Labor Day with Grandma in Michigan

We had a wonderful time in Michigan with Grandma Chris. We visited Glen Arbor, the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, Glen Haven, Frankfort, and Pointe Betsie. Unfortunately, it was a little cold for swimming, but still beautiful.

Vacation - Platte Lake

Early Saturday morning we left the flooded lands of Brookfield and headed north. We met the Spanglers, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Julie at Arcadia Daze on the way up. That night Uncle Todd, Aunt Debbie and Cousin Tanner joined us for dinner and took the kids kneeboarding.

Sunday after Mass we relaxed at Empire's Beach and that night the kids got to go kneeboarding again. This time Meg was quite the trickster. She figured out how to do a 360 on the kneeboard and proceeded to do 7 of them!

Michigan Vacation 2009

We had a great vacation with lots of fun new experiences.
- Saturday we met the Spangler Crew at Arcadia Daze. That night we had a campfire and the kids played with sparklers for the first time.
- Monday we visited Glen Haven where we found great beach by the life saving station. The kids loved climbing the dune and then we all enjoyed a monster sundae at the Cherry Republic.
- Tuesday we did some frisbee golf at Crystal Mountain.
- Wednesday we climbed the sleeping bear dunes and went kayaking for the first time.
- Thursday we went to a u-pick berry farm for the first time. That night we had s'mores on the campfire.
- Friday we went to Pointe Betsie with Grandma Judy and Aunt Julie. Meg went up in the Lighthouse for the first time.
- Saturday we drove home and had lunch at Red Robin (another first).

Vacation Day 8

Saturday morning we packed up and said goodbye to Great-Grandma and the cottage. On the way home we stopped at the Ludington State Park and Lighthouse, Reenders Blueberry Farm, and the South Haven Lighthouse.

Vacation Day 7

Friday we checked out the Crystal Lake Playground and Beach. Meg took the pictures of Zach. That afternoon we did some Mini-Golf. Meg did pretty well with it, but Zach quickly lost interest. Again we had a nice sunset on Platte Lake.

Vacation Day 6

After breakfast we went back to the waterpark, hardly anyone was there which was nice.

After we got back to the cottage we took to catching crawfish. Meg and Chris did the catching, Elizabeth did the spotting. Zach was in charge of splashing as that's what he enjoys most.

That night was another beautiful sunset on Platte Lake.

Vacation Day 5

Wednesday morning Chris and the kids joined Grandma Judy and Aunt Julie on their trip to Pointe Betsie.

Elizabeth stayed home to pack up for our vacation w/in our vacation at the Crystal Mountain Resort. As soon as we checked in we put on our suits and headed to the water park. For a break, we did the Michigan Legacy Art Walk, which was alot harder than we had expected. Then we did the Alpine Slide. We rode a ski lift to the top of the mountain and rode the slide down, it was really cool.

Vacation Day 4

Tuesday we got up bright and early and headed to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. We did the Dune Climb and Scenic Drive. Then we picked up sandwiches and did lunch at the Esch Road Beach.

On the way home we did a geocache in Traverse City and stopped to see the buffalo herd.

After dinner Chris took the kids canoeing.

Vacation Day 3

Monday was a relaxing day. We spent most of the day at the cottage. For dessert we took Great-Grandma to get ice cream at Riverside. That night we watched the sunset on the beach by the Pointe Betsie Lighthouse. Meg and Zach each made artwork on the beach, the difference in the 2 pieces is pretty comical.

Vacation Day 2

After saying goodbye to the Spanglers we went to Mass, found a geocache, and then spent time at Elberta Beach. Sunday night we made s'mores over the campfire and watched the sunset with Grandma Judy and Aunt Julie.

Vacation Day 1

When we arrived at the cottage we were greeted by Great Grandma, Grandma Judy, Aunt Julie and the Spangler Crew. The kids enjoyed playing in downtown Frankfort, then we did dinner with Uncle Todd, Aunt Debbie and Cousin Tanner. After dinner Uncle Todd took everyone tubing. The kids loved it!

Blast from the past

It is cold out side so I found myself flipping through some summer pictures on Flickr. This is a set and post from July 2005 when the fam took a trip through the Upper P. It was a great trip thath te kids still talk about today. Enjoy a trip down memory lane just over 1 year old Zach and almost 4 year old Meg!

July 2005

Last Friday we loaded up the minivan and hit the road to do a Lake Michigan tour. Friday we drove up Wisconsin. Then we spent Saturday lazily making our way across the UP. We stopped to jump in the water at a park. Then we checked out the lighthouses in Escanaba and Pennisula Pointe. After staying the night in St. Ignace we did the trip across "Big Mac", had a sandwich in Petoskey, and took another dip in Charlevoix. Eventually we landed in Beulah where Great Grandma McLean lives. The kids enjoyed playing at the cottage with Grandma and Grandpa McLean and visiting all the local stops such as Traverse City, Frankfort, Glen Arbor, Elberta, The Cherry Hut, and Pointe Betsie. Friday the Spanglers joined us and the last day we were there we celebrated Noelle's birthday. Overall, a fun vacation.

Sunset on Loon Lake

Very tired. We did a lot over our vacation. Geocaching, swimming, dune climbing, s'mores, rock skipping, lots of ice cream, canoing, staying up late, driving, relaxing and more.

For more pictures check out our Flickr set here