Schmitz's Visit

In honor of Broderick's 22nd birthday, his parents and sister came and spent the weekend with our family. We had a great time swimming, playing disc golf, hiking through the woods, eating, and just visiting. Fun times!

Trace's New Bike

Check out this excitement. Trace got Bryker's old bike when we were back home and it is the perfect size for Trace. In fact, Trace is now big enough to join his sisters on a ride around the block. No more strollers for this little guy!!!!

Summer Trip to Iowa

Cousins

Everyone needs a little help eating their sweet corn right?
Karaoke Night

Cousins
Look at that shot...
Cousins

The kids and I went back home to Iowa to visit our friends and family. Like always, we had an action pack week filled with tons of fun in the midst of the heat wave.

Some highlights include:

• Spending time with Sally and her family on our way to Iowa and getting to meet Makenna for the first time! What a sweetie! That is minus Trace's near death experience when he decided to ride their little bike DOWN a hill. Not a good idea when you are only 2 years old! Gave this momma quite a fright as I tried to catch up to him while he was one step ahead of me...
• Playing at the mini water park with cousins, Jada, and Aliyah.
• Nice dinner with Cook's and Langfald's and kids' water gun fight with Bryker.
• Splash pad with friends.
• Girls Night Out, which included lots of laughs, karaoke, and dessert.
• My massage- thanks Bob and Becki for my early birthday present!
• Grandma's chicken cordon bleu!!!
• Motorcycle ride to the old Sutliff bridge with John on his new Harley.
• Slumber party at Stacie's house.
• Chuck-E-Cheese with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne.
• Sweet corn!!!
• Good conversations...
• AND Sam's delicious homemade ice cream!!!

Traverse City

Sweet SistersKids on train
Girls jumping waves
Trace jumping waves
Miniature golfing

Kianna's hole-in-one
Mommy's hole-in-one

Glen Lake

Our family
Sand Dunes

Dune Climb


We decided to make the most of our time up north, so from Charlesvoix we drove to Traverse City to continue our vacation with just our family. Traverse City is another beautiful city with lots of sandy beaches. It is located right on a bay connected to Lake Michigan. We had a great time enjoying the beach, playing in the sand, riding a small train, and playing miniature golf. It was Trace's first time playing miniature golf and he loved it, as did the girls. Kianna even got a hole-in-one, which was pretty impressive. Not to brag but Trevor and I did too. It was a fun night. Our best day was spent at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. We took the scenic tour which surprisingly our kids were super into. I have to admit it was the best done scenic tour I have ever been on. Everything was labeled with a number which coordinated to the pamphlet we were given. On our tour we saw Glen Lake, Lake Michigan, the sand dunes, and several forests. The views were breathtaking. We had a nice picnic overlooking the lake and followed that up with our sand dune climb. What a fun day!

The sporty part of our vacation was that we camped in a tent for three days and two nights. I grew up camping, but Trevor did not. We have decided that tent camping with three small kids is not exactly "fun" or "relaxing" at this point in our lives. Our campsite had no grass and therefore was all dirt and therefore very dirty, which for those of you who know me well enough will know that messes stress me out. In addition, Trevor came down with a severe case of poison ivy on his legs, belly and arm. His arm was so bad that it blistered and began weeping. He ended up spending 2.5 hours in a local urgent care clinic in order to gain some relief. All that to say that camping in a dirty place with open wounds wasn't exactly ideal. Life comes with its ups and downs and this trip definitely had both.

Charlesvoix

Our family was invited up north to Charlesvoix, along with a few other families; to spend a weekend with the Merillat family, the founders of The Centre and LCS. They were such gracious hosts. They have a beautiful home, their own beach, boats, and horses. We had a great time getting to know their family better while enjoying the beauty surrounding us. One of the most surprising discoveries was their frog pond. Our kids are fearless...

Evans Lake Playdate

View of beach area

Our friends, The Willets, invited our playgroup over to their lake house for a day of fun in the sun. The kids had a blast swimming, playing in the sand, having a picnic, and even tubing. What a fun day with friends!

Yau's Visit

My good friend, Jodi, and her daughter, Mila, came to visit us just hours after my mom, John, and grandma left. It was fun catching up with Jodi and getting to know Mila better. More fun times...

Walker's Visit

Kaylee's new "crazy eyes"

My mom, John, and grandma made their 2nd annual trip over the 4th of July. We had lots of great pool time with amazing weather. The boys had fun playing disc golf together, although we think that is where Trevor ended up getting his poison ivy. My mom and I had some nice walks and talks just the two of us. We also had lots of yummy food. My grandma insisted on helping me with meals so I let her. She treated us to her chimichangas, potato salad, cream cheese pickles, and tenderloins. My mom also made us her tasty omelettes. We definitely ate GOOD this weekend!!! We watched fireworks in a nearby town. The girls had fun doing sparklers. Another great weekend with family!!!