Friends and Dunes

So many pictures to upload off my phone, so little time …  Here are the pics from our little jaunt to Michigan last August.  This trip was inspired by a desire to see some dear friends and also some intriguing pictures in a travel magazine, which touted Sleeping Bear Dunes as one of the top 10 places to take kids.  Since it’s roughly six hours away, we figured it would be a fairly easy three-day trip.

First we met our friends the Reitzes in this quaint German town called Frankenmuth.  All the planters were gorgeous and it definitely had a European feel to it.

I had to take this picture of Rachelle at the brewery where we had lunch.  How cute is that little mug? 

We enjoyed catching up with the Reitz family!  We are so glad they live in the Midwest now!

A coffee break in Cadillac.  This is where Michigan started getting really pretty:

We checked into our hotel in Traverse City.  After the kids played with the Murphy bed for a bit, we set out to explore the Old Mission Peninsula.  The drive was chock full of scenic vistas and rolling orchards and wineries. It was just beautiful.  And I think the lighthouse beach at the end of the peninsula is probably one of the most random-fun places I have seen.  

This beach was so quirky with all of the cairns. You could walk more than a mile in transparent water stretching out over a sandbar.  It was peaceful, calm, breathtaking.  We sat there while the kids played for about an hour.  I could have stayed much longer. 

Then there was the infamous Dune Climb.  It was a workout but not as bad as I’d expected.  Maybe this was due to the fact that it had rained that morning and the sand was more compact than normal?  We got lucky!  And the view at the top was definitely worth the perspiration!

Isn’t this spectacular?!

Taking time to observe a friendly monarch butterfly. 

Resting after a picnic lunch.

A beautiful beach at Sleeping Bear Dunes.  

The scenic drive at SBD was amazing.  Totally worth the $10 admission to the park!  This was my favorite place we stopped, I think.  A massive dune that descended rapidly into the great blue beyond.  The sea was a wide, swirling blend of blue and green hues, with the gorgeous sky beyond.  This is another place I could have spent lots of hours, just sitting there and taking it all in.

Isn't this just gorgeous?  The shoreline on the scenic drive was amazing.  Like Kevin said, "It's hard to even believe this is the Midwest."  Not that we don't love the Midwest. It has so many virtues and is a great place to live.  But this was just something so different and surprisingly beautiful, we could hardly believe we hadn't driven much farther to see it.  

Thank you Travel Magazine, wherever you now are, for giving us the idea for this fantastic trip!!

This picture was taken on a walk in Traverse City.  I think we were out on the marina.  Traverse City itself was beautiful. I would love to go back!  There were numerous sail boats out.  It was a colorful and quaint town, with lots of perfect views of the bay.

A brief stop in South Haven for lunch and ice cream ended our trip.  I'm a big Shauna Niequist fan and she writes a lot about South Haven so I thought it would be fun to stop and see the town. 

Life is too short to not do things like this!  It was an adventure we will keep with us forever.

Random summer ... so far

Here are some of the things we have been up to this summer ... other than what you have read on our myriad birthday party posts ... 

Carson got cuter than ever ... I'm seriously in love with this budding little boy.  He is so funny.  He loves to laugh with us and try to make us laugh.  Here he is eating his first whole apple.

We've been out on the town having fun.  Here we are at a splash park about 1/2 hour away from our house.

I've had to take all four kids grocery shopping every week, now that school is out.  It is crazy.  Sometimes I think it takes 10 years off my life and other times it is just fine.  Usually the former.  At the end of our Meijer trips, the kids get to ride the penny pony.  They all love it. 

Things have gotten out of hand sometimes.  Indoor ball tossing resulted in this vase (probably the only thing I have ever purchased myself that had sentimental value) shattering.  It was a memory of young love, in Tahoe, California.  Oh well, there are pictures of it whole, somewhere ... Also, in the background you can see a stack of math flashcards.  I have religiously reviewed math facts every day with Meredith.  This is my labor of love!!!  Thankfully we are making headway on speed, which was my biggest academic goal for Meredith this summer.

I packed a lunch for Kevin and the girls to go to the Indianapolis Symphony lunchtime concert downtown.  They had a lot of fun.  And Carson and I had fun eating Chinese food at the mall!  Someday soon he will be old enough to go too, though. 

I have tried a few new summery recipes, including this watermelon salad.  

Carson has become a full-fledged exploring toddler and if I don't shut all the van doors quickly enough he will crawl into the driver's seat and pretend to drive.

We have played with our sweet cousins, Madeline, Grant, and Bennett, visiting from Texas!

Madeline:

Bennett:

Grant: 

Meredith, who has been staying up hours to read at night and getting up first thing in the morning to read again for hours, finally got a Kindle!  It was our birthday gift to her.  We felt she earned it. 

We have gone on many bike rides, including biking to five or six summer concerts!  Here we are with the Myers and Kevin's parents:

We got a zoo pass and met up with the orangutans, etc.  

The three girls have participated in track at our local middle school.  Sophia is four and does great.  Some kids are even younger, starting at age two!

We have played with friends ... 

Did I mentioned the whole toddler thing?  Here he is, in full Toddler Glory, having climbed upon the table and stuffed the contents of his lunch into a flower vase. 

We went to the county fair.  Meredith did 4-H for the first time. I will write separately sometime soon about my thoughts on our first 4-H experience!

Train ride with grandpa:

Meredith and Clara did the bungee ride:

Red Velvet Funnel Cake

There has been much free time to play:

There has been time to sit on the back patio and make Slurpees and, for Meredith, to show off her bright neon clothing (things Aunt Megan purchased for the girls for their birthdays). 

And time for group hugs ...

And here we are at the zoo with cousins and Aunt Beth!

We have tried some new food. How could I pass up this yellow watermelon I saw at the grocery store? I thought it had less flavor than a red watermelon. The girls LOVED it. 

And I have been going for a run every morning.  The mornings have been so cool and pleasant.  Last week I saw this egret in our pond.  I also see tons of wildflowers and other creatures.  My favorite is a family of bunny rabbits.  It feels so good to start running again.  I'm finally back up to running a little more than a mile without stopping for breaks.  I love all the nature around me and I love having more endurance and feeling more fit!

Summer is the best!