Sunset over Lake Michigan

In my humble opinion, there is nothing like a sunset over Lake Michigan!

Several boats gather to watch as the sun gets lower.

And it's going...

going...

gone!

But even when the sun goes down, there is another kind of beauty!

The Pier at Grand Haven

We went out for supper with friends the other night, and then decided to walk the pier at Grand Haven.

This is along the boardwalk, near the Coast Guard Station.

Watching the waves roll is in always relaxing.

It was windy, so there were some boaters having a great time on the waves. They don't look too big here, but were really washing over the pier at times.

There were quite a few people walking to the lighthouse at the end of the pier, which brings up a funny story. As we were walking, my sandal caught in an uneven spot and you can guess what happened. Yes - I felt myself going down, in slow motion! I saved my camera but scraped up my knees and totally messed up my pride! Being graceful has never been my strong point. :)

It was a good night for sailing!

The outer pier light.

The waves were splashing up against the pier.

What you see above is a little fish, that washed up with one of the waves. It took several waves to wash him back into the lake. When that happened, there was a big cheer from everyone gathered at the end of the pier!

The inner pier light.

It was a beautiful evening. Tomorrow I'll share the sunset!

It's Fair time!

Every year in August, the Fair comes to Hudsonville. This is the town I grew up in and I have great memories of going to the fair as a child.
Our school had a food tent, that Mom would work in every year, and we would get to eat there on the night we went. Of course, us kids were more interested in the rides, than the food.
Dad loved looking at the animals and going to the tractor pulls, and it seemed that he knew every other person there. That meant lots of waiting while he talked!
Last week we went to the Fair, and many things remain the same.

There are lots of rides and the kids are still enjoying them!

This is a new exhibit. It's the traveling Vietnam war memorial. It was touching to see the many names on the wall.


There are still lots of animals..

the cows...

some donkeys..

Lots of donkeys, including some Clydesdale's. You can't tell in this picture, but they are huge!
We also saw goats, Alpacas, rabbits and chickens.

Of course there were lots of tractors to look at. Some of them were huge!

The tires on this one were taller than me!

We did run into some people we knew - not as many as my Dad used to, but we had a good time talking!

And what is the best way to end a night at the Fair? By eating an Elephant Ear of course!

Best cheese commercial ever!

This is the best cheese commercial ever! You have to watch it to the end though.

Cooking Thursday

Thursday means Sandra is hosting Cooking Thursday again. Stop over at her place to see what other people are cooking!
My recipe for today is a favorite salad. I've made it for potlucks at work and shared the recipe. The last time we had a potluck, three of us brought it!

Japanese Chicken Salad
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
3 ounces Ramen noodles, chicken flavor (keep flavor packet for sauce)
2 chopped green onion
1 bag coleslaw mix
Put almonds in single layer on cookie sheet. Toast at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside and cool.
Put chicken in large bowl. Stir in coleslaw mix, crumbled noodles and onions.

Dressing
1 pkg noodle seasoning
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Accent
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients and pour over chicken and cabbage mix. Stir together to mix. Place in refrigerator overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle with almonds.

Works for me Wednesday

Do you ever come across a blog that is written in another language?
I sometimes get comments written in English on my blog, but when I visit the person who left it, I find I can't read the post because it's in another language. I've found sites that translate if you know the language, but I often have no idea.
Then I found this site:

http://translate.google.com/#auto|en|

This one will figure out what language it is, and will translate it to the language of your choice. It's not something I use often, but it's handy at times.
*Don't use it on the strange comments you may occasionally get in Chinese. I don't think any of us want to know what those comments say!

For more tips, visit Kristen at We are THAT Family.

Country fun

Saturday night we continued a tradition. For as long as I can remember, my family has attended an annual Chicken BBQ in August. It takes place in a country park that is near my childhood home.

It's out in the country, but lots of people show up for this, as you can tell by this line!

My whole family was there with the exception of Bob, who had to work. Here is my cute Dad and stepmom.

I enjoy going not only because the chicken is good, but also because I see lots of people I don't get to see very often. These are several of my Dad's sisters and brothers.

Any good event in farming country has to show some tractors. There was a big line of antique tractors on display, but I like this one because I remember my Dad using one like it.

After eating we went on a wagon ride, and as we came back to the parking area, we got a nice cooling mist from these Firemen.

The kids enjoyed the petting zoo. These are my nieces with some baby goats.

Baby chicks are so cute!

Have you ever seen such a fuzzy bunny?
There were other things going on as well; a community band was playing and there was a ball game going on. A good time was had by all!

I can see clearly now...

On Friday, both of my daughters had Lasik surgery done. They were scheduled 30 minutes apart, so we all were together in the waiting room. Heather's surgery was scheduled first.
This Dr has a big window into the surgery area so family and friends can watch if they want.

Here they are doing Heather's surgery. The Dr is sitting directly in front of the window, and the screen near the ceiling shows what he is doing.

Here is a close up of Heathers eye, as they prepared to work on it. She was only in the room for about 15 minutes. Both girls said there was no discomfort as they worked on their eyes, but it was quite sore for a few hours afterward. however - they both came home and slept during that time. Now they just have a few weeks of eye drops and they are done. They were both amazed to walk out of the building and be able to see clearly. No more contacts, no more glasses!

Happy Anniversary to us!

August 21 is our 29th anniversary! It's hard to believe we've been married that long. We were so young; 20 and 23, but we thought we were quite mature and had it all together. Of course life didn't always go as we had planned, but God has been with us every step of the way.
Now here we are, 29 years later. Many things have changed; including some increase in pounds and decrease in hair. However we are still together and still in love!
I see what some others deal with in their marriages and am reminded of how blessed I am, to be married to a Christian man, who is a wonderful husband and a loving father.
Happy Anniversary Hon - I love you!

Chihuly at the Gardens

I told you yesterday that there was something special going on at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The special event is that Dale Chihuly, a world renowned glass artist is doing an exhibit there.
We've seen some of his work before and we really enjoyed seeing this event.

These tall spires were in front of the building - such a pretty color!

One of the things I enjoyed about this exhibit, is the way the glass sculptures were put outside, almost as a part of nature.

This huge piece was near the entrance to the building.

Inside the Conservatory, scattered throughout the tropical plants were these huge bowls. They look like colorful clam shells!

Hanging high above, is a cluster of huge balls.

A little stream runs through the conservatory and in it were these colorful pieces of glass, looking almost like leaves floating on the water.

More beautiful bowls setting amidst plants.

This one looks like a rock candy sucker!

Here are more pieces that were outside:

Even the falls have colorful glass balls on the different levels

Isn't this hillside pretty with all the red spires?

This was my favorite area. This sculpture is called 'Blue Moon'.
Behind it is this pond:

where there is a boat, filled with glass,

and lots of glass balls floating in the water. It was very peaceful and serene.

If you live in the area, make sure you visit the Gardens. Chihuly will be there through October.