Friday, 4/25/25, Happy 50th Birthday Melissa! We love you! Did more garage sales with Kimmy and Vikki today, went to Olive Garden for Melissa’s birthday, more garage sales with Kimmy, Jacob and Abi, in the Parade in Freeland with Faith riders, went to Culvers

Happy Birthday!  We love you so much Melissa!  

I followed Bill to the Olive Garden for Melissa’s Birthday Lunch!

Max, Bruce, Melissa, Me and Bill celebrating Melissa’s birthday at the Olive Garden.  Yummy spaghetti, salad, soup and Melissa got free Italian Donuts for her Free Birthday Dessert.  Enough for all of us too!  She was looking forward to that since I told her that’s what they did for my Birthday.

Maddy posted this cute picture of Brielle watching King of Kings at the movie theatre with them.  She had her space all set up.  The two dolls I got her yesterday are on the sides of her!  This made me so happy.  Such a sweet little girl!

Jared when we met him and Eli so they could go to garage sales with Kimmy, Jacob and 
Abi.  I had to quit at this time to go home and get ready to be in the Freeland Walleye Festival Parade with Faith riders.  The next picture is almost the same but not quite.

Big parking lot the parade line up formed in

Bill was taking pictures, so I took this of him while he was on the hill doing his photography.

Faith Riders line up at the beginning of the parade

Me, Bill and Wes visiting before the parade started

Wes and Gayla following us in the parade.  This is the first time he has been back on the motorcycle since almost losing his foot back in October.  Praising the Lord!

Barb on her Spider ahead of us and Don and Elaine walking in the parade.  We all threw lots of candy for the kids watching the parade.  It was 2 miles long and there were lots of people out watching.

Ron and Don taking the Faith Riders banner down.  Elaine, Bill and I folded them after helping take the bungie cords off the corners and top.

Group picture after the parade was over.  Gayla, Wes, Elaine, Barb, Don,Ron and Bill

Bill wanted to take a picture with me in it

Ron and Barb gave Elaine and Don rides back to their vehicles

My new Brooks shoes.  They were $10...They cost over $100 new.  These are just like new.  There is a funny story to go with them.

More of my garage sale finds today

 

Vikki dropped Isaac and Peyton off for Bill to take them to school.  I gave them hugs, then went to meet Vikki and Kimmy in Freeland to shop at garage sales again.  Vikki wanted to go to a subdivision her therapist lives in.  We got out of the van at the first stop and Kimmy and Vikki noticed I had two different shoes on.  One was my old garden shoe for work in the garden and the other was my new black Sketcher shoe Melissa and family had got me for Christmas.  Well they sure got a laugh out of that and then told everyone at the garage sale about it by talking so loud about it to draw attention to my shoes.  Well, God was good to me again and there was a table with at least 10 pairs of Brooks tennis shoes on it.  Most were size 7, but Vikki found one size 7 1/2, which is my size.  I tried them on and they felt good, so I bought them.  I put them on and wore them the whole day and didn’t take them off until 9 pm.  They were so comfy it felt like I was getting a nice foot massage.  Great deal too!  We shopped and found more good deals.  They dropped me off at my car at 11:30 so I could meet Melissa and Bruce at the Olive Garden for her birthday lunch.  I stopped home for a few minutes, then followed Bill there.  When we were done, Bill took Max with him to practice shooting and I dropped my leftovers off at home, then met Kimmy, Abi and Jacob at Pat’s.  Vikki left to go to her therapy.   We went to Subway. so Abi and Jacob to use the bathrooms, then did more shopping at garage sales.  Abi and Jacob found some stuff right away.  Then we went to a subdivision that had lots yesterday, but it was pretty much cleaned out of good stuff today.  At 4, we met Jared and Eli. I took a picture of Jared and his Jeep, then moved stuff from their van I had bought, to my car.  My car was locked and my backpack with the keys was in the van.  I had to run to catch up because Jared was driving away, even though the van door was open and I was telling him I needed my keys.  That stinker.  He finally stopped and I got my backpack and Kimmy and I put everything I had carried in my car.  There was still stuff left in the van of mine, but she was going to drop it off later and meet Vikki at my house to pick up the cute windmill they got on Facebook Market Place.  They unloaded the rest of my stuff.  I got a cute lamp and lots of other good stuff.  I will add a picture tomorrow as I haven’t taken one yet.  Vikki, Kimmy and I loaded heavy clothes poles into the van for Kimmy.  They just fit...leave it to Kimmy and Vikki to get an amazing amount and also very big items into that van.  

I changed into CMA clothes, then we got the motorcycle loaded with candy for the parade, and our stuff in it.  The neighbor behind us ha told Bill her mom’s Golden doodle  was at her house and it ran away.  She went driving around to try to find it and Vikki got to our house and her and Isaac started looking for it too.  We prayed they would find it safe and left for the parade line up.  When we got there we heard they had found it.  Yay!  I thanked the Lord.  We visited while we waited for all those in the parade to get lined up.  At 6, the parade started.  It went for 2 miles and it was great on our trikes because they don’t overheat and you don’t have to keep putting your feet down because of going so slow.  Don and Elaine were pretty tired by the time we got to the end.  Elaine handed out Faith Rider Event cards which explained about CMA on the back.  We all threw candy.  It was fun watching the kids along the way.  We rode back to the school we started at, then Wes, Gayla, Barb, Ron, Bill and I went to Culvers.  It had gotten quite a bit colder and also windy.  We all had the Cod dinner which was really good.  We had fun visiting.  Then at 8:30 we left together and all turned off when heading to different areas to get home.  It was such a fund day, but I sure am tired.  I FaceTimed with Vikki when I got home.  God blessed her with an amazing bird bath she found along a road by us on her way home.  I FaceTimed Melissa and Hailey too, and told Hailey the story about my Brooiks shoes.  They are some of Hailey’s favorite shoes.  She sure got a laugh when I told her what happened.