Impromptu Michigan

So. We decided at 4pm on Thursday evening to take a very last minute, spontaneous trip to Michigan. The very next morning. I think it may be the most spontaneous thing I've done since my single days! It would be 3.5 long days of driving, but would create long lasting memories with our long lost family in Alpena. So we deemed it totally worth it. So the journey began.

We are standing in front of Andy's mother's house that she grew up in, Lafayette, IN. We just HAPPENED to drive right by it. Awesome to see those kinds of things and surely not coincidental.

BTW I LOVE this picture. If you look closely Sammy has some serious crazy hair, Audrie's pockets are hanging out as she shows off something by her face, Kaylee is doing something crazy with her hands and Tyler is holding a stick. One word. CLASSIC. Makes me giggle every time I look at it.

Along the highway in Indiana we stumbled across this amazing windmill farm. There were HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of these, across miles and miles. It was AWESOME. You can't even get the effect in the picture. You would need a panoramic lens and even then I'm not sure you could capture it. Stunning.

We dropped Andy off at the airport in Grand Rapids, MI so he could make it home in time for work on Monday. Yes. He drove 3 full days across the the United States and flew home, just because he is a wonderful husband like that. He's pretty amazing. Then the last 4.5 hours I drove to the Ford's little city of Alpena. When we got their they were in mid celebration of Independence Day, so we joined right in.

Mom, Dad, and Katie came up from Cincinnati, OH (where Katie was having all of her surgeries) and joined the festivities as well. It was really fun to have everyone there! Samantha needed a good lovey nap, which Grandma gladly obliged to :)

Samantha LOVES Katie. She doesn't like most people at this point in life. It's nothing personal just a little stranger anxiety, which is to be expected and totally developmentally appropriate. But she loves Katie. It's super cute and gives me a break!

After the fun picnic we went to a local museum. Clearly the kids had fun "saving" each other from the stormy seas.

Then of course fireworks were in order. Kaylee's face says it all. She was scared. The end.

Love this photo for two reasons. One, it's always cute to see Dad loving on my children. Two, because it captures Sammy's awesome, natural mohawk before we cut it. My only child who lost all their hair minus the front. Hilarious.

Kaylee and Mr. Cade dancing to the credits of Tangled, the movie we watched probably 25 times while we were in the Ford home. Loved by all. The funnest part of this was that Kaylee was SO SERIOUS while dancing. She literally did NOT take her eyes off of Cade as they twirled around. This was serious business after all :)

Sleeping Beauty. Such a sweetie.

All the cousin's minus Sam due to the prior engagement in the above picture.

So, one may ask ones self, "what does one do while in an extremely small town in northern Michigan?" Well we found lots to do:

1. We found bird eggs and nests. Lots of eggs, weird, but extremely adventurous for us Houston city folk.

2. Picked cherries.

Yes, that's me. I had to have a go at it too.

3. We sat and rocked a lot.

Yep this is me too with my terribly obese looking baby. She is fine. No obesity. Just a bad angle, just in case you were concerned.

4. We found local wild life.

5. We built huge bonfires...IN THE BACK YARD. I think we are a bit suburbanized.

6. We helped garden. Well mostly pick the harvest and ate it :) Awesome Garden Cam.

7. We did more fire. And of course Smores.

8. Cami got her baby fill and I got to have a second mom around. (I love being a twin!)