Michigan Vacation Part 1

Last week we had a glorious vacation in Michigan. It was a great break from work and just life in general. I feel pretty refreshed after relaxing on the beach, paying no attention to a clock, having hardly any cell phone reception (and no other electronic access), and spending tons of time playing with my nieces. Oh, and I may or may not have had Miss Lisa's ice cream 4 of the nights we were there :).

We spent time at the beach every afternoon, and dinner every night included whatever extended family was free that evening. Braeden (my nephew) made sure that we all played ping pong every day, and most evenings after dinner we all sat outside visiting and watching the sunset. Man, just doesn't get much better than that.

Here's what our week looked like in pictures plus a rundown of the major happenings of each day:

Saturday-Sunday, we drove a lot. Got to Michigan about 3pm on Sunday, and we unpacked and hung out at the cottage and beach.

the pups were ready to get there!

 Monday morning, we went to North Shore park, then had lots of beach time the rest of the day. Also "Abby-daddy"aka Josh came in on Monday afternoon. 

view from the back deck

Tuesday morning was blueberry picking (always a favorite), and of course more time at the beach after naps.  Then on Tuesday night after dinner, we all went to play putt-putt. Those little girls were very serious about it and we all had a blast. 

Abby was not too excited about showing me her blueberries lol

Wednesday, the boys played golf while the girls went on a walk downtown with Grandmother and Uncle Elliott. Then, more beach :).

building sand castles

cool boat anchored for coast guard festival that week

another anchored boat

gorgeous sunset-this pretty much happened every night

On Thursday, Ryan and Braeden left, so we went to Grandmother's house for homemade waffles. Soooo yummy. I also got to kneeboard that afternoon which was pretty fun.

On Friday, me, Michael, Katie and Lisa went to art in the park which is an outdoor craft fair. We got an ornament, a dried soup mix, dog treats, and some books. That night was dinner at the Nieboer's house (michael's cousins). Aunt Marilyn made an amazing lasagna dinner for everyone. Saturday, we went to see the parade for Coast Guard Festival (a big deal in Grand Haven), and then went to a picnic at the house of some friends of my in-laws.

So that was our vacation! I should have taken more pictures, but I kept forgetting my camera.  Maybe later I will do a post of favorite pictures from the trip once my sister-in-laws get all of their pictures downloaded. They brought really nice cameras and took some great pictures. Ah well, back to the daily grind! Somehow, it doesn't seem too bad now that I am refreshed from a week off :).

next up: cottage tour!