Michigan, We're Back!

We headed to South Haven, Michigan for the second summer in a row.  This year with an extra family! Keith's sister and her family joined us this year.  They had to miss last year since our nephew Aiden was only a few months old.  I must say that the second year was even better than the first.  It certainly helped that our kids were a year older and a year more self-sufficient.  Last year the girls were at that stage where every move has to be watched like a hawk (the stage that Aiden was at this year).  Plus we had a pool in our backyard so we spent a lot of time hanging out back there instead of doing more outings like we did last year.  More pool time = more relaxing.  And the house was bigger this year and had an awesome screened porch that we spent a lot of time on.  There was a lot more living space so even though there were 14 of us, we didn't feel all on top of each other.  And just knowing the beach and the town made things more relaxed too.  We already knew how to get everywhere, where to get ice cream, where to get groceries, etc, etc.  It was a great trip!

The weather was good.  It didn't rain the whole week although it did get a little chilly toward the end of the week.  Luckily the pool was heated so even if the lake was cold, the pool water stayed tolerable.  Colin was a total fish all week.  He was so tired each night from all of the sun and water.  Our family of five all shared one big bedroom which we were a little worried about Colin and the girls shacking up together.  But it turned out to be no big deal at all.  Colin was so exhausted every night by the time his head hit the pillow that he slept through their chatter and winding down noises.  And they were comforted to have their beloved big brother sharing a room with them.  Luckily it was a very big room with a king bed, two twin bed, and still plenty of room for 2 pack-n-plays.

The girls have been climbing out of their cribs and pack-n-plays a lot lately but we borrowed a video monitor with an intercom from a generous friend (thank you Kristen!) and it is working like a charm just like she said it did for her son.  If they start to climb out of bed we tell them to lay down and remind them that we can see them.  They hit the bottom of the crib as fast as humanly possible.  And we also started sticker chart with them with Bubble Guppies stickers (their current favorite TV show) and occasional dollar store prizes that they are quite motivated by.  So for now the situation is under control.  They only climbed out of their pack-n-plays once in MI and it was during nap time.

We did a lot of cooking at the house but all managed to go out to eat a couple of times too and got carryout a couple of times too.  We rented kayaks and balance boards, as well as a pontoon boat for fishing and joy-riding and walked to town for the farmer's market and donuts.  Oh and of course blueberry picking.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the week.

Auntie Erica reads a book to a captive audience.

Colin loved everything about the beach this year.

Burying Macy in the sand!

Trying the balance board.  Lots of fun and not that hard when the water is calm!

So much fun in the pool.  Water guns and floats are a must!

The girls loved kayaking with Daddy.  Colin liked taking turns going out with Mom and Dad.

Hey, who's going to take me out in this thing? Julia wonders.

Pontoon boating!

Grandma pulls down a branch overflowing with blueberries for these eager pickers.

Making kabobs.  We had some great helpers.

We borrowed an idea from Meme and Pop Pop - a 50 lb bag of feed corn for $10 and a plastic pool that was already at the rental house.  Hours of fun for ten bucks!   Olivia and Aiden show that even city folks like a good corn pool.

Cousins in coordinating outfits personalized by Grandma!