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.

Michigan Vacation 2011

We had a great time on vacation, with lots of time in the lake
Saturday - Arcadia Daze
Sunday - Elberta Beach, Tubing, & Big Family Dinner
Monday - Dune Hike, Glen Haven, & North Bar Lake
Tuesday - Frisbie Golf at Crystal Mountain
Wednesday - Kayak Crystal River
Thursday - KneeBoarding and Lynx Ship Tour
Friday - Traverse City Film Festival Kid Fest & Esch Beach
Saturday - Ludington Dunes on the way home

City Museum St Louis

This weekend we had a fun mini-vacation to St. Louis. We stayed the night in Springfield Thursday and got to the City Museum Friday right when it opened. We met some other families at the Museum (15 of us in all). The kids had a great time and loved having their friends to hang out with.

Vacation - Point Betsie

Thursday night we did a fire on the beach at Point Betsie, thus checking off an item that had been on Chris' to do list for many years. We watched the sunset, made rock art and toasted marshmallows for s'mores with the lighthouse for a backdrop, it was very beautiful.

Vacation - Glen Arbor

Thursday morning we got up bright and early to take the cousins kayaking on Crystal River. We took a longer trip this year. It was 2 1/2 hours. The kids did great on the river and we enjoyed a relaxing journey through nature.

Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Jenny joined us for lunch after our trip and we spent some time in Glen Arbor.

Vacation - ISEA Cruise

Wednesday, while Elizabeth, Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Jenny enjoyed the Crystal Lake Art Fair, Chris and the kids took an education cruise on Lake Michigan.

The cruise was offered by ISEA and left from Traverse City. The kids learned about the lake and running a schooner. They got to hoist the sails and pull up the anchor. They seemed to have a great time.

Vacation - Sleeping Bear Dunes

Tuesday the kids did the Dune Climb, then we all cooled off at Esch Road Beach.

Wednesday we took the cousins on the Sleeping Bear Dunes Scenic Drive. After the drive we checked out a new beach at North Bar Lake.

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!

Milwaukee Spring Break Trip

Friday morning, after getting Zach a prescription for Strep, (Meg had Strep Wednesday) we headed up for our mini-vacation in Milwaukee. We started on the lakefront where we flew kites and went to the Sprecher Brewery where the kids enjoyed soda tastings and Mom and Dad enjoyed the beer :)
On the way to our swanky hotel we stopped to eat at the Comet Cafe which was featured on the Diners Drive-ins and Dive's show.
Sunday we walked along the lakefront before the museums opened. Discovery World was great! We would highly recommend checking out the Tesla show.
We had a really good time and headed home. That night Chris took Zach and some other boys to the Wolves game.

Skiing at Cascade

Saturday morning the kids did ski lessons while Chris and Elizabeth enjoyed some time on the slopes. After their lessons the kids went up the chair lift with Chris and skiied down the big hill. It was a green of course. Video should be coming soon...

Waterpark Fun

The kids had a great time Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning in the Wilderness Waterparks.
Favorites:
Meg - Hurricane
Zach - Wave Pool
Chris - Hurricane
Elizabeth - Black Hole and relaxing in the sun in the Waterdome

It was great to get away for a few days of family fun.

Day 7 - Hollywood Studios

Saturday morning we packed our bags, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to Hollywood Studios.
First stop, of course, was Toy Story Mania. Then we headed to the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Meg was tall enough to ride so Mom and Dad each took turns riding with her. We also saw Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage and Playhouse Disney—Live on Stage.
Meg was picked to go up on stage for Jedi Training while Zach opted to just watch Meg. We got him a Jedi robe at the Star Wars shop, which wore the whole way home. He didn't take it off until he went to bed Saturday night.
Unfortunately, around 1pm we had to head back to the hotel to catch our ride to the airport. The kids decided that the plane ride home was their "last ride" of the vacation.

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom

Friday morning we relaxed at the pool. The kids loved the water slides at the main pool, though we also enjoyed having our own private pool to jump in at night to cool off after going to the theme parks.
We spent the rest of Friday at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest were our favorite rides, we rode them twice. The Kilimanjaro Safari was very cool too. We saw lots of animals on our journey. Finding Nemo – The Musical was excellent. Next we had dinner at Boma, an african-inspired restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Then we went back to the park for a few more rides. We saw It's Tough to be a Bug! and then headed to the Dinoland area. We rode DINOSAUR which was surprisingly scary, TriceraTop Spin, and Meg and Dad rode Primeval Whirl (Zach wasn't tall enough). We ended the night on Expedition Everest, which had magnificent views of the park at night

Day 5 - Studios and Magic Kingdom

Thursday morning we changed our plans and headed to Hollywood Studios to be sure we could ride the Toy Story Mania ride. We followed the throngs of people as they ran to get their fast passes. We rode the ride, which was very cool, and then grabbed a fast pass for later. We also rode the Tower of Terror, saw the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Voyage of The Little Mermaid. We didn't bring the camera in the morning, so there are no pictures.

As we left it started raining. We spent some time back at the hotel and went to the Magic Kingdom that night.

Day 4 - Epcot

Wednesday we had breakfast at the 'Ohana Restaurant in the Polynesian resort with Lilo and Stitch.

After breakfast we boarded the monorail to Epcot. Along the way we met a nice gentleman who later helped Meg get to ride the newest attraction at Epcot 'Sum of all Thrills' where you design a rollercoaster and then test it out in a simulator. Also in the Innoventions areas Mom rode a segway, Zach played the PS3, and the kids learned about saving money.

We rode more rides, including Soarin' (one of the best rides at Disney World), SpaceShip Earth, Circle of Life and Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

In the World Showcase area the we liked the Kim Possible Adventures, Canada's CircleVision 360, and Norway's Maelstrom. Meg loved meeting Mulan.

We had dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant by a beautiful saltwater aquarium.

After dinner we toured more world showcases and watched the fireworks display.

Day 3 - Epcot and Hollywood Studios

Tuesday we went to Epcot for their Morning Magic Hours, where its only open to Disney Resort Guests.

Our favorite ride was Test Track, we rode it twice. We also rode Mission: Space Advanced Training, which was a little too intense. We chose not to do that one again.

We rode The Land and The Seas with Nemo and then checked out Turtle Talk with Crush which was great.

After having Lunch in Morocco we went to Hollywood Studios. We learned that you have to get there early if you want to ride the Toy Story Mania ride. By 11:30 each day all of the fast passes were gone. Instead we did Star Tours where Zach built his own lightsaber, Studio Backlot Tour where Meg saw the Hannah Montana Chicken Shack, and enjoyed MuppetVision 3-D.

We had dinner at the Sci-fi Dine-in Theater and then went to see Fantasmic, which was amazing.

Day 2 - Mickey's Halloween Party

Monday morning we relaxed after a late night at the Magic Kingdom. After lunch we split up to get the kids ready for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Meg and Mom went to Downtown Disney so Meg could be transformed at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Her Fairy-Godmother-in-Training did her hair and make-up. She truly looked like a princess.

Zach and Dad went to the Magic Kingdom's Pirate's League where Zach chose his cursed pirate face and got his pirate name, Mark Tackrash.

We met up at the Grand Floridian for the Happily Ever After Dinner with Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare. Meg was asked to open the dinner using the magical words "bibbidi bobbidi boo!" She was then escorted to our table by Cinderella and Prince Charming. It was truly magical.

Meg wondered if she'd be ask to ride in their float that night as she had been having lots of good luck.

After dinner we attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It was a wonderful event. There was a Villian's Show in front of the castle, lots of characters and candy stops around the Magic Kingdom, and the best part was that the lines to the rides were all short.

Day 1 - Magic Kingdom

Saturday we got in late so we had dinner and checked out our hotel, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort where we met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto.

We started our Disney adventure at the Magic Kingdom. We met Anastasia and Drizella as we walked to tomorrowland. There we rode the Buzz Lightyear ride twice and then moved on to the rest of the park. We rode Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Speedway, Peter Pan, Pooh's Adventure, Its a Small World, Splash mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Hall of Presidents...

We had dinner at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends. As we started dinner there was a light rain and a rainbow appeared.

That night we caught the Spectromagic Parade and the Wishes Fireworks Display.

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).

Waterpark Vaca

Last Thursday we took a mini-vaca to Lake Geneva, WI. We stayed at the TimberRidge Lodge with a group from St. Cletus which was fun. Friday we checked out downtown Lake Geneva. We ate lunch at a cute restaurant that overlooked the lake. We watched ice fishing, vans, 4-wheelers and bikes on the ice. It was pretty entertaining.