Happy 9th Birthday

My sweet, pretty granddaughter, Maddie is 9 years old today. Maddie has the cutest freckles on her nose and has grown a lot since she had this picture taken. Love you, Maddie and hope you have just the best birthday ever.

SPRING IN MICHIGAN

Spring has sprung at long last.
Elie took these photos in my yard.

This one was taken at the State Park. Still has a winter coat on!

An Easter from long ago

Today I am having memories of many happy, Easter Bunny mornings with all my children running around with their little baskets fanatically searching for the biggest share of hidden eggs and goodies. Also remember many Easters getting dressed in our best finery and all going to church together. Also remember many wonderful Easter dinners over the years.

There is one Easter tho that stands out among all the others. It was the Easter that my old sweetie brought home 6 darling baby chicks (kids called them peeps). He had gotten one for each of the kids. We had an old chicken coop and he thought that it would be good for us to have a few chickens. for eggs and such. He brought a light to keep them warm and we kept them in a box in the dining room, until that became a very big problem. Then they were moved to the basement, as they were to small for the coop yet. We lost one, but the others grew and thrived and grew some more. Problem was that no one told him that all those peeps were roosters. These guys turned into very, very large roosters and they became meaner than striped snakes. None of us could go into the yard with without a broom or something to defend ourselves. Daily kids were coming screaming into the house because they were being chased by a rooster. There were many stories that sprung up because of those birds.

As I recall the only way we got away from them was to move!! All I can say is, if you are inclined to buy yourself some chickens during these tough times, please make sure you are getting some hens in the mix!!

Happy Easter to all.

MORE SPRING BREAK FUN

I stole some of the pictures from my son - sorry big E.

While in Arkansas I got Tori some planting tools and then she and I one day planted a big pot of pansies. It was great fun and Tori was a really big help. She has promised to care for them and and think of me when she does.

We got all the dirt and flowers in the pots and then Tori very carefully watered everything and then we cleaned up our mess.

Here is our finished work. We were both very tired after all our hard work, but so proud of how beautiful it turned out. I just could not have done it all without Tori!

Altho we got no work from Katy and Jonathan, they wanted to be in the picture also. So we said OK.

A few more pictures of spring break fun with our family.

The elusive Hayden , not looking real happy!

My sons, Evan and Ethan.

My wonderful daughters in laws, Maya and Traci .

Tori, Lydia and Maddie. Cousins having fun together.

Elie and Jonathan enjoying the pool and warm sunshine.

It was a great time and wonderful to spend time with our family.

Mr Swan

Elie Jo took this out in front of Grandpa's place. Think it is so cool.

Spring Break Fun 2009

For Spring Break we drove from Michigan to Iowa one day and picked up my grandson, Jonathan and granddaughter, Katy and drove the next day to Arkansas.

Spring had sprung in Arkansas and it was quite beautiful .


Beautiful Redbud Tree in Arkansas.

Can you see the duck?

Wildflowers in the woods.

While in AR the family climbed Pinnacle mountain one day .

Here are some of the mighty mountain climbers before the climb.

Here are Lydia, Tori and Maddie.

Katy and Maddie.

Here is the view at the top of the mountain. I'm happy to say everyone made it to the top. I did not climb the mountain. I stayed at home by the pool.

I do believe everyone was quite tired after the climb. Altho I do not see any kids that look tired!

On our way back to Iowa we stopped at the Hurricane Cave in Northern AR.

Elie, Jonathan and Katy took the tour. I did not go. I am not fond of bats. I'm more of a sunshine person.

Elie and the kids loved it tho.

All and all it was it was a great vacation. Covered lots of miles, but it was so worth it.

When we got back to Iowa we got to spend time with more family. All the cousins had a great time together.

Here is Owen with Jonathan.

When we got to Michigan we had to put away our shorts and bathing suits and get out our winter coats and boots. We are all pretty sick of winter up here and are really looking forward to seeing some Redbud trees of our own soon.