One Happy Camper.....

Trent is one jubilant kid!

From the day he spotted the old go-cart in Great Grandma's barn, he has been after Steve to fix it.  The older grand-kids rode it till it had some issues.  Or was it after Drew broke his leg on it?...well, what ever it was, it has been un-drive-able for quite some time!  Grandpa to the rescue!!!

When Trent got home from school today, I told him I had a surprise for him....he was eager to hop in the van...at this point he still wasn't sure where we were going.  As we got closer, he guessed we were going to G-pa & G-ma's...and he surmised the go-cart was running.  We passed Great-Grandma's barn and he said..."I've got a good feeling about this!"..as he didn't see the go-cart in the barn.

taking his first spin.... 

taking mom for a ride 

giving G-pa & G-ma the 'thumbs up' approval! 

mom taking Trent for a ride...that thing has a crazy steering wheel...petal to the metal and away we went! 

Note to self....when you ride really low to the ground and it has rained 1.5" of rain that day, the cart is like a scoop shovel in a puddle! 

Troy wishes he could have come up with us to try it out!

When Trent called G-pa to thank him, I over heard him say ''that thing really rips!!"...lol!

Thanks Grandpa for making Trent's day!

How I spent last week-end~

Being married to a Fire Truck Salesman can be an exciting life....

I get to hang out a truck shows!

Last week-end was the biggest truck show/festival in Michigan.

The annual Michigan Fireman's Memorial Festival in Roscommon.

I have gone in the past but last year I stayed home...it's just really complicated with kids!

But this year, I joyfully excepted the invitation to hang out with Steve for 4 days!!! 

We displayed the newly delivered City of Manton Fire Truck this year.  

This is how it looked in the parade....

The side shot and table 

A view of the crowd after the parade on Saturday...for some reason everyone brings their dogs??....not sure why that is... firefighters must love their dogs!! 

BTW...Steve sells for a Michigan Made company located in South Haven MI...Spencer Mfg.

My reward for attending the show and being a good girl! 

It's a lot of waiting for me and sitting in a lawn chair.  

But I don't have to cook or clean...so I'm good with that! We had dinner with one of the owners (and his wife, Joan) of Spartan Motors in Charlotte...and we went to their cottage on the 2nd night. On the other night we went to dinner with a Chief  that Steve has been working with! 

**SUPER, MEGA, HUGE, BIG KUDOS....to both the Grandpa and Grandma's for helping us with the boys...we so appreciate it..THANKS!!!**

Quad Squad ...8/2011

First of all, this post has a ton of pictures..so.be.warned! 

We left on Aug 29 heading to the great beyond..or Munising, for those of you familiar with the U.P.

  We have 4 quads in the back.  Once we arrive we unload the trailer and we sleep in the trailer.  Not as nice as a camping trailer better than a tent!!!  One new addition we added this year was a 20" awning..Let me just give Steve my kudos! Kudos to my main man Steve!! Amazing...is the word that comes to mind!  If you have to know, we snagged it off Craigslist.....of course!

Our rig....

Because it's so cute....Nic & Troy sharing a cousin moment the first morning 

Daren had to do some repairs right off the bat...his fan club! 

The first day riding we rode to Autrain Point.  It was situated on the shore of Lake Superior and it was beautiful.  The kids had a great time exploring around the rocks and caves. It's pretty close to Pictured Rock..so if you are ever in the area...make it a point to stop by..worth it! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.... 

Steve trying to not get his boots wet..fail! 

hanging out  

Trent trying to not get his pants wet.  Isn't he cute? 

Dakota is on the big rock....Trent tries to get to him...zoom in..he's there. 

etched the year in the rocks 

One of the big events was the T-shirt auction.  Our assignment was to pre-buy a crazy t-shirts, wrap it and on auction morning...we all got one to wear for the day! The trophy was given to Daren for finding the funniest shirt...a Reba McEntire concert shirt.  She had some big hair back then!  Funnier yet, was the recipient of it...Craig....I never got a picture of him in it...bummer!  I have a feeling we might be seeing it again next year? 

The group by the sign.  We started out with 15 quads the first day....that's a lot of dust! 

We rode to a waterfall....Rock River Falls.  We could only get so close and we had to hike in about 1 mile...(seemed like 3...hahaha)  Here is G-pa Neil making his way down the trail. 

We enjoyed our lunch around the falls 

Trent in the falls.... 

Steve & Trent sharing a moment.. 

this shot is from the top of the falls 

We then rode down to Autrain.  They all took a run in together. 

Then they had a jumping competition off the bank.  I believe that is Troy 

I think that is Trent.  Look at his shadow. 

Always keep an eye out to see who's taking pictures!  This is to see if Craig even looks at my blog??!? 

waiting to see what trail we are going to take 

Mudhole Mania.... 

David stuck 

Trent watching all the excitement 

Grandpa getting stuck 

Steve coming through. 

Steve had a spill in the mud.  He was trying to blaze his own trail and had tipped over by a bank and his quad was pushing him under the water.  Luckily, Craig and Daren were quick to his rescue.  He was fine.. a lot dirty/muddy but fine! 

Trent rode with Grandpa most of the time.  What a team! 

The adults got all cleaned up and had dinner at the Dogpatch 

A couple of the trails we went on were kind of grown over but that didn't stop the quad squad!  

We named this one Wilson Blvd!

A trip isn't complete till we hit up a gravel pit for some free-style riding! Nic had a close call when his quad tipped over on him.  He was a little shook up but no broken bones!

Big boys & Little boys 

What our camp sites looked like. When we arrived on Monday....there were very few campers...as Labor Day got closer more campers moved in...for some reason they didn't choose sites by us..hmmmm.  Maybe the 35 quads that came rolling in had something to do with it.  

On one of the days, we were cruising through the trails and came up on a firefighter cutting some fallen logs.  Of course, Steve stopped to sell him a fire truck and he said he thought a freight train was coming down the trail at him...I guess we are pretty noisy.  That might be why we never see wild animals.  The only animal I saw was a chipmunk hanging around our campsite.

On our way home Trent always wants to stop and swim in Lake Michigan, so we stopped just outside of St. Ignace....that's him in his undies.  Troy was not willing to go in his undies. 

another trip down in the books!  

Not everyone can experience this kind of fun...all others, take a car!

Trentster.....

First day of 4th Grade!

Yes, that's right 4th grade!

did you notice the wound on the side of his face?  He did that in the U.P.

 We were hiking down to a waterfall and he wasn't watching and took a branch to the face....that doesn't affect his cuteness!!!! 

his locker 

His desk.  Surrounded by his buddies..Dolan Bair and Carson Snyder..teacher will probably be changing their seats soon! 

He has Mrs. Katie Coxon.  He has said he likes her and things are going good!  He will do great in her class!

FYI...in case you are wondering....Troy is still in our family.  He is attending KCTC 1st session in their IT (information technologies) program....so he has to be to the HS at 5:45 to catch the bus....so I didn't get a 1st day of school picture. ( I was up...but his friend was here and I didn't think he wanted me parading around in my pj's)  AND...he really won't let me take a picture of him..so when he wonders where all the pictures of him in HS....they will be in my mind and heart!!!  He is a Junior!