It has been an incredibly fun and exhausting week. I didn't do the fireworks tonight, instead pawning the big kids off on Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt D. Right now I am lamenting the missed photo opportunity, but my head hurts.

I'm a little behind blogging on the crazy adventures we've had, but I have finally gotten a couple of loads of laundry done and that has to count for something... (I can hear the collective sighs of relief that there will be no naked Ang running around...)

OK... GIANT PILE OF POOP!   We were caching in the Hoosier Valley, an area East of Traverse City, and way out in the woods. Caching with four children, two of them, "The Threes'" my sister calls them, although Coop has yet to reach that dignified number., often have to be picked up over things or unstuck from sticks. The kids and I were walking in an area my SISTER had directed us too... there was a strange looking mound of grass and pine needles... my sister told the kids to wait for me to cross over it. Did they listen? Of course not.

Isabelle and Charlie went over, sinking slightly and the babies followed. Me close behind trying to lift them over when at exactly the same time, Isabelle said "Something smells like poop."  my feet sank into the huge pile of SHIT... excuse my language, that someone had dumped on the side of the road in the only clear path to get into the woods.  I believe I was yelling "OH GROSS! DISGUSTING! GET ME OUT!!" or it may have just been continuous gagging and guttural noises, all I know is that I planted one foot firmly back on the ground without a flip flop on it. Said flip flop was stuck in the pile... I was stunned standing there my feet covered in the most disgusting,  foul, gross, stuff ever.

Now... I have grown up around farms, and I love to garden, so manure is not something I find offensive, and the smell of a freshly doused field, I am well familiar with and don't mind in passing, but I have never wanted to wade through it or coat my feet in it. I remember screaming at my sister as she continued to laugh and giggle at my horrified face and utter disgust... "THAT"S IT!!!! I'M TAKING THE DAMN BOOTS!!!" As she stood there in hers, laughing and trying to convince me she really wasn't laughing at me but with me... oh NO... she was laughing at me.

So luckily, as always, my sister was prepared and after rinsing in a mud puddle and wiping myself down with paper towels and baby wipes, flip flops stored in a plastic bag and windows rolled down, we headed to the river where I washed my flip flops and off we went. After she had gotten the geocache of course.

When I got home I immediately took a shower and scalded my flip flops in hot soapy water, just to make myself feel better.

I will feel absolutely no guilt now when she comes home after her trip next weekend and I have absconded with the boots.

I find also that since I am taking more and more pictures there are a lot of place having boots like that will come in handy.

One VERY nice thing about my Little Sis (one of many) is she has no problem stopping for me when I ask her to so I can take pictures... It has been very cool. Here are two more barns we discovered while on the way to her geocaches.

This one we spotted just after the incident above...

I photographed it barefoot.

There is a round barn on Red School road that I like to photograph. 

They are currently replacing part of the roof on it.

I asked D if we could check the progress.

We discovered it was a part of a cache that led us to this barn.

Another round one I had no idea was there.

Hope all is well with you guys.

I have now blogged my gross disgusting experience and I will push it to the back of my mind.

Next time I will have some very cool boots. :-b

Ang

AM I the only one who really liked this photo?

I love how the one ferris wheel is moving and the other is still.

I love that this is reflected in the people, some are moving some are still.

What do you guys think?

I'm thinking of entering it to the Smithsonian magazines photo contest.

I'm not sure under which catagory though.

Do I like it too much?

Another beautiful day.

Another day of going.
I'm going to have a back log of posting stories.

I have a great one involving me and a hill of POOP. 

It was not a good experience, great blog material though.

Ok.

Agenda for today

Visit Gram and Grandpa, hit the beach, probably geocache and take pictures.

Of course.

Oh! we have a first place and a third place in the pie eating contest.

Pictures coming soon.

Have a great day guys!

It's FRIDAY!!!

Ang

We did the pie eating contest today and I am working on downloading the pictures now.

I feel like I'm a little behind in everything.

We are leaving in a few minutes to do more carnival stuff.

Here are a couple more pictures.

The 64 Tribute Band

I have been asked several times if I am a professional...

I'm not... just like playing and I have been taking pictures since I was fourteen years old.

That seems like forever ago.

I have an old Nikon FG 35mm... but I have never had as much FUN as I do with Digital.

My camera now is just your basic Kodak easyshare Z710.

I REALLY like it!

Bet you couldn't tell.

Although I'm finding that there is more I'd like to be able to do that I can't...

Something new may be on the distant horizon.

The post below is still open for comments.

Ang

Another none stop busy day.

Was geocaching all day.
Went to the 1964 Tribute concert tonight.

It's a Beatles cover band.

Very popular at the festival and very good.

Some of what I saw.

Sam enjoying A cherry sundae

I had cherry pie a 'lamode.

The Open Space flowers.

OH they are so tasty.

It's also fun to walk around spitting the pits anywhere you want.

On their way.

Then we headed to the MIDWAY so I could have fun playing with my camera.

We are going back tomorrow to actually ride stuff and play games.

Milling around.

Elephant ears?

Carousel

Taking it all in.

I have more... SO many more, these are just the ones I like tonight.

Tomorrow is D's birthday, cherry pie eating contest, more midway, and b-day celebration.

Oh, and how could I forget! She is doing her 600th cache... CRAZY...

It will be big day.

Guess what... I didn't get ANY laundry done...

The kids are covered, It's me who may be running around starkers if I don't get busy. 

Well, What do you guys think?

Of the pictures I mean... not the starkers thing. 

Ang

So most of you figured out that we went to Frankfort and on the way we went through...

Beulah, Beulah, Beulah...

The fish hatchery, I enjoy fish hatcheries. The whole process is fun to see for me.

Honer and Crystal Lake... we may have meandered through a few other places but I wasn't driving so I'm not sure.

Those were pictures of the Frankfort Pier in Lake Michigan. I have fond memories of the pier. When I was younger we would often take a drive there.

I remember waking up early,  four in the morning. Jumping in the truck with my Pop and his poles to make the hour drive to Frankfort and then walking out on the pier to sit and read my book while Pop talked to the other fisherman.

 I remember watching cormorants swimming and catching fish.Once a baby skunk walked out onto the pier shocking the fisherman. They yelled at it and made noise slamming their nets onto the cement ,scaring it under a lawn chair, losing patients someone  rousted  it from its hiding spot and with their net swept it into the water. Instead of swimming back towards the shore, it swam out into the lake... I don't know what happened to it.

OK So that wasn't a particularly happy memory, at least it wouldn't be for the skunk. I'd like to think some kind passing mermaid picked it up and delivered it safely to shore, where it lived a long and happy skunk life.

After fishing until about noon, when I'm sure I probably started whining about going home, we would make the drive again, picking up some highly coveted greasy food on the way. I loved those trips and I like the pier.

So that is my Frankfort Pier story now I have to tell you about the pet show.

The things we humans do to our pets.

This is us on the way in. Dogs walking, children riding, turtles safely nestled in the front of the wagon.

This is the scene on the way out.

Kids dragging us along , exhausted and over heated pugs riding in the wagon. The turtles had it the easiest today.

I can't say that every animal there didn't look like they were enjoying themselves though.

Well Pooper, Charlies turtle, wasn't having a great time. All of the kids kept sneaking their little hands in to touch him.

I went through a whole bottle of GermX trying to protect against salmanila...

The pugs took home the title of the ugliest pet category and they hadn't even entered. The Cherry Queen came down into the crowd and picked them out because no one else had signed up for that category and she loves pugs.

Well, half of their appeal is that they are so ugly their cute...

So D and Sam and the pugs went up on stage and received a plaque and had their pictures taken with the cherry queen. I thought it was funny because D had been part of the court when she was younger. ahem...

Anyway, Here is that picture. It isn't the best one taken but the best I had.

Buster was camera shy he's behind the plague, Rosie knows a good thing though and took advantage of the leg for rubbing. lol

D made a plug for pet rescue, which is where she got Buster, while she was up there. It was all good, especially since they hadn't entered.

We spent the rest of the time there wandering the crowd, cooing over the animals and playing on the playground equipment, until we wandered home exhausted. It's all part of the fun of Cherry Festival.

Here's my darling nephew sporting the reason we had to go to the emergency room yesterday, a giant goose egg on his little noggin, he tripped at the lighthouse and bumped it on the cement.

When I saw him today the first thing he said was "It's looking much better today Aunt Angi."

Yes, he's a champ.

Cooper and Sam hit the slide hard... I think they would still be going up and down if I had let them.
Alright. I've written you all a novel. Hope I haven't bored you all to death.

I'm not sure what is on the agenda tomorrow. I think my sister wants to drive out for caches. I might opt out and stay home and tackle my mountain of laundry.

Night all!

Come on people! Hints! Any of you who have known me for a month even, should have been able to get this! It took me one google. to find THIS LINK. Remember this link because I took pictures of another one that I'll ask you about later.

ok... I'm still not going to tell you where it is, I have a story to tell about it later right now I'm supposed to be getting dressed to fly out the door to the pet show!  So I'm just going to slap some pictures up here and you guys can let me know what you like or don't like.

On the way we saw a FABULOUS WEINER

and a REALLY BIG COCK. hehehe

My Sis sat in a GIANT chair.

Here are some of the PLACE!!!

She is so beautiful.

When I make billions I want this house.
It is right on the end of the pier. (hint, hint)

Just because it's fun.

I couldn't help myself.

The walk out.

The walk back.
The end.

I have more! We went to another lighthouse.

I LOVE IT.

We also spent a few hours in the emergency room.

Again, a story for another day.
I'm off to the PET SHOW!

BE HAPPY!
HAVE FUN!
BE SAFE!

ANG

I've been gone all day.

I took close to five hundred pictures today.

Here is a sample.

Does anyone know where it is?

New link for the YOUR TOWN CHALLENGE!!!

SHELLISLAND

How I spent much of my day.
How Cooper spent much of his.

Well,

What do you guys think?

Ang

I'm reposting an old post that I have been thinking about. I thinkthat some of you may have seen it but some of you haven't...

The kids came  home from school today and we all squeezed into the jeep to head downtown to the local game store and joke shop, Hocus Pocus. Charlie and Isabelle have been wanting to get a game called Munchikin and had decided to pool some of their money and get it. When we arrived they were disappointed to find that it was sold out. The store carried several other versions though and so the negotiations began. Charlie wanted Munchikin Bites...Werewolves and vampires,  Isabelle wanted Super Munchikin, superheroes.  I don't have to worry about Isabelle, like a little woman she said "Listen we're using more of my money. I want Supermunchikin. So if we don't get the one I want we're not getting one." To which Charlie's response was "Okay." Boy she's a little mercenary.

We're in the car on the way home and Ben is reading the game cards out loud. One of which is Free Invisible Monkey Sidekick. I said "Yeah just what I've always wanted a monkey sidekick... well not really. What kind of sidekick would you guys want?" Without pause to consider Charlie pipes up with  "I want  a giant talking pelican so I could climb into his mouth and yell  'To the sky! '"  I could just picture it, him in the mouth pouch of a giant pelican with his little head sticking out arm and fist thrust towards the sky.   "You've thought about this before." I said to which he said "Yeah!"  Like it was stupid that I hadn't...

Can I just say I'm so happy my life amuses me.

Now I know you see it coming... What kind of sidekick would you want? I know we've all thought about what super power we would want. Invisibility and flying of course. You haven't...oh come on I know you have. But I've never really thought about who I'd want at my side, much to my sons chagrin. So again. What kind of sidekick would you have? or who?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^WELL^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

New Challenge link! TO see past links from the past post press  HERE!

Robynfairy

Boydcreek

Craftea