Up North Fun!!

So we've all been a little busy around here -- weddings, birthday parties, playdates, bike rides, trips to the lake, splash park, sleepovers at grandma's, vacation, and more -- and the best part is, we're staying healthy!!!

First things first -- Mid-August, Easton had his 9 month follow up appointment with Pediatric Radiologists and Oncologists at UofM, and an ultrasound, chest x-ray and 2 viles of blood later, we were thrilled to hear that Easton is staying healthy! That made our vacation the next day so much more enjoyable!

Easton has his first taste of Northern Michigan this month. We spent a week at a cabin at Boyne Mountain with my entire family. And by entire family, I mean the three of us, my sister Colleen and her three boys, my mom and dad, and Clare even joined us for the weekend! It was a lot of fun, and a great reminder that I never want 4 kids. :) 

The vacation was pretty go-with-the-flow. We spent a little time at the pool, some time at the lake and even hit up Avalanche Bay, the indoor waterpark, for some rainy day fun. This place was awesome. There were things for kids (and adults!) of all ages to do - a shallow children's pool for the little ones, a lazy river to take a float, two hot tubs, a raging waterfall and five fun-filled waterslides. Easton loved splashing in the water, dancing in the sprinklers and even the waterslides. Cash and Briggs weren't quite tall enough to ride on the super waterslides, so we took full advantage of having to ride with them over and over again. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed at how much fun I had!!!

The hardest part about vacationing with toddlers is working around mid-day naps, so we made sure to get up and moving first thing in the morning so we could have some fun before naptime. We ventured into Petoskey for a little shopping and lunch one day, and into Boyne City for the Farmer's Market the next. The Farmer's Market wasn't anything to call home about, but the kids sure had fun on the huge play structure.

On another day, we headed over to Charlevoix to visit with, get this, mine and Colleen's old daycare lady and babysitter from when we were like 5 years old!!!! My parents have managed to keep in touch with them over the years, and just happened to talk to them a few weeks prior to our vacation, and when they found out we were coming up, they invited us for dinner. So we packed up the cars, and to Charlevoix we went. It was so fun to reminisce with them and to hear stories from when we were young.

On our last night, we headed back into Boyne City for a special ice cream treat. Easton loved sampling all of ours and then burnt all his energy running around the park.

We (the adults) spent our evenings playing cards and games, and counting how many times Cash and Briggs came upstairs. Too bad we didn't count the first night -- I'm sure Briggs would have broken the world record. :)

We packed up and got on the road mid-morning on Sunday. I had arranged to stop in Midland for lunch with a college friend, and of course, I just had to hit up the outlets for a quick shopping trip, which Bryan was thrilled about. Easton was great on the 4 hour car ride -- I think this picture explains how much fun he had on vacation!

Friday Letters

Happy Wear-Your-Pants-On-Your-Head Day!!

Dear International Delight, Thank you for the creation of your iced coffee line. Not only are you supporting my iced coffee obsession, but you are saving me big bucks in the process. Good bye Biggby's ridiculously expensive, not all that delicious, drinks and hello affordable iced coffee-at-home! Dear Big Brother, While I thoroughly enjoy the hours of entertainment you provide to me each week, you are very demanding of my time. Not only is my house feeling neglected, but my husband is too! Not to mention, your 8pm shows are interfering with Easton's bedtime routine. Dear Comcast, Our love/hate relationship is become more and more of a hate relationship. I subscribe to services for my convenience and I expect them to work. While I appreciate your efforts to credit my account and provide me with free premium channels, I'd much rather the services I pay for work! Dear Vacation, I can't wait for you to get here! Next week please fly by. And lastly, Dear Nicole, Happy Birthday (tomorrow)!!! Enjoy your last year of being 20-something. 

Love, 

Courtney