Monday
Tuesday
(Side note: if anyone in Greenville, SC need a bbq guy, Jonathan's your guy!)
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Photo credits: Dad, Jonathan, Loren and Heather. Thanks for sharing!
MondayMonday was a stay-at-home-and-relax day. We slept in, spent lots of time outside in/on the water, played games on our little beach, took naps, read, etc. Loren and I went for a bike ride before dinner and discovered a little park with another amazing view of the clear water. After dinner with the family, we headed into town for some ice cream and discovered that most places in Sutton's Bay close pretty early. But we still found someone to serve us ice cream at 8:45pm! Can't go on vacation without ice cream. TuesdayTuesday was Jonathan's birthday. To celebrate, we visited/raided a local cheese factory, then had a little cheese and crackers picnic before exploring a lighthouse. Since he loves to cook, Jonathan made an amazing steak and potatoes dinner for us later that evening. (Side note: if anyone in Greenville, SC need a bbq guy, Jonathan's your guy!) WednesdayWednesday was another relaxing day at home with more kayaking, floating on the tubes and raft, games, reading and everything in between. We truly had some beautiful warm days! ThursdayThursday morning was cloudy and pretty chilly. Loren and I had a brunch date at the local 45th Parallel Cafe before eventually meeting up with the rest of the family at the Sleeping Bear Dunes again. The clouds were amazing and only added to the majestic intensity. These pictures certainly do not do them justice. Later that evening after dinner, we ventured out to Northport for some fun bowling (sorry, no pics). FridayFriday was also spent at the house and in the water. Dad rented a jet ski for us and we all took turns zipping around the water. In the evening, we built a fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows for smores for our last night on the lake. And so ended our amazing week in the great state of Michigan, thanks to mom and dad who made it all possible. Can't wait to go back some day!
Photo credits: Dad, Jonathan, Loren and Heather. Thanks for sharing!
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Last week we went on vacation in Sutton's Bay, Michigan with Loren's family. For a whole week. And it was wonderful. On Saturday, we all arrived in intervals to our house on the water, played with the nieces and nephew and got settled in. Sunday was mom's birthday and boy, does she know how to get the most out of a day! We climbed the Sleeping Bear Dunes, had a picnic, swam in the freezing cold Lake Michigan, took a scenic drive with a few stops at spectacular overlooks of the Glen Lakes, Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake Michigan, got dinner at Cherry Republic (all the food and drinks have some form of cherries in them), then ended the day back at the house with birthday dessert on the porch. It was a beautiful sunny day and the perfect way to start off the week. Sleeping Bear DunesThe BeachScenic DriveIt was pretty amazing to have the whole family together for two days before Emily, Steve & the kids headed home on Monday.
Happy Friday and check back soon for more pictures from the rest of the week! If you've caught on by now, you know that we love taking road trips. From last minute 1 hour trips to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a picnic (when we lived in SC) to trekking from TX to IN to pick up a car, we love it all. Here are some of the tips and tricks I've picked up over the years: 1. Make a list of everything you need to take (phone chargers, contact solution, snacks, sunglasses etc.).
2. Bring a spare car key. 3. Bring a good diverse mixture of music, podcasts and audiobooks (Hoopla is great for this). 4. Between listening to your audio choices, play car games (interviewing each other is our favorite!). 5. Bring good snacks. Not just candy--that tends to just make one drowsy. Crunchy snacks like chips, pretzels and veggies are preferred in our car. I'm also a big fan of gum and Hot Tamales. 6. Coffee. And water. Lots of water. 7. Make your pit stops count. Fill up the car AND use the restroom AND get your meal AND coffee all at once. Side note: we try to bring our own lunches as much as possible to save money. 8. Switch off drivers every couple of hours to not get tired. 9. Make sure you have emergency necessities: blanket, jumper cables, tire changing tools, flashlight, etc. 10. Carry cash for tolls. We learned this the hard way. Twice. 11. Take pictures to remember the fun. What are some of your road trip necessities? Guys! I'm documenting the weekend on the Monday after it happened! And another fun weekend it was. This past week was rather long, so I was really looking forward to getting off work a little early on Friday and heading over to Cincinnati to celebrate my amazing SIL Carrie's birthday. We had a lovely family dinner on the patio then sat around the fire pit talking. Saturday morning as part of her birthday celebration, we rented pedal boats and spent some time on the lake at Winton Woods. It was a beautiful morning! After cleaning up, we headed downtown Cincinnati for a delicious lunch at Moerlein Lager House before exploring Smale Riverfront Park a bit. We drove back home Saturday night after watching Paddington with the family. Sunday after church we took a long nap and then ran some errands. Can't wait for vacation next week!
How was your weekend? Summer is fun and busy. And therefore it's hard to focus on blog posts. But here is one. I know it's Thursday, but it's never too late to post pictures of some of the world's most adorable nephews and nieces from the past weekend. Last Friday we got to celebrate Cayden’s birthday with family. He was so excited about everything, especially his school bus cake (he’s obsessed with school buses right now). We had a lovely evening eating, watching him open his gifts, and playing Quelf around the fire pit after the boys were put to bed. Saturday, we headed to the Columbus, OH area for a quick overnight visit with Crystal and her family. After getting lunch and Whit's Frozen Custard (seriously some of the best I've ever had!!), we spent the afternoon at the pool. Sunday after church we had a picnic at the beautiful Rising Park and Loren and I climbed to the top of Mount Pleasant, a lookout that is part of the park, for a view of Lancaster. And there you have a tiny glimpse into our quickly disappearing summer. Not documented are all the ice cream and popsicles we have consumed, road trips, bike rides and walks we have taken, etc. because sometimes we're just having too much fun.
How has your summer been? |
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