prickly Pear

Golden Barrel (No Not Sit On This Barrel!)

A Live wreath

I thought this one was funny, and the name goes quite well. :)

Too cool

That'll keep the kids from picking the flowers! :O

Felt tree, I wanted to touch it and see if it was soft. But I also wasn't willing to find out the hard way that it was just as hurtful as all the other things in this room!

It's kind of funny to me that with all these thorns and such, the Desert 'Rose' isn't poky.

Crown of thorns

Did somebody say Hobbit? :)

These were big! I couldn't get all of it but it was!

Cute

Skinny Fingers

Yowch! That's neat!

Pitcher Plants

So many different kinds!

These not only look pretty, they enjoy a buggy meal whenever they get hold of one!

That's right, these were all Carnivorous plants! =0

(Might be handy with all the fruit flies huh?) :D

Who would have thought a plant could be deadly without eating it?!

Mom and Dad. (I'm going to have to put up the other picture of them, somehow I got the wrong one, and I'm NOT going to try to add it this post!)

Me. :D

Playing around. =]

I could have done better I'm sure, but some people walked in and I wasn't into having them watch me take a self photo.

That's why in this one I'm not even looking. =]

I like Mums.

Fig Newtons anyone? :D

Yummy

Ooo, Ahh. :)

These birds were very cute and funny. There is a long story behind them too, that I might tell about some time.

These were bigger then me!

Bamboo bamboo

Hey, it's me!

Quite the fan huh :)

I'm not sure how this tree grows

Weird huh

Coco tree

LONG vines!

Hairy

Birdie

Hmm, Dad was having fun =]

Playing ball

Pass it to me! pass it to me!

Right here! right here!

Um :)

Jack out of the box

A car

My house. (Do you think I'll be able to fit all 16 kids in there?)

March Hare

and the Mad Hatter, at their tea party.

Mom and Dad.

(or is that the kids?)

Hmmm :)

My guess is, that's Alice. But she wasn't very talkative, so I'm not sure.

Grandpa, the storyteller.

Dad put his glasses on him, so it would look more like it were Dad. :)

The Great Lakes Sail Boat race!

Dad was Green, and I was Blue. They really didn't go much of anywhere. :)

The kids playing. :)

Michigan

Can you tell what time it was?

Mom and Dad with Mr. and Mrs. Meijer

The American Horse

BIG!

Have you ever had a 7.5 TON horse step on your foot?!

Mom telling Jessica what a great place it is

Dad climbed the hill to get some pictures

Mom and I

Dad and I walked this, and came up with our own thoughts of what everything was, then we took one of the buses with Mom, and we liked our ideas better. :)

These were kind of cool, but I must say, I'm not much into "art".

These were neet too, they were called Number 25, and Number 26.

Not much of a story behind them, they were meant to make you think and come up with your own story about them. i did have my own story that I came up with though.

This just looked like a buch of beams welded together to me.

It was meant o have something to do with music and such... yeah... also known as a lot of meaningless work. (:D)

The waterfalls

Arn't I the kid that should be worrying my Dad by climbing up on the rocks?

Somehow we got that a little mixed up.

Anyone need to do some major gardening?

Anyone want to guess how old these three trees are?

Huge Pumpicans!

Bibbidi bobbidi boo :)

The End

For those of you that like pictures better then words

While my Dad's brother Larry and sister-in-law Glenda came up this past week, we were able to take them up to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was great to be able to spend the time with them!
As you can see in the pictures, we had the kids along with us as well.

A first Faith was very hands off ish, but by the time they had to leave she was giving them hugs and all. :)

Camera Man

Park Ranger

Uncle Larry

Hawk over the water

and guess what. The kids playing in sand. :)

Yes, so when we were walking to the over looks, I was holding Faith's hand and I pulled her over to walk in the sand a little. She DID NOT like that and wanted to get back on the boardwalk. But after a while when the boys started playing on the hill, then she didn't care at all that she was in the sand. :)

One, Two, and Three. :)

The end. =]

Rushing through life to take it slow

I fear I am in grave need of a post.
It has been quite some time, and with what I said in the last post I don't want any of you to think that this blog is just a passing fad. :)

It is funny the way life changes from just one day to the next.
Disappointment with something to do with one friend one day.
And then, the enjoyment of deep conversation with one that you have not gotten time with for seeming ages the very next.
This year is flying away from me, I don't know how it has gone so fast. I can hardly keep up with it!
Can you tell by the way of my typing that I have been watching Mansfeild Park with Mom? :D
Yes, that and Persuasion. That movie I must say, was made quite well (both of the two that I have seen, the 1995, and the 2007), but they come no where close to being as grand as the book is! :)
OK, so, before you all start thinking I am hopelessly lost in books such as these, I shall try to think of some thing else I can fill you in on from my past life.
Thanks to Hannah Elliott's patience with me (for very great it is!:). I have been able to be doing quite a bit of canning.
I must not be doing to bad, for she has already trusted me enough to bring over her canner and all the stuff to do Green Beans, for lack of time for her to can them herself.
All of the jars did just as they are meant to, and nothing blew up.
So, I was happy anyways. :)
Peaches is the thing for tomorrow.
For though we have already peeled, sliced, and canned 28 qrts. that only ended up being about a bushel, meaning we have 2 more to go!
My wrist is pleading for mercy, but alas, to no avail, it must be done.
Hopefully though, Hannah got the right knifes to do the job, and maybe our hands will not hurt so very much as last time they did.
We shall see.

This past week we had a splendid time getting to have my Dad's brother and his wife here with us! It was such a great deal of fun!
Being 8 years -yes I know that's a long time- since we have seen them, I hardly knew them but what I had heard from the past.
Think not that it was for hard feelings of any sort that we have not seen them.
It is just that life gets so busy, and with all the traveling we do, and having the kids so close, and so much day to day busyness, it's just hard to keep up with every one that we would like to.
I I'm sure it is quite the same with them.
Isn't it a strange thought, that the ones we have been so very close to through different stages of our lives, we hardly talk to now.
Not for loss of love, or hard feelings toward those people, but for life taking us down different roads.
For God leading us down different paths.
Yes, He keeps some of our old friends close by through out our lives.
But there are so many that we part with, without even thinking of it as parting.
Perhaps parting is the wrong word, maybe drifting is the one I'm looking for.
Can you count on one hand alone the people that you have drifted from over the years?
I don't think I can. It would take both hands, feet, and more to count the ones.
It is almost sad when one thinks of it, but at the same time, we have our own lives and God has us in quite the place He wants us right now.
I know I have said it before, but God has been so faithful in placing just the right friends in my life, at just the right times.
I don't know where I would be, without some of them being there for me at much needed times over the years.
But as I draw closer to the Lord, I am learning how great a friend He truly is!
He alone is the friend that I can count on to always have time to listen to my complaining, my joyful ramblings, or my thoughts of the day.
He understands me best of anyone.
Even better then I understand myself! By far! :)
Though I have asked Him "WHY?" so many times, He is always calmly waiting for me to say, "It's OK Lord, I know, it's in Your hands. I will let You take over, and leave it in Your hands."
Though it is hard and many times takes me quite a while to come to that point, I know once I have come to it, that that was what He was waiting for.
We cannot 'make' God do anything we want Him to do. That is not the way He works.
We have our own ideas of how this or that can work out, and we oft times like to -let Him know what we think... :)
Yes, I'm sure the God of everything likes to hear our little planes for our life and how we would like Him to work it out for us. Don't you?
As a great Preacher likes to say, HOG WASH!
:D That just seemed to fit right there really well! :)
Sure we should not sit back and do nothing for ourselves, but we should not think either that we can tell God what we want, when we want it, and that He is just going to give it at our biding.
No, not at all.
Hard we might think it is, to find the balance in such things as this. But it is there, we just need to learn how to come by it.
There are many things that we do not understand about God's ways. But is it because we cannot learn about them, or because we do not search them out?
He has given us more then enough to be able to get to know Him.
And we all should know that way is His word that He has so graciously given to us.
But how many of us truly 'search' them out?
How many of us go into our rooms at night, and pick up our Bibles to get our nightly Bible reading in, at the very same time that we get our nightly thinking in? And then the same thing in the morning? Or anytime it may be that you may read your Bible.
I know from myself that one night I can read and read and read and seem to get so much out of His word, and then the next night I'm trying to read through as fast as I can just so I can get to bed so I can wake up for the big day tomorrow! Yeah, Christ like indeed. Hmm.
How sad.
But now, this post must come to an end, for if I do not publish it now, I shall stay up even longer going on and on, and the very thing that I said was sad just now would happen once again this very night.
For I am to go help Hannah with the rest of the Peaches in the morning, and I do not wish to rush through my reading once again just so I can get up in time to rush through my morning reading so I can rush and get ready before she comes to get me!
Rushing to go slow, is that what life is all about?

Fads

Fads of the 20s - 40s

Stickball, Hood Ornaments, Zoot Suits, Slinky, Moving to the suburbs ,Swallowing Goldfish, Pea Shooters, Johnny on a Pony, Stoop Ball, Stamp Collecting, Miniature Golf, Betty Boop, Monopoly, Drive-in Theater, The Zipper, Mandatory Hats, Board Games, Radio Shows, Peter Pan Peanut butter, Swing Dancing, Bright Red Lipstick, Dance Marathons, Pez, Cloche hat, (???) Flappers. Conk hairdo, Flagpole Sitting, (?) Magic 8-Ball, Fadoras, Pea shooters, Two toned shoes, Jewelry Broaches, Dates at the Soda Fountain, Suburban living, Red lipstick, Jitter bug Bubble gum blowing contests, Tutti-frutti (food), Slinky, Hokey Pokey

50s

Colored streamers for bicycle handle bars, baseball cards in your bike's wheel spokes (to make a fwap-fwap sound), TV Dinners, Drive-in theaters, Letter Sweaters,Jukeboxes, Fins and chrome on cars, Diners. Teenyboppers, DA Haircut, Blue suede loafers, Bunny hop, Sock Hops, Gumby, (!:) Quiff hairdo, Kit-Cat Klock, Flat tops, Tupperware, The Boomerang, Carhop (waiter/waitress on rollerskates), Elvis, Silly Putty, Bazooka Joe, TV Dinners , Tiki culture, Spud Guns, Sideburns, Whiffle ball Bubble Gum Cigars, Hokey Pokey, Saddle Shoes, Beehive hair, Fast food, Chicken Dance, Watching for flying saucers, Pompadour hairdo, Beanie (cap), Scrabble, Frisbees, Mr. Potato Head, Hula Hoop, Blue jeans, Blackjack Chewing Gum, Poodle cut hairdo, PezPaint-by-number, Hopalong Cassidy guns Coonskin Caps, Creepers (shoes), Disneyland, 3D Movies, Davy Crockett, Poodle Skirts, Neon signs, Droodle (cartoon), The Red Scare / Commies Cinch belts, Telephone Booth Stuffing, (??) James Dean, TV tray, Crew Cuts, Legos, Ant Farms, Slinky

60s
American Bandstand, Lava Lamps, Hair Ironing, Twister (game), Motown Sound Surfing, Bellbottom Pants, Mood Rings, White gloves, Flower power Platform Shoes, Counter culture, Nehru jackets, Woodstock Festival, Afros, The Smothers Brothers, Men wearing beads, GI Joe, Baby boomer, Klackers. Click Clacks, Klappers, Klik Klaks, The women's movement / Women's lib, The Beatles, Summer of Love, Granny Glasses, Slogan Buttons, Coco Chanel, Oleg Cassini gowns, Hell's Angels, Doll-like makeup, Bubble Chair, Peasant skirts, Black Lights, Macram鍊Sea monkeys, Twist (dance), Space hopper (kangaroo ball), Pop art Hippie beads, Miniskirts, The Ed Sullivan Show, Slot Cars, Granny dresses, British Invasion (music), Sit-in movement, Laugh-In, Minidress, minicoat, minipants, The mod look, The Mickey Mouse Club, James Bond and spy movies, Tanning cream, Hippies, Gum wrapper chain, Wide belts, Hip hugger pants, Legalized Marijuana Movement, Bouffant Hairdo, Drive-in theaters, Bouncy ball Psychedelic, Balsa Wood Airplanes, The space program, Frilly shirts, Wearing eyeglasses with no lenses in them. Beach parties/beach movies, Boogaloo Drive-in theater, Banana Seats on Bicycles, Chinese fire drill, Telstar / Satellites, Unisex clothing, Troll Dolls, The Twist (dance craze), Fallout Shelters, Turtlenecks, Ouija Boards, Equal Rights Amendment Chunky shoes, Bobcat vests, Jello, Go-Go boots, Clunky wooden jewelry, Paisley (design) Ball Chair Rickie Tickie Stickers, Smiley faces, Bright ties, Leisure suits, Tie-dye Yo-yos, Army/Navy surplus, The "Jackie Kennedy look", Peace sign, Love Beads, A single strand of pearls, Chanel suits, Flower children, Scully (a game with bottle caps), Peace Symbol,Latin boogaloo Barbie Dolls, Women wearing long straight hair, Twiggy - boyish figure, cropped hair, Pin-striped jumpsuits
70s
Muscle Cars (Trans Am / Camaro), Star Wars action figures, Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific, CB Radios and CB radio sayings ( like "breaker, breaker" and "That's a 10-4 good buddy"), Acupuncture, Creepy Crawlers, Streakers, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Leisure Suits, Play-Doh, Platform Shoes, Dorothy Hamil haircuts, Flower Power, Mopeds, Spirograph, Primal Scream Therapy, Big Wheels, Silly songs (like Kung Fu Fighting, the Streak, Convoy, etc.), Keep on Truckin', Earth Day, The Hustle (dance), Perms for men, String Art, Polyester, Banana-seat bikes, Slip n' Slide, Mood rings, Legos, UFOs, Bean Bag chairs, Pong (and Atari and held video games), Silly String, Boop On hairstyles, Rockem Sockem Robots, Happy Days (TV Show), Silly Putty, tetherball, Abba, Disco Music, Lava Lamps, Amway Distributors, Strobe Lights, sea monkeys, Etch-a-Sketch, Billy Bear, Lite Brite, Magic 8-Ball, Light shows for your room, Toga parties, Charlie's Angels, View-Master, Mad Libs, Cork Pop Guns, Air Hockey, Hitchhiking, 8-Track Tape Player, peace banadanas, Hot Wheels, Yahtzee, Barbie, Nylon jogging suits, Bell bottom pants, Wizzers, Fondue pots, Shag Rugs, Matchbox Cars, Tang, Hardy Boys, Weaving looms, Stretch Armstrong, Spin-Art, Battleship, Glass Eating, Glitter, Baseball Cards, Pop Rocks, Hot Pants, feathered hair/bangsPurses for men, Farrah Faucet hair, Radios in unusual shapes and forms, The Dunkin Yo-Yo, Mutton chop side burns, Holly Hobbie greeting cards & collectibles, 45 record singles, Operation, Slime, Nerf, hopscotch, Dashboard Hula Girls, English Leather aftershave, Black lights, Not showering, Model kits, Paisley Shirts, Earth Shoes, Mexican Jumping Beans, smiley face stickers, Afros, Key parties, Pet Rocks, Easy Bake Oven, Sand art, Telephone Booth stuffing, Twister, Crayons, Pukka shell necklaces, The BicentennialSocks with toes, Sea Monkeys, Crockpots and toaster ovens, whiffle balls, Hi-Fi, Waterbeds


80s
Atari, Roos (Kangaroo tennis shoes), Legwarmers worn over jeans, charm necklaces, Yo-Yo, Sandals, jeans with the zippers up the legs, Aqua Net Hairspray, The British Invasion (U2, Duran Duran, Culture Club, A-Ha, etc), Swatch Watches, Apple Computers, Rubik's Cube, Strawberry Shortcake, Guys with one earring, Care Bears, Slinky, Jelly Shoes, Simon (the game), Shasta soda, Neon (clothings, bracelets, signs, etc.), Scrunch Socks, Spandex, Schoolhouse Rock, Friendship Bracelets, Josie and the Pussycats, HOT stickers, Sock Sweat Bands, Mullets and Rat tails (long strip of hair in back of neck), (:P) Slap Bracelets, Mohawks, Dungeons and Dragons, Hanging out at Video Arcades, Trapper Keepers, Big Hair Bows, Brat Pack, Bandana tied around one's leg, Popples, Ripped jeans, Smurfs, BBS (Bulletin Board Systems - Kind of like the Internet but text based ), Chuck E. Cheese, "Word"Where's the Beef, Hershey Kiss Lip Gloss, Valley Girl talk, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Teddy Ruxpin, Penny Loafers, Weird Al, American Gladiators, Lip Smackers, Garfield, Goatee Beards, WWF WrestlingVans, Tennis Shoes, Judy Blume books, Big Hair with lots of hairspray (including glam/hair metal bands), Break Dancing, Brightly colored feather roach clips in hair, Denim Jackets, Muppet Babies, Michael Jackon type glitter gloves, Paint Pens, Having your collar up, Pac-Man, Lace fingerless gloves (like Madonna wore), Feathered Hair, Jazzercise, California Raisins, Crush soda pop, Miami Vice Fashion, Weeble Wobbles, Skater Hair Cuts (lopsided haircuts), Rainbow Brite, Hello Kitty, Koosh Balls, Wacky Wall, Walker, Duck-tails, (ooo-o), Nintendo, Connect Four, Scratch 'n Sniff Stickers, Leveraged Buyouts, Skateboarding, Sticker Collections and Albums, Slip 'n Slide, GucciCatsuits, "Just Say No", Trivial Pursuit, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Tupperware Parties, Chia Pets, Alfred E.Neuman, Roller Skating Rinks, Parachute Pants, Hacky-Sack, Sleeveless shirts, "Psyche!", Sony Walkmans, Tetherball, Remote Control Cars, Pop Rocks, "Members Only" jackets, New Wave music, John Hughes Movies (Sixteen Candles, Breakfest Club, etc.), Horror Movies (Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, etc.), Boom Boxes / Ghetto Blasters, Big Shoulder Pads, The KGBHe-Man, Pee Wee Herman, Polaroid cameras, Bomb disaster drills at schools Cabbage Patch Dolls, Garbage Pail Kids, Army Ants, The Preppy look, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghost-hunting, "Totally awsome!", My Little Pony, Crocodile Dundee Hats, Sweater on Waist, 'Baby on Board' Signs, Moonwalking, Doc Marten Lace-Up Shoes (army boots), Beauty Moles

90s
spandex shorts, Pokemon, Grunge music and fashion, Koosh Balls, Saved By The Bell, The Macarena, American Gladiators, Extreme sports, Gigapets / Tomogatchi, Trapper Keeper, The Waif Look, Tamagotchi, Spuds MacKenzie, Push Pops, Bowl cut, Beanies (caps/hats), Stoner and slacker humor (Beavis and (the other guy), Bill and Ted?s Excellent Adventure, etc.), Discman, Multi-colored silk shirts, Wide leg jeans, Radio Disney, Dr. Martens, Oprah's Book Club, V-Chips (for TVs), Overalls, Chat Rooms, Girl Power, Car air fresheners, Street Fighter, What would Jesus do?, Hypercolor (clothing that changed color with heat), Eight ball leather jacket, Pogs, Psych!, Polly Pocket Toys, Hip-Hop Fashion, I've fallen and I can't get up!, Mortal Kombat games, Claw vending machine, Hi-top fade, Tickle Me Elmo, SUV's, Clackers, Slammer Whammers


2000
High School Musical, YouTube, mini skirts with leggings, skinny jeans, iPods, American Idol, Emo Music & Emo Style Suped Up Cars, Flare Jeans, Blogging, The phrase, "That's Hot" (made famous by Paris Hilton), Napolean Dynamite, (ahem) William Hung, Wide skate shoes with fat laces, Mentos and Coke, High School Musical, Dance Dance Revolution, Wikis, Robotic Pets, The Big Mouth Billy Bass, Reality TV Shows, Atkins / Low Carb Diets, Snoop Dogg speak, Web Video, Energy Drinks (Red Bull, Full Throttle, Monster Energy, etc.). Razor Scooters, Dragonball Z (2000 - 2002?)[7], Texas hold 'em Poker, Webkinz, Tivo / DVR, Fantasy Leagues, Speed Dating, Flash Mobs, Text messaging, Uggs (boots), Vanilla Coke, Hannah Montana, Oversized sunglasses, Ring Tones, Gel pens, Hybrid cars, TV/DVD screens in cars, Using Online Slang In Speech (LOL, BRB, etc.), Crocs (shoes), Pocket Bikes, The Million Dollar Homepage and pixel advertising Bluetooth, World of Warcraft, Jared the Subway Guy, P2P File Sharing (Napster, Kaaza, etc.), LiveSTRONG yellow wristbands (to support the fight against cancer), The Da Vinci Code, Low Rise Jeans, US flags on cars, Wireless Camera Phones, Bratz Dolls, Craigslist, Social Networks (MySpace.com/Facebook.com), Vlogs (bideo blogs), Sudoku puzzles

OK, in all of the fads over the years, if you read through all of those as I did, I'm sure you noted that some of them (Slinky, Yo-yo, sea monkeys...) never went all of the way out or they just came back with in a year or so.
Others, such as this or that hair do, and clothing, came and went with actors and Singers.
Toys, there are just some that were grand, and no matter how many times they come around there will always be a kid that thought it was the coolest new toy ever, and a Grandma or Grandpa saying, "Hey, I had one of those when I was a kid!"
Some fads, we are VERY glad they died. (Most, to tell the truth.)
But some were 'some what' enjoyable to all.
The one thing, with almost every fad there is or ever will be, is at least in my guesstimation, 70% of them are money making schemes. (And I think I’m being kind with that guess!)
However, there are some fads (and I might do a poll on this) like bloging.
Yes, blogging. You know, your friend got a blog, then told you about it, so you got a blog and told all your friends about it and then they all got blogs and so forth and so on.
Yeah, and than what? One out of maybe ten bloggers keep up with there blogs 'maybe' weekly?
Some are very good about it, sure. But what about all those other blogs out there that have been sittin for months and years?
If you look down along my side bar, you will see that some have not posted for 1 month, 3 months, 5 months! and even up to 8 months!!! =o
Yeah, I'm not trying to get on anyone for this lack of posting. I understand that life gets busy!
Trust me, I know what busy is!
Then there are some that don't have the ease of just sitting down and typing up a post as I most the time would when I have free time.
All in all, blogging is a fad.
One that, if used right, could be very fun to have and good for others to read and/or look at.
Other internet things are the same, but I think I have gone long enough with my rambling for one post!

Let me know if there's anything wrong with this post, it's been a long time in the works and I may have missed somethin along the way.

Not Been Busy At All....

but sure havin' fun! :D

Blows My Mind

This is what you get when you put two Bethany's together...

...at a Beach Bums game. =o

Yes, craziness.

Bethany... :)

and Bethany... :D

Wai- snap. hehehe

What a look! =]

Oh yeah! (sun was in my eye)

Cheering. Yeah, the kids in front of us found out real fast how loud it is when you have two Bethany's behind you yelling... :D

Sunburn, and Bethany

Nathan in line for the signing.

Well Bethany, there you go. :)

I tell ya, I was sure glad to have Bethany there to be crazy with. A game can be just out right boring if you aren't crazy for at least a little bit. :) (ok, so I could have just sat and watched the game, but still, that's just not as fun!:)