Reindeer are Visiting Local Grand Rapids Libraries December 2011

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

It just isn’t Christmas if you don’t get to pet a real, live reindeer. Ask

your kids or grandkids, they will tell you. So put it on the calendar, the libraries

listed below will be hosting real reindeer from Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm.

So dress warmly, bring the camera, and tag yourself some reindeer this holiday

season.

Thursday, December 8, 4:00 PM – Alto branch
Thursday, December 8, 6:30 PM – Comstock Park branch
Monday, December 12, 4:00 PM – Gaines Township branch
Tuesday, December 13, 6:30 PM – Plainfield Township branch
Wednesday, December 14, 3:00 PM – Caledonia Township branch
Thursday, December 15, 4:00 PM – Walker branch
Thursday, December 15, 6:30 PM – Grandville branch
Tuesday, December 20, 6:30 PM – Wyoming branch
Wednesday, December 21, 5:30 PM – Alpine Township branch
Wednesday, December 28, 2:00 PM – Kentwood branch
Friday, December 30, 2:00 PM – Byron Township branch

SEARCH FOR CALEDONIA HOMES

SEARCH FOR KENTWOOD HOMES

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Foto Friday – Dog Waiting in Parked Truck

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Foto Friday – Dog Waiting in Parked Truck

Dogs are the best. Just had to get a photo of this patient passenger

waiting for his driver to come back. Big or small, they always end up in the

driver’s seat. Grand Rapids Eastown area – a great place to live.

SEARCH FOR GRAND RAPIDS HOMES

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Kent District Library Gets Star Rating

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Kent District Library Gets Star Rating

The Library Journal has given the Kent District Library its coveted

“Star Rating” once again. This national rating system ranks 7513

libraries by index of public services. The Star list this year notes 292

public libraries for exemplary public service. Based on circulation,

visits, program attendance, and public internet terminal usage per

capita, these libraries are vital to their communities. The statistics

for these ratings are from 2009 patronage.

Kent District Library System is one of 3 Michigan libraries to rank

on the list. Ann Arbor received 5 stars, Kent District Library and Benzie

Shores Libraries were awarded 3 star ratings.

Kent District Library is in the $10–29.9 million category for expenses.

Circulation per capita is up to 15.9 books per year, 9.1 visits per year,

and .4 program attendance at KDL.

The recent recession and economic woes have really increased library

usage nation wide. More and more people are accessing their library

online and through mobile devices. Ebooks in libraries have increased

by 183% in the past year. These are trend changing statistics. Will

the brick and mortar libraries morph into something more than book

storage buildings? Libraries today are becoming community interest

havens for all types of groups.

SEARCH for Kent County Homes

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Forest Hills and East Grand Rapids Schools on AP District Honor Roll

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Forest Hills and East Grand Rapids Schools on AP District Honor Roll

East Grand Rapids and Forest Hills Public Schools merited placement on

College Board’s second annual report. This report names schools that have

had significant gains in advanced placement access and student performance.

Nationwide, only 367 public schools were on the list this year. To earn a

place, schools must increase the student count enrolled in advance placement

coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students

earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams.

Since 2009, East Grand Rapids High School has increased their student

participation in AP classes from 183 to 257, offering 13 different AP classes

to high school students. Forest Hills District increased their number of students

from 630 in 2009, to 774 in 2011.

SEARCH FOR EAST GRAND RAPIDS HOMES

East Grand Rapids Photos

SEARCH FOR FOREST HILLS HOMES

Forest Hills Schools Photos

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

The complete list can be found at www.collegeboard.org

Ada Michigan Hall Street Reconstruction Planned for 2012

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Ada Michigan Hall Street Reconstruction Planned for 2012

Planning and design work is advancing on a proposed 2012 project

to re-surface Hall St., from Cascade Rd. to the Forest Hills Central

School campus, add a center turn lane at Paradise Lake and add

facilities for pedestrians and bicycles. A 5 foot sidewalk is planned for

each side of Hall Street instead of an 8-10 foot path.

Since Hall Street is the dividing line between Cascade Township on the

south and Ada Township on the north, the cost of this project will be

shared by both townships and Kent County Road Commission. Another

neighborhood information meeting will be held after plans are firmed up,

so residents along the road will know what to expect.

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Mulching Your Leaves Gardens Love It!

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Mulching Your Leaves Gardens Love It!

by Bonnie and Terry Westbrook

Is this the scene at your house? Leaves, leaves, & more leaves.

Believe it or not, that is a treasure of nutrients for your garden

beds and landscape plants. The leaf cover isn’t good for lawns,

so they do have to be removed from the grass, but don’t throw

them out or dispose of them.

We mow them first, to help break down the plant fibers.

Then deposit them on our mulch pile and in the spring,

we have a heap of compost to put on our gardens and plants.

The earthworms and micro-bacteria thrive in it. Kitchen scraps

[veggies only] and grass clippings can be added to the mulch pile.

If mulching is new to you, this site can help you get started with

all the basic details. Happy mulching!

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Mini ArtPrize 2011 Photo Tour

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Mini ArtPrize 2011 Photo Tour

Just a small taste of the art work displayed in Grand Rapids

this fall at ArtPrize 2011. We have less than a hundred

photos of the 1500 art pieces scattered all over Grand Rapids

until Oct 9th. Come on out and experience Grand Rapids coolness

first hand!

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Ada Michigan – Roselle Park Fall Festival – Oct 1, 2011

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Ada Michigan – Roselle Park Fall Festival – Oct 1, 2011

Saturday, October 1st, 2011 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m
1010 Grand River Drive, Ada MI 49301

All are invited to one of Ada Townships favorite parks –a free event!!

Come out to enjoy live music, good food, exhibitors’ tent, a native

plant sale, family activities, games, live birds of prey and much more!

Cascade Hills Country Club – Grand Rapids Michigan

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Cascade Hills Country Club – Grand Rapids Michigan

If you have followed our blog at all, you know I love to play golf.

I get a chance to play most of the local Grand Rapids courses from

time to time. The opportunity to play at Cascade Hills Country Club

came last month to play in a charity event.

Cascade Hills Country Club is an established, private, prestigious club

with all the amenities you would expect: tennis courts, swimming pool,

gourmet dining. In fact, it has a popular social membership, besides the

golf membership.

The following photos were taken at Cascade Hills CC Golf Links:

To the green on 9th fairway with the Club house in the background.

Starting the back nine on Cascade Hills Country Club.

The 10th fairway with the halfway house in the distance.

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate, the

Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West Michigan.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Sept 11 2011 Healing Field at Cannonsburg Michigan

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Terry & Bonnie

Sept 11 2011 Healing Field Memorial at Cannonsburg Michigan

3200 flags fly for 5 days to commemorate the victims

of the Sept 11, 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers

in New York. From Sept 9-3th 2011, these flags were flown at the

Cannonsburg Ski Resort. They were tagged with the names and

biographies of the victims.

If you didn’t get a chance to see them, we have a video walk

through from top to bottom above for you to experience.

Additional photos on Flickr

_______________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Grand Rapids Real Estate

Grand Rapids Real Estate Information

Category Archives: Grand Rapids Michigan Living

Reindeer are Visiting Local Grand Rapids Libraries December 2011

SEARCH FOR CALEDONIA HOMES

SEARCH FOR KENTWOOD HOMES

Foto Friday – Dog Waiting in Parked Truck

SEARCH FOR GRAND RAPIDS HOMES

Kent District Library Gets Star Rating

SEARCH for Kent County Homes

Forest Hills and East Grand Rapids Schools on AP District Honor Roll

SEARCH FOR EAST GRAND RAPIDS HOMES

SEARCH FOR FOREST HILLS HOMES

Ada Michigan Hall Street Reconstruction Planned for 2012

Mulching Your Leaves Gardens Love It!

Mini ArtPrize 2011 Photo Tour

Ada Michigan – Roselle Park Fall Festival – Oct 1, 2011

Cascade Hills Country Club – Grand Rapids Michigan

Sept 11 2011 Healing Field at Cannonsburg Michigan