A Sunday afternoon

This past weekend we were finally home. I decided to do a garage sale on Thursday and Friday which was quite a bit of work, but worth the money and being able to get rid of things we don't need. After spending time with friends on Saturday we enjoyed a relaxing day together on Sunday. After church and a quick lunch we decided to spend the afternoon at a park before going to see a movie.

Bridge in the park

Ducks

Roses

Sunken Garden

Before finding the park we saw that there was a fair set up in the town so we headed back downtown after the movie to see what was going on. The fair was being taken down so no rides or elephant ears but the local food vendors had set up booths and you could buy food tickets to get different items. We enjoyed some fried ravioli, pizza, and gelato as we listened to the live Jazz music.

After we got home we watched a storm come in and then were able to see an AMAZING double rainbow that was very clear and bright. And it was a full rainbow, very tempting to follow it to see where it started and ended :)

Weekend in Michigan: Part 2

On Father's Day we celebrated my nephews birthday. Here are some pictures of his cake and opening presents.

My Dad checking out his new wood working book

The cake (he loves snakes)

Opening the gift we got for him (books, which he really liked)

Opening my parents gift

The quilt my mom made

My mom has been making quilts for everyone in the family. Mine was first which she started when I was in Junior High or High School and got it when I was 25. But since then she has had a lot more time and has made quilts for everyone else (my siblings and nieces and nephews). Dan has been joking with her about when he gets a quilt from her :)

Weekend in Michigan: Part 1

This past weekend we went up to Michigan to spend time with my sister and her family and to celebrate my nephews birthday. We arrived on Friday night and got to spend the evening chatting with my sister and her husband Stephen. There weren't any plans for Saturday so we decided to see how things would pan out.

On Saturday morning we headed down to the lake that they live by so we could see it and give the kids a chance to play in the water for a little bit.

Dan trying to ride the kids bike

 Back at the house Stephen gave Dan and me a chance to drive his new tractor. I had never done it before and was excited to get a chance to drive it.

While we waited for lunch Dan had some time to play with the kids.

We then went to Anderson and Girls Orchard. We have been here a couple other times and had a lot of fun at their free zoo, eating fresh strawberries, and eating their amazing homemade doughnuts.

Goats

Dingo

Baby Kangaroo

Turtle

Camel

 Playing the fire truck

After returning home we had some dinner before going on a Pontoon boat ride on Crystal Lake. It was really calm and we were really surprised that more people weren't out on the lake.

We finished the day by doing sparklers with the kids before eating fresh strawberry shortcake...a great way to end the day :)

Art Night

This past week one of my good friends came to visit for a few days. We had fun hanging out and on Thursday I ended up not having to go to work so we utilized my free day. We went grocery shopping, made a very yummy lunch, went for a walk, watched Star Trek, had dinner at a Thai place once Dan got home, and went to see the new Star Trek movie. Once we got home Aletheia pulled out her art supplies and we all painted. Here are some pictures from the night:

 Supplies 

Art

Dan working

Aletheia making a piece

 The finished pieces : The first two are mine and the last two are Dan's

Aletheia and me

We had so much fun and enjoyed the night a ton! I had never used the inks and supplies that Leth uses and loved seeing how she does her art. If you are interested in her work (she has amazing art) here is her web site...According to Aletheia

Cleaning Day

Last weekend Dan and I went to help some friends clean out and organize their house. Their church is wanting to start a ministry in downtown Marion and our friends will live in one half of the house and they hope to have college student living in the other half. We think it is a great ministry and a way to be plugged into the community. The half of the house they live in is all set but the half for the college students needed some work, and before they can clean or paint things needed to be sorted and moved. Here are a few before and after pictures I was able to take:

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

Bedroom before

Bedroom after

I forgot to take some "after" pictures from the other bedroom and downstairs area. We also had a huge pile of things that one of the local ministries was coming to pick up. I am excited to see everything once they can get all the rooms cleaned and painted. We were pretty tired by the time we were done sorting, hauling, and moving things. We got to finish the day by visiting friends who just had a baby and relaxed for a while watching movies and hanging out.