The Getaway

To get over the depressing thought of turning the dreaded 30, I wrangled Drew, Dan, and Sharra into doing a getaway at Manistee. The original plans of a peaceful, romantic camping trip got changed into a 'Hey, lets get up at 3:00 in the morning and go fishing' trip, courtesy of Drew. Sharra and I had been wanting to go Salmon fishing so we did some web searching and found nice Super 8 right next to the lake. So we gave up the tents and headed off at 3:30 a.m., in the pitch dark with boat in tow. Did I mention it was supposed to be COLD? Well with this in mind Sharra and I traded in the cute nighties for winter clothing but as we stepped out of the van, expecting to be hit by gusts of frigid air, we were greeted by calm, warm breezes. It is still dark as we slide the boat into the river, looking out we see that only about 8 other boats have had the nerve to beat us on the river. We motor out to "the good spot"and begin trying to figure out how 4 of us are going to be able to cast from this small boat without hooking each other. When it was safe Sharra and I would give a mighty cast into the darkness and wait..and wait.. then PLOP, the lure would splash about 3 feet from the boat, or so it sounded.

Drew was the first to get a bite but it got off after a bit, I was the first one to land one(it was awesome!!!!!), then Sharra let out a "Oh Help us! Dan I think I got one. Dan! DAN! Help!" It was hilarious but her best one was " OH! He's HONKIN'!" Dan said "Honey you can't say that out here." HAHAHA We totally their whole manly fishing thing. Sharra did great and fought it all the way in (it turned out to be the biggest of the day, about 29")

Now that the girls had caught the only fish in the boat the guys took on a more serious edge. THEY MUST CATCH SOME FISH. While they got to it Sharra and I , jobs accomplished, decided to take a little nap since the were no floating cappuccino bars around. then the giggles started and that was another thing 'you don't do' at the sacred fishing hole so the guys took us to shore and dropped us to "go get breakfast or shop(and stop embarrassing them, we really weren't that bad ) while they went back out for some more fish along with my brother Doug who also showed to catch 'the big one'.

Sharra and I drove around and finally stopped at a shop but neither of us had the energy to get out so we curled up on the front seats and took a nap until the guys called. Everyone of us got to fight a big salmon in to make our grand total of 4 salmon (Doug caught 3 also. gurr! ;). Sharra wouldn't touch her fish until it was nicely bagged. I got brave and did the whole hand in the gills thing but they are so slimy and nasty to feel, it was weird.

We rested up at our hotel then went out to the piers. It was Beautiful! It was everything I was wanting it to be. We walked out to the smaller lighthouse and watched the waves crash on the rocks. Then we found an adorable restaurant for supper. We ended the evening on the beach watching the sun set. Every part about it was great. I am so thankful for a cool brother and Sis-in-law to do fun and crazy things with. And most of all my awesome husband who made a horrible number turn into a perfect birthday.

Sunrise
Sharra catches a honkin' big fish.

Nap time
Sharra's fish

Katies 10th Birthday

Katie's 10th birthday cake

Katie hit the big 10 this year. She is growing up so fast. She is almost as tall as me. Her life is full of Polly Pockets, My Pets, and the Awesome new baby doll from Aunt Leah. She is turning into a little mother. She is working hard in school and competing in Jr. Convention in November for her 2nd year. She is a good little seamstress (whether she enjoys it or not haha). For her birthday we had about 12 kids crammed into our kitchen for some fishy snacks and cake, followed by a Babie friends movie and finally the grand finally of running across the wet, plastic wrapped hay bails which turned out to be the equivalent of a slip and slide. They had a blast.

Soccor Time

A little daddy time.

Uncle Doug is the coach.

Kent is enjoying soccer this year. He is the smallest on the team. At first he was a bit intimidated but he has gained confidence as he goes along. Then there are other times that he is off in his own world out on the field, being happy go lucky Kent. As you can see he can get very motivated if the destination is right!

Daystar

Our scoring table

This is Fabio Goobersteen Pip our class chameleon. Same "Adorable" shoes..Yep, I'm still cool. hahaha

School is going very well this year. The Lord has really blessed us. I had fun preparing the room in a jungle theme and the 17 girls in my class have enjoyed it. Our pond under the waterfall started out with some sweet little goldfish and zebra fish then one night my dad stopped

by after a fishing trip up the river and had a bucket full of baby bluegills so we threw those in the pond too and I told the girls when they get their goals done they could go fishing. They are hilarious! They chase the poor little guys down with a fish net and throw them in a bucket then when they have caught them all they throw the shell-shocked little buggers back in and begin again. They are a trip and we are having so much fun. I am so thankful for all the prayers that went up for me. God is defiantly answering prayer.

Family Pictures

Success! We got all of us dressed up and to Sears for a family picture. We tried to get as tan as possible the first few days at the Cabin

(something Katie never has to worry about as you can see) then crossed our fingers and stepped into the studio praying the camera
would be as kind as possible. We were really happy with the way they turned out.

Fishing the cares away.

It has been a long, crazy week of school prep. and we topped that off with a school yard sale this weekend and 2 back to back up nights that Drew and I split. It all was taking its toll so tonight Drew loaded us all up and we drove about 6 miles up the river were Drew could fish and the kids, Koko, and I could play in the river. We met a "jolly little fellow" fishing there already when we arrived (Joe Kretoski) so Drew joined him, letting out a few hollers about the temperature of the river on the way. Kent and Katie enjoyed chasing crayfish and catching clams. After opening about 11 poor clams Katie was finally convinced that there were no pearls in river clams however, she opened up an "empty" shell and let out a shrieking scream when a crayfish (having a heart attack of its own I'm sure) jumped out at her. Koko did really good swimming and overcoming his water nerves. He wasn't about to be left on the shore so he waded right in after us. Joe caught 4 fish while we were there (14 total for the night), Drew caught 2 fish and after awhile Kent got the urge, picked up a pole, and on his first good cast landed a nice bass. If you look close on the picture you can see it. Then on his second cast he nailed another one. It was enough to make him feel like it had been a successful night. It was the perfect way to spend a couple of hours. We climbed into the van relaxed and happy. There is something about water that can soothe the soul and being able to say you 'caught a few' doesn't hurt either.

School

These next few weeks bring much change and many new experiences. I start as the Supervisor of the upper learning center at Daystar Christian Academy on the 25th. I am very excited and only a tad bit terrified. It is a big, big step but I know God is with me. He has helped me so much already and I know I am not going into this alone. We will have 16 girls this year (no Boys) so it should be really fun and interesting. We have some great kids and I am so honored for this opportunity to teach them. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated this year. I definitely don't want to mess up. aahhh

What time does school start again????

Just kidding!