U.P. trip

We took a long weekend trip to the Upper Peninsula this weekend. Doug's birthday is mid-July and mine is beginning of August, so we thought a little trip in the middle might be a fun way to celebrate our birthdays. Doug has been wanting to go to Kitch-iti-kipi for quite awhile, so we planned this trip to see it. 

Long day in the car and first stop in the U.P., the Garlyn Zoo. 

You could roll an apple down this tube and watch the bear eat :)

Our airbnb was right off Indian Lake, it was beautiful. 

The kids loved kicking their feet in the water. It was warm, but the shore was very rocky so not good for wading.

S'mores and bonfire in the chimea after the kids went to sleep! We saw a beautiful sunset and even some heat lightening off the dock.

The next day we took a little train ride on the Taquemenon train.

The train was far from the falls, so I'm not sure why it was called that. Later we drove to the park and walked to the upper falls overlook. 

That evening we went to see the Big Spring! It was really cool. 

Apparently this is 45 feet deep and so clear, it was really cool. 

And came home to another sunset. 

On the drive home we stopped by the shores of Lake Michigan and played in the sand a few minutes. 

 It was a nice trip.

4th of July

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I hope and pray that our country will remain the Land of the Free. 

4th of July has been one of my favorite holidays in my life. It's usually synonymous with being with friends and family, good food, being outside, and ending with beautiful fireworks. This year I didn't have to work and we spent the day with friends on their lake. 

It was my first wakeboarding of the year, Doug water-skii'd, we did a little tubing, pontoon rides, and shared delicious food. We didn't stay for the fireworks as that was past the kiddos bedtimes, but we had a great time and actually saw a lot of fireworks on our drive home. 

 The Jeanie/Jeannies!

 God bless the USA!

More summertime

Introducing my first zucchini!! After 4 years, finally. Along with 2 cukes.

Summertime means playdates. 

We went to our friends farm (aka house in the country), Liz and her boys were there too so we had a yard full of kids. There were kittens and chickens and cookies, oh my. (She's mid-kitchen reno, hence the floor picnic)

Me & my girl

Doug's brother and his kids were in town so we saw them and went to a park together. 

Homemade popsicles!

On Sunday Doug was gone all afternoon ship-wreck diving with his buddy so I met my parents at a nearby park. 

And then Monday I took the kids to my sister's apt pool. It was COLD! It would've been nice to float around kid free with her talking and sunning, but the kids still need so much attention. Maybe in a few years!

This girl is getting so big.

I love (most of the time ;)) being home with my babies. 

So the latest facebook ad purchase was a flop. there was the video of this huge airplane that was 10 feet long and looked like 3-5 feet wide and when you threw it over your head it would glide through the air. It was really cool. So Doug got all excited and bought it and months later we finally got it and it's this limp noodle of a thing, it is 10 feet long, but it doesn't even glide. Bummer! When I came home from work last night I pulled in to see Jeanie "riding it", it was funny, but we're bummed its not at all as advertised! Plane pool float toy I guess?

This morning garden watering and playing in our little yard pool.

So cute.