Beach House Fun

We arrived in Michigan and stayed at a beach house called the Shanty, which at first glance sure looked like its name.  But the place grew on us and the access to the beach, right our front porch was sand, was amazing.  The deck out of the second floor gave an amazing view and was a great place to spend a quiet morning while the kids slept.  We never really adjusted to east coast time...the kids often stayed up until 10:30 or 11:00 and slept in until 9:00.  Or maybe that is not so different from our norm?  We enjoyed the large sand dune just a short walk from our place.  We experienced sunshine, rain, and thunder and lightening which gave us a great variety of sunsets to enjoy.

 

 


Do you prefer the nice organized photo or the crazy one?

Cousin Kaleb is looking pretty familiar in his handed down clothes.

Roasting marshmallows with Uncle Aaron's guidance.

Grandma lounged on the beach to watch the whiffleball action.

One of many beautiful sunsets over Lake Michigan.

Mommy showed us how to hang upside down from a Stegosaurus.

The Luddington Lighthouse at the end of a long pier.

Did I fly far enough to land safely without a splash?

Our favorite mini-golf hole depicting the SS Badger that we took across the lake.

The rewarding view from the top of the dune.

Grandpa and Griffin work their way to the top of the dune.

Daddy at the top of the sand dune.



Visting Friends and Ice Cream

We were honored by visits from Joy's friends, Nicki and Mary.  Nicki drove up on our rainiest day of our stay, but we had a great time playing games, climbing the sand dune, and telling stories.  Later in the week, Mary and 3 of her kids, along with Brennan's friend (Zach), came up for the day and we went to House of Flavors (for the second time that week) and played a long game of whiffleball which ended in a high scoring tie in the eleventh inning.  Then we threw kids into Lake Michigan and made sure everyone enjoyed getting wet on our brightest and sunniest day of the week.

 

Nicki liked the idea of a silly picture with our family of 5.

Not sure this booth was built for 13 people, but we fit!

Joy and Mary with two of her girls and one on the way.  The front row included the whiffleball players.

We polished off an 9 scoop Pig trough at House of Flavors with just the five in our family...no problem.

Turtle Racing

We had the opportunity to partake in the weekly turtle racing contest in the lakefront community that we stayed at in Michigan.  Grandma and Mommy, of all people, found the first and largest turtle for the race and we called him Lightening.  His competitor was found the next day and was named Thunder, because you know Thunder always comes after Lightening.  When race day came, the same was true and our cheering section was rewarded with 4 wins out of 5 races.  We then released the turtles back into the wild, unharmed.

 

And the winner is:  Lightening!

As we presented in our story the next day:  we caught good memories of hunting for more critters for the race.

On our nature hike, we found a robin's egg.

Wisconsin

The first stop on our Midwest vacation was in Wisconsin.  We were joined by Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Kaarli, Cousin Kaleb, and Aunt Alecia.  We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells.  This was great because it had a three room indoor waterpark that is accessible from the halls that our rooms empty into, so we could come and go from the park to our room.  Bryce's favorite ride was nicknamed the Snowspeeder because it carried two guys and did a lot of swerving and crazy flying.  Garrett was challenged by the Tornado ride which was about a three story high drop in a large inner tube with other passengers.  His once and only time on it was with Aunt Alecia and Mommy--his main comment:  they screamed too much.  Uncle Aaron and Daddy offered to go with him again and not scream but that offer was declined repeatedly.  Maybe next time.  It also served as an excellent meeting place:  Great Uncle Roger and Great Aunt Cheryl, Great Grandma, and Great Aunt Barb were able to join us for meals and time to catch up.  Mommy went wedding dress shopping with Aunt Alecia and Grandma:  they had a great time and saw some great dresses tried on.

 

We got the whole crew together for a picture before parting ways after lunch.

Our room within the room with Mom and Dad.

Waiting for the wave-making machine to resume.

Celebrating 87 years with a birthday cake at Great Grandma's house in Portage, WI.

Little did we know that the adults were free on the bounce pillow with a paid child, so we partook of this great opportunity and saw Mommy get bounced off the pillow by Daddy and Uncle Aaron, not that they were trying to...

Don't be afraid, this dragon doesn't breathe fire...it's a bounce house.

The women do a little shopping.

Bryce 5y 11mo

If you have been around Bryce at any point in time during the past month, you have heard about his countdown to his birthday.  It is almost here and he is excited to almost officially be 6.  He has started to focus more during piano sessions and can play the first two lines of Ode to Joy.  Bryce's favorite past-time lately has been lego building as he attempts to construct the largest starfighter/frigate with some serious carrying capacity.  The perfect ship is still a work in progress and has gone through many building and rebuilding stages.

 

I picked this pose for my solo picture.

I decided that Uncle Aaron needed a buddy and so I took my food over and ate with him...Mommy later said that lunch was a very quiet affair at her table...

Where are the pedals?

Griffin 4y 2mo

Griffin has started his last summer before he officially starts Classical Conversations.  So even though he still isn't in Kindergarten yet and won't be until 2014, he senses that the expectations will be raised this next school year.  He has started to really ask regularly to roll for baseball and football cards.  What he does with them is another story...but at least he has an album that Brett can try to keep his "good" ones for him.  He certainly knows how to pose for a picture, especially when given a "solo" opportunity.

 

Pick up your "Y" and follow me.

Snuggling up with Sharkie for a nap on the airplane.

 

Can you tell the difference between the sand and the freckles?

I am proud of my face full of sand.

 

Garrett 8y 1mo

Garrett has enjoyed the start of summer, he has been able to focus on things other than academics.  While we were on vacation, he was very observant of things around him and asked lots of good questions, but he has also enjoyed reading stories, both fiction and non-fiction.  He has focused on piano and guitar and applying lessons from both of them to each other.  More than anything else he has been creating his own battle scenes with Star Wars ships and Legos.  He has been a willing helper with yard work, when it isn't over 100 degrees outside.  Garrett also got to go on a date with Mom and Dad to the symphony while the other two stayed home with a babysitter.  We picked the John Williams and Disney symphony called Going to the Movies.  The finale featured Darth Vader and three Stormtroopers entering and insisting on Star Wars End Title as the finale.

 

It can be dangerous to take on Dad by yourself...I got flipped upside down on my head...don't drop me!

I have a sweet tooth for things like Superman Ice cream which was a special treat.

 

Mom and Dad took me on a date to the symphony where they played John Williams music!

San Luis Wildlife Refuge

Our final field trip of the "school" year involved a wildlife refuge where we saw lots of really cool birds like some raptors and herons and ducks.  There was also a separate area with a ton of elk.  But the lasting memory by Garrett and Joy was the numerous mosquito bites they sustained on one stretch over the marsh where Joy suddenly noticed that she was covered by them.  Bryce and Griffin were remarkably spared--maybe they have different blood type?  We were joined by Emily and her four kids, along with two other kids from CC who tagged along.

 

Bryce may not have been bit by mosquitos, but he lost a few fingers...or so the story goes.

Bombs away...who can get the most distance?

June 2013

June included our longest vacation time since our honeymoon.  We were gone for 10 days in Wisconsin and Michigan where we stayed at a waterpark hotel and then a beachfront house on Lake Michigan.  We saw family and had lots of fun playing games, building sand castles, and eating great food.  We celebrated Father's Day with both sides of the family and celebrated some birthdays along the way.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

IT'S SUMMER VACATION!!!!