Michigan Fireman's Memorial Festival

We spent this last weekend camping at Higgins Lake and enjoying the Michigan Fireman's Memorial Festival. We went up on Friday and had a steak dinner at the campgrounds with the guys from Rich's fire department and the neighboring town's fire department. Rich went out the the guys afterwards to the barn on the festival grounds for a few drinks while I slept! :-)

Rich's past chief's name on the wall.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early to go to the memorial service. As we arrived, the rain started, came down hard during the whole service then, in a very timely manner, stopped when the service was over and the sun came out! Rich's fire department had his past fire chief's name put on the wall and they laid a wreath in his honor. The family also gave a donation in memory of him.

The kids trying to stay dry during the service.

Rich's fellow firefighter speaking about their past fire chief.

Rich, some of the firefighters and their past chief's mom by the name on the wall.

We skipped the parade and went back to the campgrounds to dry off a while before going to watch Rich in his Search & Rescue competition. He and his team (4 of them all together) had 15 minutes to get suited up and go into a dark, smoke-filled, three story structure and try to retrieve two rescue victims. The team did an awesome job coming in 3rd place and was the only team to find both rescue victims. (They were unable to get the 2nd victim completely out before they ran out of time, so they didn't receive points for it.)

The Search & Rescue team waiting anxiously.

Their time has started and they're getting their gear on.

Heading into the structure.

Rich waiting outside for his turn to run in.

The cheering section....my in-laws, their dog and the kiddos.

Morgan cheering "Go Daddy Go!"

The team!

Aww :-)

After the guys got their plaque and other prizes we went out for dinner at the local bowling alley and then back to the campgrounds. Sunday we packed up and did some more looking around at the festival grounds before heading home.

Posing with their plaque.

It's awesome to be able to go to such an event each year. Not only do I learn more about what goes into being a firefighter, but it's just a wonderful way to remember and honor those who gave their lives keeping their communities safe.

Our Final Days of Summer

It's hard to believe that summer is already over and today is the first day of fall. This summer has been SO busy, but it's been a ton of fun...especially for the kids. We packed a lot in these last few weeks before the autumn leaves started flying-take a look!

Pine River Nature Center

That was the first time we'd been to the nature center and we loved it! They had all sorts of hands on ways for the kids to learn about wildlife, plus trails and an awesome treehouse! :-)

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The Garage Sale

I helped with what was my first garage sale. I couldn't believe how time consuming it was, but we were able to get rid of a bunch of stuff while making a little money. (The pictures are from Morgan's point of view. The sweet woman waving is Morgan's great grandma and the others are friends of the family and Buck, Grandma's dog.)

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Diggin' Up Potatoes

We dug up our potatoes about a week and a half ago and got all sorts! We'll be eating good for the next few months! We all had fun with it too. It was like digging for burried treasure! ;-)

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The Detroit Zoo

The arctic exhibit was my personal favorite. It was set up so neat! There was an area where the seals swam over us and the polar bears played in the water right next to us-a truly amazing experience! (I wish I could have gotten better pictures-they didn't turn out well.)

These are pictures of the butterfly house and some of the birds we experienced. The kids and I really got a kick out of the duck-she was trying to eat the stroller! LOL!

Just a few more of our favorite animals to see at the zoo. Morgan's favorite was the hippo, even though he just slept and I always think the giraffes and zebras are really neat. The other picture is of the kids looking at the buffalo.

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The 2009 Michigan Firemen's Memorial Festival

The festival was very nice this year. With the exception of the mornings being in the mid 30's, the weather was beautiful! This was also the first year that Rich, along with a a few other local firefighters, competed in the Search & Rescue competition. They had 15 minutes to get their gear on and find 2 'victims' in a building full of smoke. Even though they didn't win, they learned from it and are anxious to do it again next year!
*Please excuse the music in the video. It was getting late while I was searching for music, so I settled on a song that just had the word 'fire' in it, instead of trying to find one that fit better.

Michigan Fireman's Memorial

A few weekends ago we, along with my husband's family, went to Michigan's Fireman's Memorial Festival in Roscommon, MI. My husband has been going since he's been a firefighter, but missed a couple years since we've been married. (Having kids made us put some things off.) Anyway, this year, his whole family went because his grandfather's name was being put on the wall. We had a great time camping with the family and his firefighting buddies. We attended the memorial service, the parade and went to the fairgrounds where they had vendors, activities and competitions. The neatest part was the memorial, though. It is a beautiful place where firefighters who haved passed, both from natural causes and in the line of duty, are honored for their service. Here are some pictures I took while there:


This picture is of my husband, his 2 brothers (all in blue) and their cousins all sitting in front of where their grandfather's name is on the wall.

This is my husband with a couple firefighting buddies and his father is standing behind him.

Morgan with Grandma.

Little Blakers just couldn't stay awake any longer!

To get more information about the memorial and to see what the festival is all about check out their page here.