Summer in Michigan Part 2
Only a few days ago, Jose, the girls and I arrived back in Spain after spending six weeks back in the States. I wrote about the first half of our adventures here and about our annual GAGME family trip here but I figured I needed to chronicle the rest of what we did before school starts again and I forget.
At the beginning of August we went up north to celebrate our extended family´s annual reunion (PUFO) on Lake Huron. This year was an extra special weekend since almost all of my cousins were there, plus all of their kiddos. We had a lot of children under foot for a few days and the weather cooperated enough for us to spend time at the beach. My aunt and uncle had just recently finished a huge renovation on their cottage and it was beautiful.
Jose, the twins and I stayed a few extra days up north and were visited by our friends Erica and Ernie who drove over from Mount Pleasant. We all stayed at my cousins´cottage for a couple of nights. Unfortunately we didn´t have the best weather so while we could explore the nearby town of Tawas and try to find Eddie Murphy we weren´t really able to go to the beach. I am so happy that I was able to see my best friend a few times while home this summer.
We also made another trip up to Grand Rapids to spend some time with my sister Katie and family. While there we visited the Boulder Ridge zoo which was AWESOME! If you have never been I would totally recommend it. There are a lot of different animals but it isn´t a huge area to walk around which makes it doable with little kids. We got to feed camels and giraffes and ride on a safari bus which took us on a tour of the big animal enclosures.
While in Grand Rapids I also went out with some of Katie´s friends and the girls got to hang out with their big cousin Daphne. Vera is obsessed. I think Daphne was ready for us to go after a few days but for us it was a good visit.
Most of the rest of our time was spent at my parents´house on the lake. The weather this summer was gorgeous and we were outside a lot of the time. Laura and Vera loved that there was a small beach this year and enjoyed playing there. We went out on the boat a lot and Jose did quite a bit of fishing.
During our last week in Michigan we randomly decided to celebrate my brother-in-law´s 40th birthday as a surprise since it came and went without much ado earlier this year. Spencer obviously had no idea what was going on when we came outside to surprise him in our Dollar Tree birthday hats and Kroger cake but it was fun. We have decided to make this a new family tradition.
Another thing we do each summer is head to Frankenmuth with my mom´s friends for breakfast and a visit to Bronner´s which is a huge Christmas-themed store for those who don´t know. It is ENORMOUS and I love it. The girls liked seeing all the trees, lights and ornaments but it was a bit stressful trying to keep them from touching stuff this year. I got them personalized stockings which will come in handy this Christmas as I don´t think we will be putting up a tree (two toddlers seems to spell disaster and I really like my ornaments).
One of our last visits in Michigan was with my friend Dana and her son Jack who we met in Ann Arbor at the famous Zingerman´s deli. It was a short lunch but we got to catch up a bit and though we didn´t manage to get a picture together I am glad to have been able to touch base with my friend and meet her ADORABLE son.
Since we flew out of Chicago we decided to spend a few days with my sister Andie before we left for Spain. We all went downtown for a day and I was reminded of how much I like that city. The five of us walked all around and got to see some of the annual airshow that was going on at the time.
While in Chicago we also saw my friend Jenna and her husband and son for an afternoon. Our kids are all about the same age so it was cute to see them interacting together. Jenna is one of my oldest friends and I am happy to have seen her family before our flight back to Spain.
We honestly had the best summer ever and I had a really hard time leaving. I am happy that we made it back to Spain safely and without incident but I am really sad at the same time. We are still adjusting back to the time here and getting back into the swing of things before work picks up again. Waaaaahhhhhh!!! I don´t want summer to end!
At the beginning of August we went up north to celebrate our extended family´s annual reunion (PUFO) on Lake Huron. This year was an extra special weekend since almost all of my cousins were there, plus all of their kiddos. We had a lot of children under foot for a few days and the weather cooperated enough for us to spend time at the beach. My aunt and uncle had just recently finished a huge renovation on their cottage and it was beautiful.
Jose, the twins and I stayed a few extra days up north and were visited by our friends Erica and Ernie who drove over from Mount Pleasant. We all stayed at my cousins´cottage for a couple of nights. Unfortunately we didn´t have the best weather so while we could explore the nearby town of Tawas and try to find Eddie Murphy we weren´t really able to go to the beach. I am so happy that I was able to see my best friend a few times while home this summer.
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| On the Boulder Ridge Safari |
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| Laura and Vera fighting over a chair |
During our last week in Michigan we randomly decided to celebrate my brother-in-law´s 40th birthday as a surprise since it came and went without much ado earlier this year. Spencer obviously had no idea what was going on when we came outside to surprise him in our Dollar Tree birthday hats and Kroger cake but it was fun. We have decided to make this a new family tradition.
Another thing we do each summer is head to Frankenmuth with my mom´s friends for breakfast and a visit to Bronner´s which is a huge Christmas-themed store for those who don´t know. It is ENORMOUS and I love it. The girls liked seeing all the trees, lights and ornaments but it was a bit stressful trying to keep them from touching stuff this year. I got them personalized stockings which will come in handy this Christmas as I don´t think we will be putting up a tree (two toddlers seems to spell disaster and I really like my ornaments).
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| Bronner´s Christmas Wonderland |
Since we flew out of Chicago we decided to spend a few days with my sister Andie before we left for Spain. We all went downtown for a day and I was reminded of how much I like that city. The five of us walked all around and got to see some of the annual airshow that was going on at the time.
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| The bean 2017 |
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| The bean 2009 |
While in Chicago we also saw my friend Jenna and her husband and son for an afternoon. Our kids are all about the same age so it was cute to see them interacting together. Jenna is one of my oldest friends and I am happy to have seen her family before our flight back to Spain.
We honestly had the best summer ever and I had a really hard time leaving. I am happy that we made it back to Spain safely and without incident but I am really sad at the same time. We are still adjusting back to the time here and getting back into the swing of things before work picks up again. Waaaaahhhhhh!!! I don´t want summer to end!
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