I cannot believe it's almost been a month since we returned from our three week trip in Michigan. We had a great time while we were there, and I wanted to make sure that I captured some of the highlights in a blog post before I forgot everything.
I love ABQ weather most of the time since winters are mild, but we still get a little snow, and we can get outside and enjoy the sunshine almost every day of the year. But summers in ABQ are a little difficult since it can get really hot. It seems that the highs have been in the mid to upper 90's all summer, which is good for swimming in the pool, but not great for visiting the park or the zoo.
Summer is the best time to visit Michigan. Generally the weather is great and during our visit we were able to enjoy many outdoor activities. Also, although I appreciate some perks of living in a bigger city like ABQ, I really enjoyed the smaller feel of Holland while we were there. Most things are only a 5-10 minute drive (or bike ride) away in Holland, instead of the 20-25 minute drive in ABQ. Of course, another huge benefit of Michigan is that all of my family is there, which means we get to do a lot with family and I also have convenient babysitters that the kids love.
We look forward to visiting Michigan for many summers to come! Here are some photos of our trip.
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| Our first breakfast at Grandpa and Grandma's house. We ate most meals in the kitchen since the dining room has carpet and that's just too risky with three 3-year-olds. The kids enjoyed the large window, especially on days that there were men mowing the lawn and trimming the bushes as they love to watch them. |
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| Grandpa and Grandma have a nice, flat driveway that is perfect for riding "cars." |
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| Alexis and Faith following the road on the driveway. |
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| I already wrote a blog post about the kids' birthday celebration. I love that we were able to celebrate with my whole family as it made the birthday feel extra special, since we live so far from all of our family. |
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| Grandpa and Grandma took the kids to Build a Bear as part of their birthday gift. All three kids were a little overwhelmed by the process as there are so many decisions to make and they didn't really understand what was going on, but now they proudly show off their birthday animals. Here they are "washing" their animals after they were stuffed. |
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| The kids played in the sprinkler on many afternoons, and half of the fun is bundling up in a towel afterwards. |
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| Uncle Kent and Aunt Emily live about 30 minutes away from my parents, so we don't make it to their house that often, but we did venture there once during this trip. The kids were thrilled that Uncle Kent's kitty was friendly since our cat isn't very good with kids. They ran through the sprinklers in diapers at Kent's, since I didn't think ahead to bring bathing suits, but they didn't mind. |
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| Grandpa's golf cart was a hit, and the kids went on numerous rides while we were at their house. Jack always got to sit on Grandpa's lap and drive. |
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| We made it to Ottawa Beach on Lake Michigan three times during our visit. The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing in the sand and the water. |
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| I was able to run 4 times a week in Michigan, which included a few longer runs. One of the roads I enjoy running on follows the shore of Lake Macatawa. Although there are mostly houses along the lakeshore, there are a few spots where one can see the lake so I took this pic on one of my morning runs. Although I grew up with the lakes in Michigan, I don't think I appreciated them as much then as I do now since we live in the desert and don't get to enjoy them very often. |
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| My niece Adelle had her last soccer game of the season when we were in town, so we took the kids to watch. This was our kids' first ever sporting event, and Jack really enjoyed cheering and clapping for the players. |
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| Brayden and Adelle have a trampoline in their backyard, and the kids jumped on this several times. I was very thankful for the net holding them in. |
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| One morning we visited the Critter Barn. My mom and I realized once again that we aren't really farm people, but the kids enjoyed seeing the animals. |
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| We visited Great Grandma in her assisted living home three times while we were there. The kids were a little nervous around her as they aren't accustomed to being around great grandparents, but they did interact a little bit. |
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| Four generations pic |
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Adelle and Faith at Brayden's baseball game, the kids' second ever sporting event. |
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| Windmill Island was a lot of fun as we were able to ride a carousel, watch Dutch dancers, and listen to a street organ. |
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| My parents bought a secondhand bike trailer and borrowed another one from a friend so that we could ride around town with the kids instead of loading them in the car all of the time. This was so much fun for me and the kids (and Grandpa!). |
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Listening to the American Legion Band. Jack and Faith thought it was a little too loud, but once they got over that they enjoyed marching to the music.
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| Jack especially loved the all of the guitars during the Street Performer night in downtown Holland. I think he could have sat here all night watching this trio. |
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The porch swing is always a big hit with the kids, although it's a little hard for them to understand that they can't push it like an outdoor swing.
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| Luckily, Grandpa and Grandma bought a small guitar at a flea market, so Jack didn't have to go without during our three week stay. This was played all of the time! |
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| A ride on the golf cart with Grandma and Grandpa. |
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| One morning we rode our bikes to the local nature center and explored. |
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| We enjoyed a lot of live music during our trip. Jack loved making sticks into drumsticks and playing along. |
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| The kids loved the Jeep sitting in Micah's parents' garage in Holland. |
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The kids discovered one of Micah's old riding toys in his parents' basement.
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| Micah came back to town for Father's Day weekend (he originally only came for the first four days since he had to work). We enjoyed a Father's Day celebration at the beach with my family. |
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| Everyone playing games in the sand while waiting for the grandparents to arrive with our picnic lunch. |
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| Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids. |
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| Brayden and Adelle's swings were a hit with the kids because they were low enough to the ground that they could get on and off by themselves, and they even figured out how to push each other. |
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| We stayed at my brother's house for part of our trip. Adelle read numerous books to the kids while we were there. |
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| Looking at Lake Macatawa with Grammy Karen (who came to town to help us fly back home) and Adelle while at Kollen Park for a concert. |
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| One morning we visited Dutch Village with Grandma, Aunt Jodi, Brayden, and Adelle. The kids enjoyed so many rides including these swings. |
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| Aunt Jodi had a lot of fun toys leftover from when Brayden and Adelle were little, and our kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. |
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We were able to go to the Street Performers twice while we were in town, and both times the clown was Faith's favorite performer. The second time we went the clown included her in his act (she had to pick up balls that he kept "dropping"), but Lexi hopped up and participated as well. It was so funny to see them do this as it made me realize, once again, that they aren't babies anymore.
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| The girls got haircuts in Holland as I was very disappointed with their last haircut in ABQ. I also got my haircut, so they sat on Grandma's lap and watched me (and everyone else in the salon), and then they took turns bravely sitting on my lap and getting their hair cut. They've only had a few haircuts in their lives, but this was the first one that neither of them cried (although they weren't ready to sit on the chair alone yet). Faith went first. |
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| Then Lexi had a turn. |
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We rewarded their haircut bravery with donuts at my favorite childhood donut shop.
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| Jack and Brayden were buddies while we were in Michigan. I think Jack really appreciates having a boy cousin since he's surrounded by girls all of the time. |
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| We went to a library event in the park and there was free face painting. Our kids got their hands painted as they weren't quite ready to get paint on their faces yet. |
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| We enjoyed swimming in pools three times while we were in Michigan, which was great since we were able to get comfortable with the water again before starting swim lessons in ABQ. |
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| Grandpa and the grandkids on the golf cart. |
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| Enjoying another evening at the beach. |
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| My parents' church has an indoor play structure, which the kids enjoyed one rainy morning. |
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| Jack took this picture of me one day during "nap time." Not too bad for a 3-year-old! |
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| My parents condo has a great yard next to it and the kids enjoyed running around and kicking balls. |
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| During our last visit to see Great Grandma the kids discovered how much fun a wheelchair can be. |
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| On our last night in town the whole family got together for dinner. The kids love playing with their relatives. I wish we could have this kind of fun with our family more often! |
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| Our plane rides back to ABQ went fairly smoothly. We are thankful that Grammy Karen was able to come to Michigan for the second half of our trip so that I had help flying back home. |
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| All three kids were very excited to be reunited with Daddy as he wasn't able to spend much time in Michigan with us. |
