Michigan Trip

Hanging with Jack, Issac, and Sydney at McDonalds

Eli is packed and ready to go!

Friends Reunited after 24 years...Craig and Rob

Eli and Jesse playing it smart in the hot weather

An awesome visit with Cally and Lila...they were

heading to Traverse City!

The king of the hose...could be trouble!

Our daddies brought us a special treat...pushups!

After a busy day at the carnival and in the pool, the crew

takes time for a picture...Eli, Kelsey, Noah, Kennedy, and Luke.

Enjoying a few cocktails with Steve and Tara

Look out Uncle Joe, Eli likes to drench people!

Waiting for the parade...(I should have zoomed in a little)

You should have seen the bag of candy they got from the parade....yikes!

Our visit with Steph and Fer...hanging out enjoying life!

Just wait, the reason for the picture is in the blog....

Hard to believe we have been back for two weeks...wow, time is precious! We had a great time visiting everyone. Our plane landed (a little late) in Indy, Rob and I stepped outside and about died. The humidity was insane....and it was midnight! Thankgoodness Joe had AC. My brother had to work for a few hours, so we went and picked up our rental car and headed to Michigan. Our trip up was a bit hairy until Eli fell asleep...needless to say, he was a bit cranky! As the miles rolled by, we smiled at the scenery...full trees, green grass...oh the beauty of being back in Michigan. Our first stop was Bronners Christmas Store. We have purchased a Dickens house for Christmas and our anniversary each year so we needed to get that done. I also started taking a picture of Eli by the giant Santa since we have come home from China...he gets a kick out of seeing this giant statue! I wonder if he will still let me take his picture with Santa when he is 16? After our fill of Christmas, we headed to my brother Mike's house. We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving and were very excited to spend some time with them. During our visit with them, we managed to take in a parade, attend a carnival, go to the zoo, and visit Central Michigan University. I have to mention that at the zoo, they have an exhibit of crows and prairre dogs! During our time in Saginaw, our friends Steph and Fer stopped by for a few laughs. Then the next day, Tara, Steve, Noah and Luke came by to enjoy the carnival and pool with us. It was great seeing everyone!!!

After leaving Saginaw, we made our way to Muskegon. We met Rob's sister for dinner along with his dad. We went to dinner at Fricano's on the lake. I love their menu....pizza with a variety a toppings, thats it! Not too hard to decide what to eat! While we were enjoying our company, a party of 30 little kids and six parents sat right next to us. Oh boy, did it get noisy in there!!! We then headed over to Kim and Tom's house so the kids could have a water fight. Eli got way into the game...he even grabbed the hose and tried to drench Jesse. While in Muskegon, we stayed at Rob's aunts house. She was so excited to see us (likewise for us!). Rob ended up getting a pool for Eli to swim in as it was hotter than heck while we were there....we didn't miss the humidity at all!!

Rob was able to spend some time with his cousin Mark and I was able to spend some time with my friend Barb. Barb and I met at McDonalds and let the kids play and play...I won't even mention how long we were there!!! Eli had a blast playing with Jack, Sydney, and Issac. Barb sent us a picture of all the kids and Eli had to tell everyone who's who....so cute! It was so awesome to sit and talk with her....I sure miss seeing her and her family! Also during our time at McDonalds, my friend Cally ( we taught with each other in Ionia) was able to stop in with her hubby and sweet baby, Lila! What a special treat it was to see them. Amanda was able to make it over for a night...it is always great to see her. It was so hot that I totally forgot to take a picture of her. She is visiting in July so I will be sure to take several pics of her them.

One night, we went and visited Cory and Megan. We got to met there latest addition, Lainey. What a cutie she is! Eli had a blast playing with their daughter, Ava. The night before our visit, I was talking with Cory and we were both a little concerned how the two of them would get along...they are both strong willed! I think they only had one disagreement, but it was settled quickly.

The next day, we packed our belongings and headed back to Joe's house. On our way there, we stopped in Kalamazoo to visit The Wilders. Rob and Craig were great friends in high school. It had been 24 years since they had seen each other. He and his wife have five beautifu children. All of the kids were so willing to help each other...it was great to see! It was very late when we arrived in Indy. The next day, we hung out with my brother for the day until we had to head to the airport. Rob had to help him get a few things done around the house....one of which was cleaning the gutters....oh the smell was disgusting!

The only person I didn't get a chance to visit was my grandma. Eli and I had a delighful drive our to Sparta....I have always loved that drive. When we arrived at her house, we were told she was at the doctors. Darn it!

I hope I have included everyone we visited while back in Michigan. One parting thought about our trip back to Michigan....We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.