Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Shepherd's 50th Maple Syrup Festival

This past weekend we enjoyed the 50th Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival! This is an event that all of us kids looked forward to when growing up in Shepherd. Since Shepherd has loads of maple trees, they started tapping the trees and making -- maple syrup. The original plan for this event was only a one-day event and it was to earn enough money to finance an eight-week summer recreation program for the children in the Shepherd school district. As the event has grown, it is now a full weekend and the village has been able to; fund a 10-week summer program, maintain a community park, and purchase a plot of land north of Shepherd, where many events will be housed in the future. It has grown a lot since then, with lots of things to do, such as; tractor pulls, carnival rides, a 5K Run, craft/quilt shows, a talent show, the famous pancake and sausage meal (which thousands of meals are served), a pancake eating contest, town wide yard sales, a car show, museum tours (Little Red School House, Train Depot & Sugar Bush "Factory"), chainsaw carver show, antique tractor show, tons of children's activities with the Michigan clowns, several different concerts (symphonic wind ensembles and a country entertainers), fireworks, a parade, and on and on and on. Now you can see why this was such a HUGE event for our little village of Shepherd. As a matter of fact, Shepherd, MI is know as the "Sweetest Little Town Anywhere Around" : ) There are tons of volunteers that make this weekend possible, so I would like to say THANK YOU to all of you out there that helped in anyway! I have always been proud of the little town that I was raised in, especially in April when all of this fun took place. --My sister, my friend Sara and myself participated in the talent show when we were teenagers, so we thought it would be fun to do it with our kids. Sara couldn't go so it was just me and Mary and all of our kiddos. Mary called just before we needed to head out and said she was sick, so...no talent show this year, maybe next year. All in all, we had a great time and plan on going again next year!

Papa couldn't hardly wait to get tickets bought so the kids could ride these rides.
Kallee enjoying the train ride with Keegan. She must have rode this thing a dozen times.

This ride was called "Cliff Hanger" it looked like such a cool ride, Keegan rode it over and over. I was tempted to buy some tickets and give it a try, but I didn't.

The "famous" Super Slide the kids rode on at least 20 times. Kallee would jump off and head right back up the stairs to ride it again. Thanks to my niece Kay, Kallee got to ride this as many times as she wanted. After a few times of me riding it, my backside was
too sore to try it any more : )
Talon, Kallee and Keegan
This was a really neat thing that the US Navy sponsored. It was a free ride, so that made it even better, ha! After riding it, the kids loaded up on all the freebies (water bottles, lapel pins, ink pens, pencils, etc.)
Kallee con-ed Papa into riding the ponies a couple times @$5.00/ride, ugh. When she finished her second ride, I told her that was enough and she looked at Papa and said (with her little finger pointing in the air) "just one more time Papa?!" What a little stinker, she knows how to get her way when it comes to Papa : )
This is the Little Red School House Museum that my parents had their wedding reception in.
The kids sitting in the desks in the Little Red School House. This school was actually used and it has a lot of the original items still in it (pot-belly stove, chalk boards, etc.). It has lots of old, old class pictures in it and lots of old memorabilia from Shepherd High School.
Sitting on the steps in front of the Little Red School House
Keegan the pirate, Kallee as Hello Kitty and Talon the clown. These were some of the free activities presented by the Michigan clowns.
Saturday night ended with fireworks on the north-side of Shepherd. This is something new since I was a kid, we never had fireworks in Shepherd, we had to go to a bigger town if we wanted to see any.
The final event of the weekend is/was on Sunday afternoon. It takes place down the center of town, it is the Maple Syrup Parade. It started at 2:30 and lasted about an hour, it was fun way to wrap up our weekend and head home.
This guy on stilts was walking over the top of everyone sitting/standing along the parade route. He is getting ready to step over Talon & Keegan in this picture.
Shepherd High School band looking their best! When Kallee seen them she said "look at their horsey hats"! I was a part of the marching and concert band every year in high school.
There is always a queen selected from the high school girls for this special event.
The Parade Marshall's were: Mr. & Mrs. Tom Shephard (he was my middle school principal and I graduated with his youngest son, Rob).

This was the tail-end of the parade, it was from a local church. This guy made this little train out of trash cans, it was pretty neat.

Weight Update

Ok ladies, it has been one week since I started drinking water and walking or riding my bike and...according to my scales I have lost 6 lbs. I don't see how that is possible, but I weighed myself twice and that is what is said both times, so...I am still not really ready to believe that but it did about freak me out when I saw what it said. I am going to try and only weigh in once a week so I don't get too discouraged if I don't drop anything, but if I can get rid of 6 lbs. each week, that would be great (I don't see that that is possible, but...: ) I have been really good about only eating one plate full, no stacking or piling or anything like that, which I can't stand for food to touch anyways, so that hasn't been too hard. I have only had a few sweets and have been eating regular meals, no skipping or adding a meal either, ha. I have been able to ride my bike or walk almost every day in that week's time, except while sitting for 9 hours on our MI trip. I will try and keep you posted and I hope you will all do the same for me. Best of luck to all of you on this "fun" roller-coaster weight ride, lol!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

What Has Worked for You???

Ok ladies, what has worked for you in getting off those extra pounds??? I have started, once again, drinking over a gallon of water a day and trying to go on a bike ride or walk. Today Kallee and I rode approximately 1 1/2 miles on my bike and I am on 64 oz. of water...I don't know if it will work or not, but I HAVE to do something, ya know what I mean??? I was a good girl at supper last night and only had one helping on everything except the cole-slaw : ) I love fruit, so I am going to try replacing some of my daily sweets with a piece of fruit instead and get the stupid candy out of the house, ha! We shall see if it works and if I keep it up. So...what have you done to get those pounds off and keep them off? I would like to hear from Catrena and Louise since I have seen the amazing results they both have had with their weight loss!

Happy Birthday To Grandpa Hysel


I would like to wish our Grandpa Hysel a Happy Birthday tomorrow (4/24). We will be out of town so I thought I would post this a day early! We hope you have a nice day tomorrow, we love and appreciate you!


(Great-Grandpa Hysel with Kallee 12/06)

Happy Belated Birthday Grandma Hysel

I would like to wish a Happy Belated Birthday to our Grandma Hysel! I missed her birthday last week, sorry Gma. We hope you had a nice day anyways : ) We love and appreciate you Grandma!


Jerry, Janiece, Keegan, Grandma & Grandpa

(Christmas 2007)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Saying Goodbye to Oreo

Kallee & Oreo


Kallee giving Oreo a ride in her car, whether Oreo wants it or not : )


Tonight was a sad night at the Cooper household : ( We buried Kallee's kitty, Oreo (E-O as she called it). I received a call from Jerry yesterday while I was at IHC, that her kitty had been hit by a car and was dead. Of course Talon was excited and even said he was going to tease her about it, and I told him "oh NO your NOT"!!! The boys have never cared for her dear kitty, but she loved that silly thing. She would carry it around on her shoulder and play with it as long as she could, before the cat would escape her hold, lol. Daddy went out and picked her kitty up and put it in a box so we could bury it. Once the boys saw how sad it looked, I got another call last night (it was Talon) saying "is it ok to cry about Oreo"? I said "yes, why?" He started crying and said "it looks so sad and Sissy is going to be so sad"! Needless to say, when I arrived home last night and went in to give the boys a kiss...they were sound asleep with an empty box of Kleenex on their floor. That of course made me sad for all my kids! Daddy and I told Kallee before going to bed last night about Oreo and she didn't seem to upset. I don't think she really understands that she will never get to play with her again : ( She told us we needed to take her to the doctor and the hos-pit-able. She said "when I see my kitty I will say, hi kitty baby"! She has already called Mamaw and asked for a new, baby kitty and Mamaw said as soon as she gets one, she will give her one. I AM NOT a cat fan, but it sure made you feel like crying when your kids are crying over her.

The boys helping out with burying their Sissy's kitty. They have been very nice to her and telling her it will be alright.
Kallee inspecting her kitty's "casket".
The boys helping bury Oreo.
Picking flowers for E-O's grave!
Putting flowers on the grave.
Kallee standing by the cross Daddy made for her kitty.
Keegan wanted a picture by the cat's grave too.

I've Been Tagged

Where was I ten years ago today....
I was a wife to Jerry, a mother of a one year old.

Five things I need to do today....
--Get dressed (yes I know it is 12:33 : )
--Clean out the bags from our IHC trip
--Pickup the house
--Get the boys from school
--Bury a dead kitty : ( (more news on that later)

Five snacks I enjoy...
--Chocolate
--Anything sweet (snack cakes, candy bars, etc.)
--Cheese & Crackers
--Veggies & Dip (the homemade kind of dip)
--Chips & Salsa

If I were a billionaire what would I do...
--Pay off EVERY single debt I own to anyone or any company!!!
--Build our school/church a gym
--Help those in need; friends, churches, missionaries...
--Build a house we could retire in and fill it full of pretty things
--Take a vacation
--Spend more time with my family and friends, say on an all expense paid vacation : )

Five bad habits I have...
--Popping my gum
--Worrying too much about everything (family, bills, friends and their problems, etc.)
--Yelling at stupid drivers
--Making my kids wash their hands 55 million times a day, HA
--_______________ I'm sure my friends could fill in the blank on this one, so go wild and use your imagination, LOL

Five places I've lived...
--MI (Chippewa Street & E. Pleasant Valley Rd.)
--IN (Boone St. and current location)

Five Jobs I've had...
--Babysitting was my first job
--Working on and off as a sectary and J & S Rentals for the past 10 years
--Working in the kitchen at a nursing home (didn't last but a few days, the head cook had NO idea how to train a teenager!!!) I am a good worker and can do pretty much what is expected of me, but I NEVER knew what she wanted from me
--Wife/Mother, etc.

I am not tagging anyone, I know I am a party pooper, but that's the way it goes! : )

I.H.C.

Back home in Indiana! We arrived home last night around 11:30'ish, safe and sound. Kallee and I had the privilege of going to IHC with my MIL (Betty), my SIL (Elizabeth) and my niece (Courtney). We had a fun "girl time" in Ohio, lots of laughs and even some tears (on my part at least). We arrived in Ohio around 7:30 on Wednesday night, so we checked into our motel and then went to eat. We stayed up laughing and talking until 1:00 a.m. or so and my poor SIL was up until at least 4:00 a.m. working on a paper that was due Thursday. I don't know how she ended up getting an 8 page paper done with all of us there, but she did. We headed to the convention center yesterday morning and I ended up seeing some old friends from MI; Sis. (Willard) Webster & Martha (Kindey) Forsee, the Burley boy's and their families and last but not least, Bro. & Sis. Denny Johnson. It was nice seeing all of them and having a minute to say hello. Later that day all of us (plus my sister and her kiddos) went for lunch and then ended up back at the convention center and hung out until it was evening service. The mass choir was AWESOME as always, but then I LOVE that type of music! --I missed seeing some of you, wish I would have had more time (Julie & Byron), but glad for those that I did get to see (Sue & Daryl Pittman) and my cousin (Nancy & Tim Montgomery). Hope you all arrived home safely and I hope we will get to go again next year!

Kallee sleeping in "her little bunk bed" (the nightstand at the motel)!



CJ & Kallee

Such sweeties, well kind of, HA!
They were playing while we were passing time and decided to use the offering buckets for hats and use the stairs as a piano, HA!
Little Maverick even got a hat!

5.4???

What in the world does 5.4 mean??? That is the scale of our earthquake that we had this morning!!!! Yes little old Indiana had an earthquake this morning that jarred us awake. I thought at first one of our boys was bounding up the stairs, but then it got a little worse and then Jerry sat up in bed and said "we're having an earthquake", I responded "NO WAY"!!! But sure enough, it was! Jerry thought I was scratching my leg or something in my sleep, but realized when the headboard and furniture started to shake, it wasn't me. He ran downstairs and flipped on the dining room lights and sure enough, the pendulums on the clock were rocking back and forth, AHHHH!!! He fired up his computer and went to Fox News and they were reporting what had happened. They thought at first it was a 1. something, but it ended up at 5.4. What a way to wake up at 5:40'ish in the morning, pretty scary feeling. Thank the Lord it wasn't any worse and nothing else happened!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Happy Birthday Mary


L to R: Me, Mary, Darlene & Shirley (Chonda Concert 2/08)
I would like to wish my sister Mary a Happy Birthday today! I think she is 29, but then she is 6 years older than me and I'm 32, so... : ) I hope you have a great day and we hope to see you at IHC!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Football Season???

Yesterday afternoon was so nice, is was nice enough for a round of football. I looked out the window to find my Dad and Keegan playing football. After watching them play for awhile, I just had to grab the camera. Kallee joined in too, she didn't quite know what to do, but she would run when they would run. What a fun time they all had! Dad told me this morning before leaving "those kids about wore my legs out yesterday" : )
Papa trying to keep Kallee and Keegan from scoring!
Papa trying to tag Keegan before he scores a touchdown!

Keegan's turn to kick!
Keegan trying to tag Papa before he headed for a touchdown!
Papa running for a touchdown!

Papa's So Special Because...

...he brings us candy and he snuggles on the couch with us!
For a couple days, my parents came to visit! My kids love having them come and they cry when they have to leave : ( My Mom isn't too big on smiling for the camera, but my Dad will always pose with the kids. Here are a couple cute pictures I couldn't resist posting. Enjoy!

Papa always brings the kids each a bag of candy, just what they need, lol! He usually brings Kallee the gummy, sugar-coated Orange Slices, which she loves!
I came downstairs yesterday morning and thought the boys probably had Dad in their room watching "Andy Griffth" or something, but I was wrong.
This is how I found Keegan and his Papa!

Maverick's Dedication

On Sunday we had the privilege of going to our nephew's Dedication service. Little Maverick looked so handsome and sweet in his little Dedication outfit. His Mommy (Mary, my sister) and his Grandma Baker made his outfit, so that made it even more special. His little sissy CJ sang "Jesus Loves the Little Babies" to him, his Daddy sang "I Want to Be Just Like You" and his Mommy sang "Hold Onto the Years" to him. All of them did a very nice job! After the service we enjoyed a very yummy meal, prepared by Mary. We were so glad we got to be to your special service Maverick, even though you won't remember it : )
Mama Mary with CJ
Daddy John singing to his boy!
Pastor Decker with Maverick

Papa saying the closing prayer!

The Baker's - John, Mary, CJ & Maverick