Compass Pointe

The Many Faces of Me

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:49:00 +0000

Bet you're wondering what the world is going on here...

What are these weird faces....

What do they mean?

Let's play a little game~I'll give you some clues...
The top photo is my Pilgrimage profile-YO!What do you guess I needed a paper plate face for-YO?! Some strange, cult Presbyterian thing-YO?! If you really wanna know-YO! To the next Pilgrimage you must go-YO!

The other two are pictures of my final project for art therapy class last weekend. The front view is the face I show the world. The back side is the real me...the inside me that the world does not see. Unless I choose to share with someone. Allow them a glimpse.
Can you guess all the symbols on my mask? What do you see outside? Inside?
If you can guess, I'll either be your best friend OR I'll marry you!
Not really~or maybe...

It's so interesting...we all wear masks of different types, for different occasions, around certain people, in certain places, at various ages and places in our lives. Just goes to show you that there's always more to everyone than meets the eye! It would be very enlightening to know how people really see us versus the way we see ourselves. Wonder what we could learn from that? What if we drop the mask? Would that set us free or cause pain?
Masks~not just for Halloween or the theater stage.
What kind of mask do you wear?
Any thoughts?

Another day @ FMG

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:34:00 +0000

Here's the latest addition to our FMG collection. We have basically the same pictures, every season of the year, for the past three years! Today was about as perfect a day as can be had in Michigan on November 1st. Jayden and I are making or 7th our 8th trip of the year to Frederick Meijer Gardens. We're getting the most out of our membership! Funny how certain little things become so important. Jayden now insists on eating lunch at the cafe. He always wants to take the tram ride around the park. We have to stop at the sandpit no matter what. Even when the butterflies are no longer present, we have to go to the "butterfly place" aka the conservatory.We were outside nearly all day.It felt good. Jayden and I both got our arobics in running up and down the stairs in the ampitheater. I swear that was an hour of our day! Not to mention, Jayden has quite the pumpkin obsession and this time of year there are many to be found on the grounds here.He always wants to get his picture made with each pumpkin he encounters! He also loves to come around Halloween because of the spooky decorations they put up in the garden. Now the Great Lakes model is all sealed up and the fountains are turned off. By a stroke of good fortune, there were still some toys, trucks and shovels to use at the sandpit and dishes for the tea table in "the jungle". Jayden got to see the fish he loves so much in the pond near the entry and the ducks in the lower pond. The water was still turned on in the "circle thing" so that provided at least one opportunity to get wet! At the end of the day, there's one more stop at the cafe to get an ice cream treat. A quick look in the gift shop. Off we go towards home, just before 5pm closing time. Home to eat dinner and play games, watch a movie, before bathtime, prayers, and naps.So many traditions!I know those are the things children remember most from childhood.Tomorrow morning will come early~6 am~and we will be off for another tradition...breakfast at the Windmill before heading to school.

Howdy, Pilgrim

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:51:00 +0000

No, not trying to imitate John Wayne~just showing a couple photos from work today. I decided to be a Pilgrim this year, inspired by my Pilgrimage last weekend...cleaver, huh?? Now I'm all set for Thanksgiving, too. Next year I can change it up a little and be a nun. Anybody know a handsome priest? Anyway, we had fun today and I'm sure you can view all the giddy-ups from Body Perfections on our facebook website. We had an angel/devil(Lisa), two cowgirls (Lindsey and Brooke), two faeries (Rae and Miranda)and a bathrobe beauty with curlers in her hair(Kari). Just thought I'd share... you're never too old to dress up for Halloween!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!! HAVE FUN~BE SAFE!!

PILGRIMAGE

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:25:00 +0000

Getting there is half the fun??? By the time I left for my Pilgrimage, I felt like I had run a marathon!! Nothing went right~especially Mapquest~SHOCKER!!I was late for the rendezvous. The force was definitely not with me!I had a flashlight that didn't work, couldn't find the rain poncho, bedding was still damp because Tyler forgot to put it in the drier...I could go on and on! Whenever we make big commitments in our lives,it seems that big obstacles pop up to test our resolve! Such was the case with me and Pilgrimage.Still, I had the sense of being called and I knew deep down that it was meant to be for me to experience this thing called Pilgrimage. But what the world is Pilgrimage anyway??? Nobody was telling...Some sort of spiritual journey I was sure. But what were they going to do there? Especially without cellphones, laptops, and FACEBOOK!!! I wondered if it was an Amway ploy? A secret society like The Skulls? Worse yet..some kind of cult. Hmmmm. Hey, wait a minute, Kathy Bruins invited me. I'm sure she's not into anything weird.She looks innocent enough. Anyway, the Presbyterian church has some affiliation with this. When was the last time you ever heard of a bunch of Presbyterians running amuck, losing control, and going wild?? NEVER! Yeah, I'm sure it's probably ok. What's the worst thing that can happen? Go ahead, live dangerously, take a risk, right? So, I went.
You know me, I'm the one with the "I'm blogging this" T-shirt. It was my intention to write a tell-all, complete with pictures, describing in extensive detail everything I did and experienced on my Pilgrimage. In retrospect, I have decided not to do that. Why? Because Pilgrimage was a very unique, life-altering, God-finding, soul-searching event and, looking back, I understand why my friend did not want to tell me about Pilgrimage. She wanted me to have my own experience, uninfluenced by the input of others.There are people in my life that I hope will make this journey themselves and I do not wish to diminish the experiences of any future Pilgrims in any way. In fact, I believe that Pilgrimage should be on everyone's Bucket List~a once-in-a-lifetime must!
So, I apologize to those I promised to enlighten upon my return...
There are a few things I can say about Pilgrimage, however:

*Presbyterians are a lot more fun than I had ever imagined!
*The dining experience was very colorful, shall we say...roosters were crowing, hens clucking, chicks peeping!
*The first night I thought I had morphed into a nun.
*The second day I was channeling Picasso, Rembrandt,Leonardo Da Vinci, or maybe someone more on the order of Andy Warhol :)
*The third day I could have been mistaken for a cast member from Saturday Night Live!
*The fourth day everyone turned into a ROCK star!
*For some reason, the number 22 keeps popping into my head (inside joke!)

Lana Mae Baker gives Pilgrimage a 5-star rating and 2 thumbs waaaay UP!!

THE LORD IS MY ROCK! Psalms 18:2

Ponderings

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:49:00 +0000

This slideshow is basackwards because I couldn't figure how to re-order the pictures in the web album after it was uploaded.A Benjamin Button kinda concept! Please keep in mind that this pond is not finished...and probably will not be until the good weather comes again in Spring/Summer of 2010. Just consider this a work-in-process:

Granny's Groovewalk

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Jayden and I have our own version of the Groovewalk and here it is:

After a frustrating attempt to attend the Kids Hope Prayer Walk...which turned out not to be a walk, which I was counting on to work the wiggles out of my little wiggle bug...Jayden isn't big on a lot of talking and no activity. So, Barb graciously excused us from the rest of the meeting and we spent a surprisingly entertaining afternoon walking downtown in Holland. Not very busy downtown this crisp Fall Sunday afternoon. Only a select few have acquired this taste...But we had fun noticing all the pumpkins downtown and drooling over the candy at the Peanut Store and Kilwins. We scoped out all the toys at the Sandcastle. We even peeked in the window at the Windmill where we will have breakfast in the morning before school. Most of the businesses were closed but we enjoyed the water fountains and all the sculptures that Jayden likes to pose with. We encountered a mix of Fall and harvest themed decorations and Halloween ones. We saw the occaisional dog out walking his owner. We shuffled our feet through several big piles of leaves. Stopped for a drink out of the drinking fountain at City Flats Hotel. Then made our way back to the water fountain where we parked our car. A quick trip to McDonald's for some Chicken Nuggets. Then home to check out the inside of the barn -just to make sure nothing has changed since last week! Jay taks a little sit on top of the hay bales in the pasture. We let Gunther and Patches run, before settling back inside for our usual viewing of Cars before bath and prayers and naps. We like our version of the Groovewalk just fine :)

Honey Crisp Express

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Yet another trip to Crane's...Somehow this never gets old! We had a wonderful lunch at the Pie Pantry and then out into the orchard to pick our favorite apples...Honey Crisps, of course! So sweet and delish~Bombdiggity!

We picked up some apple cider doughnuts to go, along with an apple pie that was still warm from the oven and some apple butter and raspberry jam, along with a gallon of their apple cider. That should hold us for awhile...but not too long~it will soon be Halloween time and time to go through the Haunted Corn Maze! What would we do around here without Crane's?? It just would not be the same!

Labor Day 2009: All Play and No Work!

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:29:00 +0000

After extensive physical training, exhaustion, and near-fainting, I am proud to say that I made it ALL the way-all .19K- of the 11th Annual Blue Star Bridge Walk between Douglas and Saugatuck! Took all of about 5 minutes! The event began with the town crier announcing the bridge walk officially open. He was followed by a cadre that included the mayors of both Saugatuck and Douglas, two bagpipers, and congressman Pete Hoekstra. I would say there were at least 500 of us walking, double that if you count all the dogs! I had my reversible sign: Saugatuck or bust/Douglas or bust...there was one guy on a pogo stick...and then an entire line of people with toilet plungers(???).It was quite an experience! Of course, Kim and I just had to get the official T-shirts. We stopped at the doughnut and ice cream breakfast in the park afterwards as well. Next stop was Crane's Orchard. This marks the first weekend of apple picking. Since we were meeting Rachel and Carol for lunch at the Pie Pantry, then off to Detroit to the IKEA, we didn't want to pick a lot of apples~just enough to snack on during the trip. So, Gala's, Golden Supremes, and MacIntoshes were the ones ready now and we picked a few of each. We had lunch with Carol and Rachel Nykerk at noon and it was yummy as usual.Great conversation and wonderful to catch up again with both those gals~don't think I've seen Rach and Carol since our trip to Oregon in May/June. Our delicious lunch gave us the sustenance we needed for our roadtrip to Detroit Rock City IKEA. Kim had never been to an IKEA and I have only gone several times...with men..who have no patience for shopping, I might add! Never have I gone and been able to look at my leisure. So, we both shopped until our heart's content. We looked at EVERYTHING! There's enough stuff there to just make your head swim!We got a lot of great ideas and bought a few small kitchen gadgets and closet organizing supplies. Tired but happy, we stopped at Chili's for a very nice dinner and then home in the rainstorm. Our Labor Day was all play and no work~as it should be!Tomorrow is back to reality but, on the bright side,a short work week.

OMG! FMG!

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Granny has been working waaaay too much lately! So, last weekend I promised Jayden that I'd take him wherever he wanted to go...I am always amazed at the number of times he asks to go to Frederik Meijer Gardens! This is why, after our first year going to the butterflies, we just went ahead and got a membership. I'll bet we've been there an average of 8 times a year for the past three years! Jayden adores this place and I have developed such a fondness for it, too. I know we have taken many photos here. Many of them similar except for the fact that Jayden continues to change and grow up. This day, we went walking in a part of the garden that we've never gone to before. While on our walkabout, we ran into some aquaintances from Holland who were attending the wedding of a former neighbor. It was an Indian wedding and the traditional saris the women were wearing were just breathtaking! Jayden hit all his favorite spots...the fountains, the Great Lakes (complete with boats) and the sandpit where he is obsessed with the trucks and digging holes! We ate lunch in the cafe there and then did something at FMG that we have never done before-we took the tram all the way through the garden and viewed all the sculptures. It was really worth doing. I had no idea there were so many...and so much more room left for future expansion. The guide gave us all the names of the various works of art and told us who the artists were and a bit of background information about each artist and each piece of sculpture. It was really neat~and I learned something, too. Always a bonus!The farm hosted tastings for heirloom tomatoes today and there was also a rose show. It is my intention to get more involved with the exhibits and classes offered here in the future. For now, we'll be back later in the Fall for the pumpkin art and the Halloween decorations, then, of course the Christmas trees...and the cycle will begin anew with the return of the butterflies in the spring. We will be there!

What the cluck?!

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:11:00 +0000

The Whitecaps took a shalacking by the Fort Wayne Tincaps! The Whitecaps started out like champs~Gustavo Nunez doubled, then made it to third on a grounder and ran it home on a pitch that went astray. This in the first inning. After that, no Whitecap made it past first base! The Tincaps scored a run in the 5th, three more in the 6th, and buried us under 3 more runs in the 7th to strike the final blow. Whitecaps lost 7-1. The worst game I've seen this season at 5/3RD Ballpark.

The redemption of this night came by way of the famous San Diego Chicken who I hear is possibly slated for retirement this year. This guy, Ted Giannoulas, has been "doing the chicken" since he was in college at San Diego State in 1974! A rock station in San Diego hired him for $2/ hr. to pass out candy at Easter time at the San Diego Zoo. He was such a big hit, the station kept him on to do other promotions. The chicken started showing up at the Padres games and that was the beginning...since then, this famous foul has appeared not only in sports events, but has been part of the concerts of such artists as Paul McCartney, J.Geils Band, Sammy Hagar, and even Elvis! He has entertained presidents. He even had a cameo in the cult classic movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.During all these many years, Ted Giannoulas has never refused an autograph request or denied a photo with a fan of any age, no matter how long after an event he has to stay to accomplish this.

I have seen the San Diego Chicken probably 6 times~it never gets old! This guy is always coming up with new material. Tonight was no exception. He pulled out the eye exam chart for the ref, he did multiple dance moves, ate and pooped out a ball(Jayden is still talking about the chicken going potty outside!), he kicked the ref in the rear, he made a mess sweeping the field when the groundskeepers were trying to do their work, he got the bases stuck to his feet and ran off with them, got into a water balloon fight, got his clothes ripped off(or is that feathers plucked?)and too many things to mention! ALL adorable and Jayden really loved it!! The chicken definitely saved the day seeing as the game itself was a total loss!

The game that never happened on the weekend that wasn't...

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:31:00 +0000

I'm having another one of those weekends...the kind where all I do is work :( So, the highlight of the weekend was supposed to be the Whitecaps game on Saturday night BUT the rain just did not let up and it was finally cancelled without the Whitecaps even taking the field!) I've been there before when the game has started and then got delayed by rain or cancelled by rain after at least some play but this time, Oh, no, not even one pitch, not one high fly to center, grounder to third, foul ball, no stolen bases~nada, nyet, zero, zilch! Still, it was an interesting scene in some ways...we got there early and so we were able to have a little table under the eves. We got beer, hot dogs, hamburgs, peanuts. We stood around and visited and people watched. Pretty soon, everyone was scrunched up under the eves. I bet the vendors made a killing. Nothing to do but eat, drink ,and be as merry as possible. The kids had all gotten these funny little super hero capes as a promotional gift. Personally, I wanted one but you had to be 14 or under to get one and I guess I just wasn't convincing enough. Some of the adults were making skirts out of their kids' capes and dancing around. It was an interesting sight. The thing that finally caught and held our attention for a good portion of the evening was the people who were attempting to eat a Fifth Third Burger. As I understand it, the Fifth Third Burger is five 1/3 pound beef patties(to make it 5/3rds of a pound~get it??~because 5/3rd is the name of the ballpark...built by 5/3rd bank.Cleaver, huh? Then, in addition to the meat there's nacho cheese, chili, salsa, crushed tortilla chips, tomato and lettuce, served on an 8" sesame seed bun. This gigantic gut bomb has 5,000 calories, 300 grams of fat, and bunches of carbs! The other name for it is "heart attack on a bun".I have not verified the following information but someone told me the Fifth Third Burger costs $20. There's some sort of time limit, but if you eat one in one sitting, you get a free one or a Tshirt or something like that. There were two teenage boys making the attempt as well as one guy, we're guessing, about 40ish, who was attempting to eat two of them! Although he was an attractive fellow, the fact that he could eat that much of anything in one sitting made us girls a little nervous...hmmm.Anyway, I guess he was successful at doing that in May and decided to try it again. By the time the game was cancelled, at least one of the teenagers had made it. The older guy had finished one but was still working on the other. I'll get more of the complete low-down on the Fifth Third Burger next time~besides all this entertainment~we get to come back to another game for free because of the rain. So, either during playoffs or next May for sure, we get to do this all again! See, there is a silver-lining! Here's a few photos of our rain-drenched outing:

Grand Lady Riverboat Cruise

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:58:00 +0000

There's a bit of a nautical theme to my posts lately...last weekend canoeing and this weekend I joined the SBD gang for a very pleasant afternoon picnic cruise down the Grand River. We saw many families of turtles along the way perched on branches in the river, lots of beatiful woods and colorful vegetation, along with an assortment of birds. Very picturesque. We discovered an extensive bike path that stretched thoughout the wooded area. A plan for a bike adventure in the near future is taking shape! Meanwhile, here are a few photos of our time aboard The Grand Lady:

Adventures in Canoeing

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:23:00 +0000

Lana, Jayne, and the SBD bunch hit the Pere Marquette today. We had a canoe convoy that took us 15-20 miles downriver...some of us got off at the 15 mile landing but a number of the teams went the entire 20 mile length. The weather was perfect. The river was busy. We stopped for a nice lunch on the bank at noon. Shortly thereafter, Jayne and Lana ran amuck, tipped over, got stuck, got unstuck, ran amuck, rinse and repeat!Then Lana went solo with her unflattering disembarkment move out of the canoe~very comical:)))Unfortunately, during these times, we were otherwise occupied and sorry, no photos!Just glad we had the camera safely in a ziplock bag, securely in the mesh bag, which was tied to the handhold of the canoe or we wouldn't even have the pix we did get. You'll have to use your imagination...Very fun. Jayne and I are still speaking after all of this and, as a matter of fact, plan to go again next year as a team. This is true friendship if you can canoe together, tip it twice, and still consider the relationship solvent. Well, we were up the river without a paddle and lived to tell~next adventure, please!

Whitecaps Fun

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:21:00 +0000

The Victory Point bunch took in the Whitecaps game today at 5/3rd Ballpark in Grand Rapids. My pictures didn't turn out too great this time so I'm afraid this adorable photo of me and my "date" Kim DeGlopper is the only one I find suitable to post. The Whitecaps basically annihilated the Cedar Rapids Kernels~they were pretty corny! The Caps won 10-4. Adam Wilk played his first game in the Midwest League giving up only 2hits, shutout for 6 innings, and managed to get 7 strikeouts. Not bad! It was a great night at bat for the Caps. Ben Guez had 5 hits, and out of the nine starters, eight of them had hits as well. The game unravelled a bit in the ninth inning when the Kernels came alive to get 4 runs in before being put to bed once and for all by the Whitecaps. Love that Dizzy Bat Race, the Cow Tipping, and the Eyeball Race! Great atmosphere~perfect weather~lots of fun!

Ribfest ala Dan

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:51:00 +0000

Dan Wedge opened his home once again for what has become an annual event, the ribfest. The Life Connections group from CWC and misc. friends, family, and neighbors came to enjoy Dan's famous ribs, conversation, yard games and a campfire. Wish I could have stayed longer but it was a delightful evening anyway. Thanks so much Dan for being such a gracious host! Already planning on next year...

Jay Date: Day at the museum

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Those few of you who are faithful blog followers will see, once again, the cycle that repeats itself...this is year two...or is it three? Well, we've had at least a couple sets of pictures of Jayden at the Children's Museum downtown in Grand Rapids. Each time he's a little bigger. Each time, his interests have changed or the way that he plays in certain areas is more sophisticated. He is now able to conceptualize how to set up the ball maze or how to put the train tracks together. When we first started coming to the museum, Jayden simply ran from one spot to the next with hardly a pause. I see so much progress in his attention span and thought processes. Makes Granny proud...and I said that to Jay several times today. At one point he stopped what he was doing and asked me, "Gramma are you proud of me?" So, I guess he even understands the value of having someone be proud of your accomplishments. We enjoyed the day together, just Jay and I. Later, we stopped at home to pick up Ty for a run to the grocery store and to shop for new tennis shoes. This is at least the third pair of Spiderman tennis shoes he's had. Bonus, they had some Spiderman flip-flops too on closeout for $4 so who could pass that up? It amazes me, but Jayden never gets tired of Elmo's Potty Time so, of course, we had to watch it. Jay loves to feed the cats and dogs and help Gran water the flowers. Good times!

Pig Roast

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:40:00 +0000

Here's a little ditty about Chuck and Diane~had a pig roast at their house and it was grand!

This annual pig roast and lawn party was once again a resounding success~our very own Bob DeVries DJ'd the event and specializes in oldies and classic rock(you can connect with Bob to DJ and/or his band, FULL COUNT at bobdevries49@hotmail.com) and there was plenty of intense fellowship...including the "f" thing that rhymes with skirt...A good time had by all.Our group has some pretty good dancers...I wonder if we'll see some of them on Dancing with the Stars?? You just never know. Thanks again to Chuck and Diane for their warmth, generosity, and wonderful hospitality! Next year, Bob, Molly Hatchett, OK?

Welcome Home, Derek!

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:48:00 +0000

A picture is worth a thousand words...Lets just say, parties at Derek's are legendary and this one was no exception! A good time was had by all~many thanks to Pam, Tom, and everyone who helped make this a fun evening. Great to see everybody!

At the Zoo

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:57:00 +0000

Our annual trek to John Ball Zoo happened today. We are used to a much larger zoo when we go to zoo Oregon. But our little one in GR has it's own funky hometown charm. New on the agenda, we stopped and got Jayden an airbrushed tat. He chose the snake himself. Then we also petted the sting rays this year. Jayden did the passport activites along the nature trail, too. Missing from our adventure this time was the camel ride. Nobody quite felt like it by the time we got there. He did the petting zoo. We saw all the exhibits. Jayden didn't make it to the swan boats again this year...maybe next year.Again this year, the two semi-finalists for the stinkiest animals were the Flamingos and the Bears. Last year I would have called it a tie but this year I would say the Bears won, hands down, for the most unGodly, foul stench! They need to change their diet! We got really close up to the Mountain Lions. Such beautiful animals. We saw the lions and tigers, too. The African exhibit has come a long way since they put it in-really grown up and filled in as far as the vegetation goes. Jayden was a funny little guy this year though...he kept saying such hilarious stuff.. Like answering "absolutely!" and "whatever" to almost everything! Another thing he kept doing is telling Tyler "that's a bad word" or "don't say that word" even when it wasn't a bad word~drove Tyler nuts and it was really funny after awhile. Then Jayden decided it would be cool to call his dad by his first name. That really didn't go over well with Tyler! When we were leaving the zoo, Jayden was looking at the bronze statue of John Ball and he asked, "What happened to him?" And Tyler told him, "They dipped him in Bronze!" We all got a good laugh out of that one :)

Night at Sapphire Lake

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:10:00 +0000

The SBD folks gathered at the home of our very own Johhny B. for a potluck and campfire on Sapphire Lake. Perfect weather, gorgeous setting, great company, wonderful eats, a few adult beverages, and a rip-roaring fire after the sun set. At some point we got John to give us the tour. His house is so cozy~classy but comfortable. Very nice. So, after that, at some point during the course of the evening, and after spending some time with Leinenkugel, we hatched out a plot to secure our place in this lovely residence so we never have to leave...It went something like this...We decided to become Mormons. That way, John could marry all of us and we could be sisterwives just like on the HBO show Big Love. Diane, in true form, and the leader that she is,decided our work assignments: I'm in charge of all the sex and bedroom activities (why would she pick me???), Diane's gonna clean the place and Deb's in charge of the kitchen. Well, we tried to sell the idea to John but he said the prospect of having the three of us around was just too overwhelming. So, we had to concede defeat for the moment. But we asked him to just continue to consider the offer. Meantime, we had an incredible night by the lake. That is, until the mosquitoes got the better of us. Even if John doesn't accept our offer, we do genuinely thank him for his gracious hospitality at this most lovely of settings and hope that he will consider having us all back again next summer~I will bring my fishing pole and swim suit next time!

Dueling Pianos

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Gotta love those Friday night concerts in Kollen's Park!We had such a beautiful night and the music was awesome. All standards that we knew, loved, and could sing along with. These two guys are great! They are available for parties and special events:

http://www.piano-party.com

As usual, Boatwerks afterwards...the band there was great, too, but nothing compared with the wonderful companionship of friends :)))

Take me out to the ballgame

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Here's another family tradition that I am now enjoying with Jayden the way I did with my two boys~going to the ballpark, complete with all the sights, sounds and smells of a real, live game~nothing quite like it!Another tradition, we went to AJ's before and after the game to do gokarts, kiddiekarts, the bumper boats and some of the arcade games.Jayden got to do his first "driving" in the kiddiekarts and then Granny and Jayden faced-off with Dad, Tyler, on the bumper boats. We ran into the waterfall just for fun and got soaking wet! Stopped at the Main Street Pub on the way home for dinner on the patio. Then watched a little Elmo's Potty Time, Jayden had a nice bath,on with the Thomas the Tank Engine PJ's, and a long nap with Gran...Gunther, Patches, and assorted cats who rotate guard duty throughout the night. These are the good old days. How wonderful to get another chance to relive these special times over again with a whole new generation and to see these "old experiences" through new eyes.

Kollen's Park 4th of July Fireworks

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Second year in a row (so now it's a tradition)I went to the firework display at Kollen's Park accompanied by the usual suspects, as you can see! I met up with Mandy in the Morning JQ99 DJ and personal friend from church. Ran into the rowdy singles bunch from CWC ;) Hung out with Carrie and Jamie, Bonnie and Annie~no pictures of them cuz they arrived after dark...The music was good with various groups entertaining until the 10:20 start time of the fireworks.Then the B-BOP (Big Band of Praise)took the stage and we did a group version of God Bless America and The Star Spangled Banner before the show began. We had live music and songs all the way through the fireworks and it was an especially spectacular display this year. Sooo...since they decided to have the firworks on the 3rd instead of the 4th, I guess it'll be some other activity tomorrow. Wait and see. I think it's a toss up between Whitecaps baseball and going to see The Proposal.

Another perfect Jay Day

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:47:00 +0000

As most of you know, Meijer Gardens is a favorite place for us. The Children's Garden is a place Jayden can spend the entire day and never get bored. We are members so we go very often. It never fails to bring us happiness. Since the gardens close at 5pm, still plenty of daylight, we went to Huizenga Park to visit the ducks and geese and to play at Timber Town~another favorite! Dinner at Logan's...gotta love those peanuts :) Home for playdoh, Elmo's Dinosaur video, bath and bed. Another perfect day spent with Jayden.

South Haven Reflections 2009

animalhouse5060@earthlink.net (Lana Baker) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:02:00 +0000

Hard to believe the speed at which one week can pass! Here are some images of our trip this year to South Haven. I can close my eyes and see the water, the sand, the pier, North and South beaches, the cottages and the gardens in the VanStreen compound. I can hear the birds. I can hear the waves. I see all the lovely homes and cottages that line North Shore Drive. And oh those sunsets! These are the images that sustain me through our bitter, long Michigan winters...if I can make it to June and South Haven, then all will be well :)