Best Buds......

We decide not to visit our friend 'Chuck' or see a movie or The Children's Museum.....we went to a farm instead! To be exact.......Fruit Ridge Hayrides...about 7 minutes from our house. They had quite an assortment of things to do. Kiddie type rides....pony rides, pig train ride, fire engine ride. They had a hayride (not on hay...which confused the kids!), corn maze and you could pick apples or pumpkins.

We invited Trent's friend Carson Snyder to join us for the day and spend the night. We started out with some errands and I bribed them to behave with McDonald's and a hayride....like all good mom's would do!

This is Trent feeding Tim or Tony..we couldn't tell them apart!
Trent & Carson in the play area
Trent & Carson were my 6 & 7 year old guides! We were suppose to find 10 mailboxes and get our cards punched at each stop...needless to say we left without 9 &10! My first thought was..."this is gonna be easy!" but after we got in there and took about 6 turns I didn't know which way we had gone! It was suppose to be a 45 min. maze but I'm pretty sure we were in there for well over an hour!
We soon opted for the hayride and a coke...so off we went!
Here are our engines...three Belgium's. I know one of their names was Maude...I think one was Lucy and ?? As you can see, it was pretty bright out for little eyes.....
So that was our week-end trip. I found it humorous that all the people on the hayride were from Grand Rapids....they were coming to the 'country' for some fun.

And Their Off......Again!

They are headed for the UP again. Steve, Tyler & Troy headed out for a week-end of 4-wheeling. They took some other friends with them this time and are meeting Craig and his boys up there. If you are trying to count the quads, there are 5 on the trailer!

They left at 0' dark hundred this morning....4am! Steve didn't go to bed till around 12:30...he's gonna be one exhausted puppy tonight! He met his friends and I'm assuming they were on the road by 5am....then a 5+ hour drive....should get them there by 11ish. I was just getting up.....shhh......don't tell! They aren't planning to come back till Sunday PM.

Trent & I are gonna do something fun tomorrow...maybe go see a movie....maybe I'll even splurge and get popcorn *Ü*...he's still pretty easy to entertain. Maybe the Children's Museum....maybe a hayride at a apple farm????

Steve has used this, mutually enjoyable sport, to build a relationship with our boys. I hope they will remember these adventures for years to come! The stories might possibly change though! I can only hope Troy took his camera, to capture some blog-able moments for me??

Troy....Your the Man!

To the untrained eye this might not look like anything special! But to the Gluten Free eye this is something special! Troy made homemade gluten free cake donuts on Monday. Our first batch didn't work so good. We re-evaluated what went wrong and Troy willing mixed up another batch....I only helped with the frying. We had a lot more success the second time around! I told him......that's just how cooking goes! They were actually really good!!

Troy does pretty good with mixing the ingredients, I just have to watch, sometimes he gets big 'T' and little 't' mixed up! I was so proud of him for trying and trying again! He is going to make a great husband someday!

Well, It's His Job!!

We left on Thursday morning in style! Kind of a crazy looking caravan! George drove the Fire Engine and we followed in the wagon! It's a 1967 Buick Sport Wagon.....jealous aren't ya! I'll have to admit, I wasn't crazy about riding in this for 3 hours. Admittedly we got some crazy looks, stares, points and thumbs ups! It has the sky lights around the back and a working AM radio. George just had it all re-painted...that is the original color! I kinda felt like I was in the movie 'Vacation'. It was a hit at the Fire Truck Show...which is where we were heading to.

We had 3 trucks in the parade on Saturday throwing out candy and stuffed bears on the streets of Roscommon.

This is basically a trade show for Steve and I go along to hang out. It's held on a fair ground in Roscommon. He spends all day talking with departments looking to purchase a fire truck in

the future. At night we go eat with the other sales people, go in the hot tub....

One night we were even invited to eat at the cottage of Bill and Joan Foster owners of Spartan Motors in Charlotte (cottage on Houghton Lake)....it was quite a honor! We've never been invited before.....it must have been my good hair days that got us invited!

You might be in Michigan if......you have a coyote outside your hotel room window! He wasn't that far away either! They left him some bread treats every morning..we got to see him (or her) all three mornings!

And a highlight for me.......Elephant Ears! I resisted buying one till Sunday morning so I wouldn't be eating one every day! Last year when we went, I never bought one, I certainly didn't want that same mishap this year!!

It sure was yummy and not to greasy!! What's not to like about dough deep fried, spread with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar!!

Boys & Toys.....

Well, I guess there not really 'Toys'...but it rhymed with boys!

Steve took Troy to get his first gun last night at Gander Mountain. Troy was so helpful and kind last night.....hmmmm....wonder why? He has been saving (and bugging) Steve about getting a gun and his persistence paid off last night!

He got a Marlin....something, something, bolt action, black, long pointy gun!??! I do know he can use it to Deer hunt! Now he needs to save for a scope. To say the least, Troy sure is proud of his purchase!!!

Steve underestimated the amount of paper work that would have to be filled out to purchase a gun. Oh, he knew there would be some.....but nothing like what he encountered! He said he had to sign more papers than for his mortgage! He said he expected the FBI to come out of the back room at any minute!!

As of lately, they have been doing a lot of Archery target practice in our back yard. They will have to go to Neil & Bonnie's to shoot the guns...so don't get to worried! We do live in Michigan, but they do have SOME regulations against that!!

We will keep you posted if he takes a deer with it!.....

Thanks IKE.......

The Kent City Fall Festival was today....and a rainy day it was!!!

Earlier in the week they called for a 40% of rain, then it went to 75%...by Friday they were calling for 90%! Let me just tell you, they got this one right this time! As you can see, we all were dressed in rain gear! Beautiful day for a parade...... That's Steve in a blue rain poncho.....isn't he cute??! also notice ALL the riders on that float....
The show must go on though.......As part of the KC Fall Festival our church puts on a kids street fair.....all activities for free!! Obviously this wasn't on the street (see the ole' blue gym still comes in handy once in a while!) they decided on Friday afternoon to move it inside (good choice!)

It was a great attendance in spite of the rain...we were down from '07 by 40! Which they were pleased with, considering the hurricane that blew into town!...thanks IKE!! It ran from 12-2 and we gave away popcorn, cotton candy, snow-cones, backpack bag thingies..... A few of the bigger attractions were the jump house and the dunk tank. We were able to have our new Superintendent (of KC schools), Pastor Chris, Pastor Ken, Pastor Daren (from Bailey), High School and Elem. School Principals & Trafford Adams all take the bench of the dunk tank. The kids also enjoyed other carnival type games!

Dad & Linda headed up the free hot dog and juice area in the basement of the old church. They probably gave away 200 hot dogs. They had a steady stream of takers......

It was very unfortunate that the rain had to keep others away..but I think those that came had a wonderful time! I know the picture doesn't look like very many attended but we did have a good turn out.......

The kids band played from the balcony of the gym (sorry not the best picture) Yep, that's Steve on the right. They also had a base and drummer that I couldn't get in the picture! This band plays on Sundays for the kids church....they dream of, one day playing for the adults. They call themselves the 'No-Show Band'?? I think it should now be the 'Kids Street Band'......kinda like Back Street Boys...what do ya think??

A Great big round of Applause to ALL who put time in to make this happen. These events don't just "come together".....people have to spend hours of their time to make it work! KUDOS to all of you....a job well done!!

It was also a great time to meet our community and spread the love of Christ! We will pray for no rain next year!! We also had a Contra dance in our Gym tonight.......whats up with that? (held but not sponsored by KCBC)

68...WOW!.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!
Your the best-est Dad I could have asked for! It just so happened that Dad's birthday fell on the same day as our Annual Church Family Picnic and Baptismal. We had a beautiful day....sunny.....no rain....abit of a breeze. The sunshine danced like diamonds on the water! (I got that from my Mom.....she was talking to Tyler when he was around 3 and relayed that to him, as they looked out over the lake!)

From the title, you guessed it, Dad turned 68 this year....when he said those words, it struck me how close he was to 70!!!! He ordinarily doesn't have that many kids gathered around him at his birthday parties! Dad & Linda brought cake to feed 200 and 5 pails of ice cream...I guess that will bring a crowd of kids!

Linda was the cake server........Chocolate or White??? This is a picture of the crowd that sat under the pavilion
After the potluck some of the kids played a little football
Then we gathered at the shores of Crockery Lake to have the Baptismal Service. I'm not quite sure how many were Baptised...around 10? Seven or eight more joined by transfer of membership. It was a great time of hearing the work God has done in their lives.

Olga even made a lot of us cry! She is originally from Russia and through a lot of circumstances ended up in GR. There she met and married a guy, which happen to be the brother of one of our members. Through some very rough times she came to realize she needed a saviour and needed to make some dramatic changes in her life.....which she did.....asking Jesus to come in her life and be Lord. What got most of us choked us, is when she started to cry, when she was telling about the moment she realized how much God really loved her!! What a story she has...she lived in a convent for 9 years too!

There were kids that were also baptized...two other couples....a couple teens.....a wide range of believers. You never get tired of hearing their story of how they came to this point in their life.

Here is a snapshot of the crowd that gathered! Okay, this question requires a little commenting.......Do you enjoy potlucks or do you not care for them? I personally don't mind them but I have come to realize that there are quite a few people that have a phobia about eating other peoples food, in an outdoor setting.....what about you.......let me know what you think....I'm curious?????

It's All Good...

This is what the Buckners do for fun!......we go hang out at G-pa & G-ma's house. They welcome us with open arms and a have a delicious meal.....always! *Ü*!

We went up on Labor Day for a couple hours to hang out. Tyler's girlfriend, Sabrina came with us and said she had a fun time. We brought three quads and G-pa has one.....so plenty to go around!


Steve was having issues with his quad so he brought Trent's (red) instead. He actually welded a piece of metal on the foot shift so Trent can hand shift. His legs weren't long enough to be able to shift so he "modified" it....last year!! Okay, I'm thinking there's a reason he can't shift...maybe he's so little to ride by himself.....just a thought????? Steve says he needs to have a 'scare' because he is too brave.....is that suppose to make me feel better???? He is wearing a helmet, if that helps........


Coming up the drive/road from the river.Troy giving G-ma a ride down to the river. After long dusty rides, what could be better than a dip in the river? Steve doing the rest of the 'delivery process'. She wasn't too sure about some of the hills with Troy at the wheel......
Take a swim in the Muskegon River. It's quite shallow so they could almost walk all the way across. There were a lot of tubers making their last voyage of '08Jaxi got in on all the fun..she loved the water and the shoreline. She ordinary doesn't care for water/baths.....but maybe with her own freedom she likes it better.
Sabrina caugth a frog for Trent
We enjoyed a boat ride upriver. Tyler was suppose to be on look-out for logs..he missed on and we all got a jolt. A little later we bumped into a log and got hung up for a few minutes.....no harm done!
A great end to our summer vacation......

Sweet Solitude.....

Okay....call me a insensitive mom...but going back to school is a good thing in my book.....

Tyler is a Sophomore.........Troy is in 8th grade........and Trent is in 1st.

BTW...Tyler is getting a hair cut tonight!
Troy and his friends heading out.....not wanting their picture taken!
Trent by his locker.......not wanting his picture taken!
Trent at his desk......not wanting his picture taken!
What is wrong with his kids and pictures??? All I hear is, "Come on Mom!!"..."Pllllease, NO pictures!". You know, some countries don't have cameras and they CAN'T take pictures of their kids going to school!

They had a great first day.....I guess.....as much as boys will share with their mom! Troy was pretty excited to hear, some of his, not so favorite teachers had retired! Trent has some of his friends (Carson, Dolan) from church in his class so he liked that. His locker buddy is Shawn Anderson, a lady I worked with grandson. Tyler says his class rooms are to far apart and he can't make it to his classes on time and none of his friends are in his lunch hour! Dad says it was so quite he could get his work done! Mom says she ran errands by herself and had lunch with dad....YES!