Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Pure Michigan

We went to Saugatuck, MI, last week with some of my family.  We stayed in a small condo right on Water Street, the main road.  Three of my sisters stayed in houses in town and two stayed out about a mile in a half at Goshorn Lake.  All together, there were 32 Noelkers at one time.  On Tuesday, one of my cousins, Prudy, came to visit--she lives in Lansing.  On Wednesday we celebrated my niece, Cece's, thirteenth birthday. And on Thursday my brother Frank, his wife Laurie, and a friend visited.  They were going to stay with some friend in Northern Michigan, so they came a few days early to see family.  While there we took a tour on the Star of Saugatuck, a paddle boat that went out into Lake Michigan, and on a dune-buggy ride through the dunes.  We also went up to Holland on Wednesday for the farmer's market and to walk around downtown Holland. Wayne and I left on Friday morning, but some stayed until Saturday and Sunday.  Here are some (lots of) pictures:



























Friday, July 18, 2014

Five on Friday

1.  Had a great time at garage sales on Saturday.  I found a really cute wooden tray with mosaic insert for $2 and a serving tray for the kitchen that matches some bowls I had for $5, a crystal tray set for my dresser new in the box for $5, clothes for Patrick--four shirts and two paid of jeans for $1 each, clothes for Stephanie 3 Gymboree outfits and three dresses for $5, a puzzle and some books for $1 each, two pictures for our bedroom for $1 each, a cloth Santa for $4 and two Mary Englebreit ornaments for 25 cents each.

2.  Watched Rob's girls on Tuesday and Abbey suggested we go to Grant's Farm, so I called Amy to see if her three wanted to go and they where already there with their nanny.  She told us about a new birdcage, with lots of parakeets that her kids loved, and that is where we found them.  They were so surprised to see us.









3.  After Grant's Farm we went to Steak n Shake for lunch.  That was on Tuesday, then I went to Steak n Shake on Wednesday for lunch and for dinner on Thursday.





4.  Wayne's sister, Gail, came to St. Louis on Tuesday and has been staying with us.  That is why we went to Steak n Shake on Wed. and Thurs.; she is from Seattle and they do not have them there.  She visited their mother a couple of times and shopped a lot.  She, Wayne and Jeff went to the History Museum yesterday to see the 250th anniversary exhibition.  I stayed home because I needed to get a haircut and go to the dollar store to snack up on snacks for our trip to Michigan.

5.  We leave Sunday for Michigan.  I am getting really excited about the trip.  Five of my sisters will be there with their families.  I think it gets cool in the evenings so I need to pack some winter clothes.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Five on Friday

1.  Finishing up our trip to Cincinnati.  On Sunday we hung out at the house and Chellie made a nice dinner.  They have a water table on their deck which the girls love to play with, and John redid parts of the deck this spring so the steps aren't so wide and dangerous for the baby.  Annie, their dog, loves being outside and just lays and watches.  She is really good with the girls.







2.  We drove back to St. Louis on Monday.  I usually watch Rob's girls on Tuesdays, but I watched them Wednesday so I could recover from the trip.  We were going to go to some garage sales on Wednesday in Affton, but they were pretty bad so we ended up going to my favorite thrift store and the girls bought more stuffed animals.  I never knew a kid who loved stuff animals as much as Erin.

3.  We went to the Botanical Gardens this morning.  The day lilies were gorgeous.   We walked all the way around the garden, a good workout. Here are a few pictures:















4.  We're getting ready for our trip to Michigan next weekend.  We'll leave on Sunday the twentieth and come back on the twenty fifth.  I am getting a bit tired or traveling, but I'm really looking forward to Michigan.  We've never been to Saugatuck; we went to Glen Arbor in Northern Michigan twenty years ago with Wayne's brothers, sister and their spouses.  This time five of my sisters and their families will be there so it should be a lot of fun.  I already made reservations for our Gulf Shores vacation next year.  We will be going June 20 so we won't have to take the kids out of school.  The house has eight bedrooms and is right on the beach.  The pool is under the house, which I wasn't real pleased about, but the kids all think that is good since it will be hotter in June and we won't have to worry so much about the kids getting burned.

5.  I'm thinking about working a couple of days a week in the fall.  I go back to my oncologist the end of this month, and if everything is okay I'll check with my replacement and see if I could work a bit.  I know two people have left and they'll be short handed.  I wouldn't mind just working with students and not having to supervise anyone or go to any meetings.  I am getting a bit bored being at home all the time, and I can always find ways to spend a little extra money.