An afternoon at the lake

One of the members of our small group at church has a cottage on a lake about an hour north of us.  Sunday after church we drove up there and spent the afternoon enjoying the beauty around us, and each others company.

Such a pretty view!

 

We saw these pretty hydrangeas while we were taking a walk.

 I love the vibrant green of this moss.

Someone had put up several of these arches a long time ago.  This one says "Today is the first day of the rest of your life".

These kids were having a good time on the raft.

My friend Becky had to check out this truck in the play area.

There was time for a boat ride, a few women tried out the paddle boat too.  I'm a land lover - I stayed on shore!

The water lilies look pretty, even when they aren't blooming!

One last view of the lake!  What a nice day.

The Country Fair

Do you have a Fair in your area? We have a local fair that I have been going to since I was a kid. I remember going with my parents, walking through the fairgrounds and thinking that my Dad took far too long looking at the animals and tractors, plus it seemed that he knew everyone there and would end up talking!  Us kids were focused on getting to the rides!
Bob and I went to that same Fair on Friday night with Andrew and Heather.  We started in the animal barns.

Such cute bunnies!

This is a bunny!  He's so fluffy that I don't know how he can see to move around.

I enjoy looking at the goats.

This goat was trying to get to know Andrew a little better.

Aren't these ones cute?

Look at that curly hair do!

 The Clydesdale horses are so big, and I think they look pretty majestic.

 How do you like this horses mane?

 This miniature donkey stole the show.  He was so cute!

There are area's where people turn in things for judging.  There were arts and crafts, photos, antiques, fruits and veggies, baked goods...  We found this Olaf made of pumpkins there.  Isn't he cute?

 There was  all sort of machinery there, including this huge combine!  They sure have changed since the days when I was a girl on the farm!

Here's a view of the main part of the fair. - rides and food!  We didn't do the rides, just walked through them.  We didn't get anything to eat either,  We had gone our to eat before and weren't even hungry for elephant ears!
It was a fun way to spend an evening.

Blue Skies...

I love to look at the sky!  Blue skies with fluffy white clouds are so pretty, and it seems that we've had a lot of them to admire this summer.  Dark storm clouds are also pretty in their own way.
I'm feeling a little melancholy, with August coming to an end.  It seems summer buzzes by so quickly and before we know it, it's snowing and we have the gray skies of winter hanging over us.
I guess the lesson is to enjoy the warm days, blue skies, sunshine and clouds while we have them, and be thankful that God gave us different seasons to enjoy and appreciate different things!
Hope you all enjoy your weekend, rain or shine!

Cooking Thursday

August is coming to an end, but I'm hoping we still have some nice, warm days ahead of us. If we do, I have a great dessert that is perfect for hot days. It only has a few ingredients and is so easy to throw together. It looks pretty and tastes great!

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

2 boxes ice cream sandwiches
12 ounces Cool Whip
2 bags Heath bits

Unwrap one box of ice cream sandwiched and place in a 9x13 pan.  You will have to cut a few in half so the whole pan is filled.  Spread half of the Cool Whip over the ice cream sandwiches, then sprinkle one bag of Heath bits over the Cool Whip.
Repeat layer and place in freezer for several hours or overnight. 

* This fills the pan nearly to the top, and the pieces can be cut thin.  They look pretty with the layers.  It makes a lot though and often if I'm not making it for a group, I half the recipe and make just one layer.  It still tastes good, it's just not so much!

Wordless Wednesday

Down by the riverside

Friday evening we stopped at the Eastmanville Bayou, which is about 1 1/2 miles from our house.  It's a small county park that sits between the Grand River and the Bayou.  There is a canoe and kayak launch, trails to walk, a small pavilion and fishing spots.  We just went for a little walk and so I could take some pictures, as I've been enjoying seeing the beauty as I drove by it.

 A view of the bridge over the river.

 I always enjoy this view of the underside of the bridge.

 Some pretty wildflowers we saw on our walk.

 A view of the river.

 This is purple loosestrife.  It's growing like crazy by the bayou.  It's a plant that isn't native to the area and is very invasive near the water.  I guess it's like kudzu in the South. I have to admit that I love seeing it - it's beautiful, but at the same time it's bad for everything around it as it takes over.

 Here's a close-up of it.

This is the bayou side. You can see it growing on the other bank of the bayou also.

It was a beautiful evening, perfect for a walk by the river.

Where has the time gone?

On Friday, Bob and I celebrated our 34th anniversary!  It's hard to believe that many years have passed.
I posted something on Facebook about it and someone asked to see wedding pictures.  People seemed to enjoy seeing them, so I decided to share them with you also.

And here's the original  picture I posted on Facebook of Bob, thanking him for our years together.  He's working hard on building a paved path to the garden gate he made.

I'm blessed to have a loving, hard working, talented husband!

I was 20, Bob was 23 when we got married.  We thought we were pretty mature and grown up!  Things didn't always go as we would have liked our planned, but God has been with us every step of the way.  Now Bob has less hair, I have more pounds, and we still love each other and are grateful for the years God has given us together.

Gotta love a deal!

I love it when I get a good bargain while shopping.  I got a few great ones this week and I had to share them with you.

This was from a trip to the mall.  I had 2 coupons for the small size lotions free, and another one for 50% off a fragrance refill from Bath and Bodyworks.  I also had a $13 certificate from Kohls that they sent for being a "loyal customer".  The Fuzzy socks were buy one, get one free, so I ended up getting all this for $6.48!  The original cost was $39.68.

 My second deal of the week was at Walgreens.  I got 6 toothpaste, one bottle of ibuprofen, one bottle of tylenol, kids band-aids, shampoo, 2 deoderants and some photos developed for $4.24!
Everything was on sale, the toothpaste and deoderant was buy one, get one free, and I had some Walgreens points to redeem.  The original cost of this was $67.88.
As I said, I love a good deal!

Cooking Thursday

I don't know what's showing up in your local produce stands, but around here, Red Haven peaches are just being picked.  Bob and I both love peaches, but Bob likes his peaches best in a pie!
Here's a recipe I've made for years.  It's so easy to put together and is very good.

Peach Pie

Pastry for 9 inch, 2 crust pie
5 cups sliced fresh peaches
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry, and place one crust into 9 inch pie plate.
Mix peaches and lemon juice.
Mix 1 cup sugar, flour and cinnamon; stir peaches into mix.
Turn into pastry lined pie plate. Cover with top crust, and place slits in crust.
Seal crusts and flute edges.
Brush water over top crust and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over top.
Cover edge of pie with 2 inch aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.
Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes or until crust is brown.

*I also freeze this pie filling. Make it as directed and put it in a freezer bag. When you are ready to make the pie, all you need is the crust. I thaw the filling, add about 2 tablespoons of flour right into the freezer bag, seal it and mix it in. Then pour it into the crust and finish as directed on recipe. It turns out great!

Wordless Wednesday

(I found a visitor in my hanging basket)

Annual Chicken BBQ

Saturday evening was the annual chicken BBQ in Drenthe, Michigan, which is about 30 minutes from my house.  It's something I've been going to since I was a little girl.  You may remember me blogging about it before. Every year my Dad invites the whole family, and usually most of us can make it.  This year we were a small group.  There were several who who out of town and several who were working.  Those of us who made it had fun though!

When we arrived we saw old tractors...

and a few old cars too.

The guys were grilling chicken for hundreds of people to enjoy!

 And we did enjoy it!

 Here's part of the family, eating and talking.

 My Dad and stepmom enjoying their meal.

Ruby didn't get chicken, she had yogurt puffs instead.

 Alaina was much more excited about the petting zoo outside, than the chicken!

We got to see a potbellied pig do tricks.

 Ruby was watching too.

We watched a goat get milked.

 And Alaina got to milk it too - and she was succesful!

There were fire engines there, and Alaina got a fireman's hat on the way out.  What a fun night!