Charlevoix and Traverse City

We had the wonderful opportunity to travel with John for his work to the beautiful town of Charlevoix for an overnight trip.  I've never been to Charlevoix before but have heard so much about the area, it was such a fun experience.  We left Lansing when I got home from working Wednesday night.  I snuck in a quick nap on the drive in the car and soon enough, we were there!  John had a work lunch and conference right away, so this gave Hannah and I the chance to walk around and do some exploring before we could check into the hotel.

We strolled along and checked out the little shops, had some yummy lunch at a little bakery cafe, and walked along the docks checking out the boats.  The day was beautiful, very sunny with a slight breeze to keep us cool.  We discovered a splash pad along the docks, we would defintitely be checking that out again on Friday. We also stood next to the drawbridge as it opened and closed allowing the tall boats to pass through.  Hannah was watching so intently, it was really neat to be standing right next to it happening.

We ate dinner that evening with the group John was there doing work with.  The food was delicious (and we had WAY too much).  We grabbed some ice cream then walked out onto the pier to watch the sunset.  What a unbelievable view!  The sun just disappeared down behind the water, it was a sight to see.  After a little smashed chocolate chip ice cream on both John and Hannah's clothes, we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.  All 3 of us cuddled in bed and watched a the last 45 minutes of "Up", such a cute movie.  It was a great end to the day.
  
           

On Friday, Hannah and I were on our own after breakfast until John was finished around lunchtime.  We headed back down to the splash pad for Hannah to try it out.  She was a little hesitant at first, but then had a great time.  Of course, she made friends and had fun playing with the girls.  We were lucky to enjoy another beautiful, sunny day!
 
      

When John was finished for the day, we packed up and headed towards Traverse City.  I snapped this picture with my cell phone outside of Short's Brewery in Bellaire.  We made a little pit stop there for lunch and so John could pick up some growlers.

We stayed at the ParkShore hotel in TC and decided to book a ground floor room with a porch overlooking the water.  It was perfect to sit outside and enjoy the evenings once Hannah drifted off to sleep.  It was nice for John and I to spent some quiet time together, to sit up, talk and dream about our future.  We stayed at the ParkShore for one of our anniversary trips, so it certainly brings back some good memories for us.

We took advantage of the sun and perfect weather, and spent some time playing in the sand and out in the water.  Hannah loves the water and John was great about taking her all over.  They had fun playing on the "boat", as Hannah called it, but it was a tied down dock.  We will definitely need to look into swimming lessons for this kiddo!  

           

Saturday afternoon we headed off to Bobbi Jo's baby shower.  Unfortunately I didn't take my camera or snap any pictures on my phone, but we had a great time.  Baby Lawrence got a lot of cute things and was spoiled with love!  Hannah had fun running around and playing with another little girl around her age, but they both did not enjoy sharing the balloon between the 2 of them.

On Sunday we packed up and headed downtown to grab some lunch before our drive back to Lansing.  We have always talked about eating at the Blue Tractor but always seem to skip it.  Since the morning was a little overcast and sprinkling rain, we figured we'd just go for it and eliminate walking around in the rain.  It turned out to be delicious!  We were very happy with our selection.  Hannah also enjoyed her quesadilla and corn on the cob.  She had just recently discovered the joy of eating her corn still on the cob, she was going to town.  
 

All in all it was a great weekend get-away and definitely something we needed to cap off our crazy month of August!

Vacation to PA

And we're off!  We left from Detroit Saturday morning on the early flight departing at 8am.  We pulled out of the driveway of our house around 5am and made the drive down with no issues.  John's brother Paul was able to drop us off at the airport which was so very helpful.  The flight into Atlantic City is only 1 hour and 20 mins or so, so with a quick little jet set over to the East Coast, we had arrived!

We decided to spend Saturday night at the Jersey shore because we were basically there by arriving in AC.  Amy's in-laws have a place in Woodbine and graciously opened their home to our giant clan so we could have a little beach get-away.  It was perfect, exactly what I needed!  I haven't been to the shore in YEARS and have had the itch for many months to get there.  It was Hannah's first trip to the ocean and hopefully we would have better luck with her in the sand this time around. (She wasn't too fond of it the first time at Lake Michigan in June).

Thankfully the beach was a hit!  She was a little iffy about the sand and water at first, but basically we just put her down and made it "deal with it".  She was playing up a storm in no time.  All the kiddos had a great time in the water and sand.  Grace and Andrew were in the water almost the entire time playing on their boogie boards.  Matthew had fun digging in the sand, chasing birds, and wandering around.  It was a fun first day.
 
 
 
       
Hannah snuggled up between Andrew and Grace as they played on their iTouches.  She had a play phone and thought she was doing the same thing they were.  So cute!

On the second day, Sunday, Kim and her family drove down for the day.  John and I engaged in a sand castle building contest, (I kicked his butt) and Hannah helped out some.  The kids had a great time playing together and were definitely ready to leave once the long day was over.
 
   


This trip to PA we really tried to keep our plans open.  Most of the time we cram so much into the week, that it seems to fly by that much quicker.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy cramming as much as we can into our trips, but this was more laid back and it wasn't so bad.

Here is a fun, sunny afternoon spent playing in the backyard at my parents house.  The kids love bubbles, so those were always a hit.  There was lots of running, laughing, and smiles.  And sunshine, did I mention that?  We had absolutely beautiful weather, it was perfect!
 
 

On our only rainy day (which only lasted one morning), we took a drive to my old gym, Berks Gymnastics Academy to catch up with my old coaches and let Hannah have a little fun.  I haven't seen my coaches in quite a few years so it was nice to spend some time chatting.  Hannah loved jumping on the trampoline, swinging on the bars, and watching the girls flip around.  I forgot to take my camera, so these are cell phone pics courtesy of Kate.
  

On Wednesday evening we had a picnic with the Bauman's and Novia's at  Mandarach Park.  The girls had a great time playing on the slides and just running around.  They could have cared less about actually eating their food, they just wanted to play.  I tried to get some pictures, but these ladies were just on the go.  What a fun time watching our kiddos play together :)
  
Julia snapped this picture on her phone, which captured all the girls looking in the same direction.

We had a little "birthday party" for Hannah.  Aunt Kate made a delicious cake and Hannah was truly so excited to have everyone sing to her.  She literally squealed out loud when the cake was carried over and she clapped and blew out her candles.  It was so cute to see.  She will certainly be a ham when we celebrate her official 2nd birthday in September.  

                 
Derek and Kate have a lab MacKenzie and the kids just loved playing with her.  MacKenzie was wiped out and Hannah was loving on her, it was adorable.  This kiddo just loves animals.
The kids played together so well, they shared Hannah's new toys and were giggling and laughing at whatever their minds come up with.  It was fun to watch them all interact together.

A picture of all the cousins together (minus Dylan and Bryn who we sorely  missed. If only they could have moved to North Carolina after this week)  We will have to photoshop those two into this picture.



And last, a picture of the beautiful sky as we departed Atlantic City on Sunday evening.  JD didn't believe me when I told him you fly in the clouds so I snapped this picture for him.


We ended up delayed leaving AC and didn't arrive to our house in Lansing til well after 11pm.  Hannah didn't nap all day and fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting into the car on our drive back from Detroit.  She did really well the whole day considering and was no problem at all.  Thank goodness for technology and fun books, games, and apps on the iPhone!  All is all, it was a wonderful vacation.  We had a blast doing everything and already have our week picked out for next summer's adventure!  Love you all!