Where have you been!?!?

Where have I been you ask?!?!

Well a few weeks ago gma and mommy took me to a farm. Great gma Stark was kind enough to talk to one of her neighbors who said I could come and have a combine ride. Remember how much I like tractors and farm equipment!!!??? When we first got there the first ting we saw was the milk barn. We got to go in........it was funny because gma had no plans to go muckin around and she had her flip flops on!!! Must be she has forgotten what farm life was like!!!! :)

I was really curious about these really big cows! One of the farmers asked me if I wanted to touch one of them and I was really excited about the prospect!!

I touched one.....and that was good enough for me!!! Gma said I couldn't get away fast enough and arched my whole body......hey, I am still just a little guy ya know!!!


Mommy and me watching the tractors on the DeHaan farm. They were the nicest people ......ever!!! Unfortunately the big cutter wasn't working so there was no ride in the fields. So, I got a personal tour of the farm!

With a little prodding I did get to climb up into the cab!!

One of the first things I found......by mistake......was the horn. Scared me a little but I got over it quickly and just enjoyed the view!

It was way cool up here...and Frank liked checking out his big brother!!

Mommy and me on a beautiful day!!

Next up was the tour of the tractor barn. It was way cool. Farmer Josh showed me some of the equipment for cutting.....when he walked away I made sure to remind him that he needed to close it up!!!

I was asking him all about this hose and before he told me it was from the manure spreader, I MAY have touched it!!! OH, well!

Next up was the feed storage area. Some very interesting things were kept there!!!

Frank was pitching in and helping. Gma said she was really shocked because up until today it was VERY important that he remain CLEAN!!!

We got to check out all the different feed storage areas. There were bins of different grinds of corn, and even one with old bread...it had cinnamon bread and tortillas in it too!!! Then he showed us a bin with some minerals in it!! We were able to pick up hands full of it!!

Now it must be noted that I was tricked here!!!!!

The farmer first told us we could smell it and that was not so bad. Then he said we could taste it, if we wanted and he put a wet fingertip into it and tasted......

I DID NOT see this and went for the entire handful before anyone could STOP me!!!

YUCK!!!

The farmer was a little shocked.....he smiled and said "WOW".....Really wow, how about poor kid, or some other words of concern!!!

As you can plainly see.....my MOMMY was very concerned about my WHOLE mouth being filled with minerals.

THANK GOODNESS my wonderful gma was along to help me clear out my mouth....she is sooooo awesome!!

Then I spotted Otis.....well it may not have really been him but he sure did look like it! Otis is this really cool tractor in one of my story books!!

We were pretty dusty after crawling around in the feed and the farmer helped me clean up with the air compressor.

I asked if I could use it to clean up Frank!!

Next up we checked out the calves....or baby cows as I like to call them!!!

They were pretty cute!!

The work on the big machine continued and before we left I went to offer some advice . I also suggested that they needed to dust it off!!!

One last look before we had to head home...Great gma and gpa were watching Haven while we were gone.....little did we know that we were going to be gone for more than 2 hours!! Thank you ggma and ggpa!!

I had a GREAT time and send a Big Thank You to the DeHaan's they were so nice and friendly!!

I am supposed to pass along a message for gma....she said she is going to make sure and update this blog on a more regular basis!!!

She has a lot of cute pics to share!

Let's go racing!!!

Before I move on to the boats......the more important goings on!!

Ggma Stark got to meet Haven and some snuggle time!!

Even though she will get used to it......she may have been a bit started by the flash!!

Haven is growing way too fast.....she was 7.3 lbs. when she was born and now 3 weeks later she is over 8.7 lbs!!! Such a sweetie!

Ward family v-burg edition came up for the weekend. The boys planned to try a catamaran race in Muskegon on Sat. and Sun. In the mean time gpa enjoyed some mighty machines with Lukas. The boy LOVES all things machines!!!

How ADORABLE!!!


You all can say it's gas but I ASSURE you she was smiling at gma!!!

I can't get over how she is growing...Amy and I were commenting that she seemed to be getting bigger while we watched!!!

We needed a place for Haven to sleep while I decide on what to do about a bed for Lukas!!!....in the meantime I remembered that Sarah had a doll cradle that she got years ago from her great uncle Joe in the basement. Defiantly not going to work for Luks, but Haven liked it OK!!!!

Aunt Yaya spent the night and come morning she was happy to cuddle with her little miss!!

With that we were off to the races....

First a update on the results of Sat. race. It should be noted that it has been maybe 30 yrs. since Dave has raced and this would be Jesse's first!!! The women folk stayed home for the day because the weather forecasts were not all that promising!! While they participated in race one, the clouds looked ominous....and it was thundering and lightning....when all of a sudden it moved in FAST!!!! Jesse was able to get his boat to shore, and was barely able to hang onto it on the beach. Boats were coming in fast and some flipped before making it in. A few boats made it to shore on the other sides of the breakwall. Dave on the other hand weathered the storm on the lake, as he was unable to bring the boat in safely. His reaction to the 65 mile and hour winds and rain!!!.....

"I cheated death!!!"
OK, on to Sundays race....we headed out hoping to see the guys before they headed out....getting everyone ready at the same time proved to be a challenge. So we may have been a little late. But, we were just in time to see Jesse pass the ferry!!!

The first race of the day and the winds were howling with waves over 6 ft. He had all good intentions but his boat was taking a beating and he headed in!!

We loaded up and headed down the beach, inside the breakwall. Just in time to see he was able to beach the boat!

Very deceiving when you see this picture...

....he was disappointed but still all smiles!!

Lukas was helping blue puppy leave his footprints on the sand!!

Then he headed off to help daddy take down the sails!

It wasn't more than 15 min. and Jesse's decision was verified as we saw Dave heading in too!!

He came roaring into shore! Within a short time more than half the fleet was heading in, one with a broken daggerboard!!!

Jesse went out to help Dave get to shore. We overheard one lady say she was trapezing and felt like she was floating, looked down at her feet and realized she WAS!!! :)

Haven and mommy taking in sights.....ok maybe Haven wasn't all that interested in all the happenings just yet!!!

Not to worry that is all the sun she was exposed to this day!!

Two of the A class cats. heading in!! As you can see the waves were really rolling!!

While the rest of the fleet continued to race, someone played on the slide!!

He likes hanging around!!! :)

White caps continued!

We moved on down to the shore to watch the kiteboarders and the rest of the races!!

Lukas checking it out!

With Haven in the beach tent, and lunch in our bellies, Jesse decided it was nap time!!!

It is POSSIBLE than while he was sleeping someone tried to lure in some of the resident seagulls!!! And maybe......just maybe more than one person pitched in on that!!! hehehe

LOL.....it was well worth it!!

Gpa took his little buddy and they walked to the lighthouse to check things out...he said it was wild out there!!

After the seagull attack Jesse headed out to join Dave and Lukas!!

He does like to climb!!

My 3 guys......I do love them so!!!

It was about this time that the races ended and we headed back down the beach to pack things up. We went to the awards, just to see how the guys had done in the completed races......wait for it!!!Jesse beat Dave in corrected time in both races they were able to finish!!!
Sorry, Dave!!!

I don't think this will be the last time we will be racing....someones got the bug!!

Your willing to do WHAT?

Nothing better than having family spend some time. Last week we were lucky enough to have Jess, Amy, Lukas and Haven spend the night. Sweet little miss slept for 61/2 hours.....ahhhhh!!!

Gpa was thrilled to be able to cuddle his granddaughter first thing in the morning.

Next up on the schedule was a little counter top bath. She was not too sure about this!!

Much happier with her cute owl outfit on!! She is such a sweetie, and so tiny.

Amy's mom had heard about a animal park that had just opened in our area. For a number of years we knew this place as the elk ranch, but hadn't seen any elk for the last 2 yrs. We had been wondering what was going on when we drove by a couple weeks ago and saw some new buildings going up. I guess for 17yrs they have raised exotic animals and no one knew they were there. Recently they were convinced to open a wildlife park geared towards kids!!
So off we went!
Amy and Haven checking out the parrots!!

Although you can't really tell in the cage behind the parrots were Lukas's favorite animals! LEMURS!!!!
We were able to get up close and personal!


The name of the park is Boulder Ridge wildlife park. they had too many animals to name, but here are a few, zebra, cranes, antelope, fox, porcupines,alligator,ostrich, emu, water buffalo, American bison, monitor, iguana,lots of different birds, etc........and yup someone got to ride a turtle!!

Not sure what animal they were watching here but Lukas sure looks intrigued!!

They also have a reptile house. Rick is the resident expert and he is AWESOME!! So loves what he does and wants to share that with all the kids around. Now is where the title comes in!!! Lukas was checking out all the small snakes and spiders and since he seemed impressed with them......look what I volunteered to do!!!!!

I know shocked me too!!! I think Dave floored too!!

At first Lukas thought it was cool.....he did get a little apprehensive after touching the snake. You have to remember the thing was way bigger than him!!
Later in the day Rick was feeding a serval (kind of like a bobcat) out in the pens and Lukas LOVED watching that too!!

You could also pet and feed many of the young animals, goats and even a baby bison!!

They also had a cage full of parrakeet's, and Lukas was mobbed when he went in with a birdseed stick! This was right at the beginning. Before long there were so many you had to watch your step!

Next up was a TRACTOR ride around the park to see all the larger animals. Without a doubt he was way more impressed with the tractor than the animals!!! At one point near the end of the ride he looked back and while everyone else was being told about the American Bison, he said "gma do you see that hydraulic Hitachi digger over there!!" The boy does love him some mighty machines!! :):)

He loved it that the lemurs wanted his drink!!!

Haven took it all in from a sling and then it was time for a little break and something to drink ;)

Resting by the zebra. The baby zebra in the pic is just 3 days old and they are expecting a few more any day!!

Amy and Haven take it all in!

Lukas chatting with the zebras!!

We would highly recommend this place to everyone. It isn't huge, just the right size for a little outing. They have a picnic area too. You can find them online or on facebook. They are open 7 days a wk. and it is $8. per person over 3yrs. We will definitely be going again!!!