Family Vaca

 

We took our annual (see here and here) family vacation, just the four of us, to South Haven, MI, last week. We started out with a trip to the grocery store.

On the bright side, it wasn't miserably hot like last year, but we also had a couple of chilly/cloudy/rainy days. It was okay, though. We found ways to stay busy. Like blueberry picking.

We were having a lot of fun and at one point, I made the comment to Matt, "This is so nice and quiet. I'm surprised there aren't more people out here." Cue the girl who worked at the orchard (I guess that's what it's called?): "Excuse me, these rows aren't open for picking yet." We made our way several rows over where there were tons of people. Oops. In my defense, I'm a Rule Follower, so if they had been more clear about the rules, we wouldn't have gone rogue. But we also wouldn't have had as much fun.

We made a dozen blueberry muffins when we got back to Wheaton and Brooke was not impressed with how they tasted. Guess what I'll be having for breakfast for the next week?

Then, we ventured to Saugatuk for lunch and a ferry ride. I have many friends who have raved about Saugatuk and it didn't disappoint. I'd like to go back sans hubby and kids to enjoy the shopping, though.

One of the highlights of the trip for me is always eating most of our meals out. I gave Miles an onion from my salad one night to see what he would do and he immediately put it on his wrist like a bracelet. Maybe too much time spent with mommy and sissy getting ready?

Miles also got his first taste of root beer and now anytime Matt has a beer bottle, he thinks he deserves a drink.

There was a pool at the condo where we stayed. Matt got in with Brooke one day, but thanks to the miracle of the Puddle Jumper, we were mostly able to watch her from the deck (did I mention it was chilly?).

Matt and Miles waiting for Brooke and me to finish shopping. Poor Miles has been cutting teeth for over a week, hence the runny nose.

File this under, "Things Not to Put on Parent of the Year Application": we took the kids to a wine tasting. In our defense, the sign very clearly said, "Children welcome" and they had a bunch of sparkling juices that Brooke got to try. Blueberry was her favorite.

Miles is really into full-on mouth kissing lately and I can't get enough.

Brooke got WAY more sweets than she should have. Our first night back home, she asked, "When are we going out for ice cream?"

 

One of our favorite places in South Haven is Kids Corner. I think we like it more than the kids. I have visions of us taking them there as teenagers and forcing them to climb on the apparatus to we can get some pictures.

 

 

With that amazing structure, Brooke's favorite thing about the park was the old school metal slide. She would've gone up and down it all day.

We did get to spend a day and a half at the beach and all had a really great time. The weather on those days was perfect. (I'm realizing now that I should have cropped some of these pictures. Sorry.)

"Hey, take a picture of me." Literally what he said before I took this.

 

 

Annual photo shoot by the South Haven sign.

We couldn't get Miles to stay standing for a picture. He has too much fun "bonking" onto the ground.

It was a great trip, as usual, and so great to spend uninterrupted family time. We did have one minor snafu as we were getting off the highway a few miles from home.

We already can't wait to go back next year!

 

Busy, Busy

 

My parents were gracious enough to drive us home after our quick trip to St. Louis. The next day, we visited the DuPage County Fair. They thought the animals were great, but Brooke really loved the rides. We go to our fair share of carnivals, don't we?

Brooke has also been taking swimming lessons the last couple of weeks. I'm really proud of her. She's gotten much braver (the goggles help), although floating is still a bit of a struggle. 

We also enjoyed an evening kids' concert at the Arboretum (despite the sweltering heat) with Christy and Kali. 

Some randoms from the downtime that we've had:

He's really into waking her up and giving her "hugs". I love it.

Playing (I'm not sure what, but I'm sure there was an elaborate imagined story for it) with Daddy.

That's it for July. Next up is our annual family vacation to Michigan. We're excited!

Whirlwind Trip

 

The day after the half marathon, I got on a plane with the kids to St. Louis to celebrate Lexi's birthday. It was a few days late, but with everyone's busy summer schedules, it was the only time we could work out to get all the girls together for a surprise party with "all the girl cousins" (Lexi's only request for her birthday). The plane ride went really smoothly and after a quick stop to visit my Grandma and Grandpa, we surprised Lexi at her house. We also took the kids swimming later that day.

There was story reading - princesses, of course.

And lots of dress up.

These handsome fellas were along for the ride.

The night ended with a screening of "Tangled" and not much sleep - especially for the parents.

Our last stop the next day was Monkey Joe's.

I think Miles had more fun on the mechanical rides (without quarters put in them) than the bouncy stuff. Can't say I blame him.

We're so glad we were able to celebrate the big #5 with this special girl. We love you, Lexi!!!

Rock 'n' Roll

A few months ago, Jamie mentioned to me that she was thinking of doing the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. I'd already been running regularly and thought it'd be a good goal to work toward, but as it drew closer, I got more and more nervous. The day before the race, we had to drive all the way into the city to pick up my packet, so we decided to make a family day of it and headed to Navy Pier.

 

We spent far too much money on mediocre rides (Brooke kept asking what was wrong with the ferris wheel because it was going so slowly), although Brooke did deem this lighthouse ride "amazing."

We also had a nice lunch at Harry Caray's. It was a beautiful day.

This half was MUCH larger than my last half marathon. And the weather, while not quite the brutal heat and humidity we'd been having, was not exactly ideal. I finished a few minutes later than my target time, but I felt like I pushed myself and that's all I could ask for. Matt and the kids, his mom, and Will also came down to cheer us on.

Oh, and this lady also ROCKED it. So proud of you, Jamie!

 

It was a lot of fun, I'm glad we did it, and I haven't sworn off doing another, so I don't think there's much more I could ask for!

Sedona

Matt and I were able to get away for an anniversary trip last weekend. We decided on Sedona, AZ, based on some strong recommendations from friends and family. We actually thought to take a few pictures of ourselves this time.

This was the view from the lounge at the resort where we stayed. Breathtaking!

The trip was what I felt to be the perfect balance of lounging and exploring. We went on a couple of hikes, one guided and one not. We definitely liked exploring by ourselves better.

As usually happens on our getaways, Matt got stir-crazy by the pool and decided to venture off on his own mountain biking. I got a text from him about 20 minutes after he left saying, "Not the best idea I've ever had."  Thankfully he returned unharmed.

Our AMAH-ZING anniversary dinner at L'Auberge. Icing on the cake - the table of guys next to us asked if it was our honeymoon!

View from our table:

We also went on a Pink Jeep Tour that we would highly recommend. Matt admittedly had a bit of a man-crush on our guide, Duff.

We adore our children but it was really nice to get away alone for a couple of days. Special thanks to Brian, Debbie and Jamie who took care of the kids - to the point that Brooke wasn't ready to come home - while we were gone. I'll leave you with a couple more Red Rock shots. Did I mention it was beautiful there?