vacation summary

We are home now and so very thankful! Nothing makes you appreciate being home more than being away. I love walking into my clean house, smelling the eucalyptus, laying down on my bed and taking a deep breath. Axel walked through the house with this humongous smile and touched everything. It was precious to see my baby recognize "home". Abigail went straight to Maelei, while Amelia immediately questioned if they could go see if Elizabeth was home!

The 4 days in the car went far better than I could have dreamed. The kids blew my mind with how patient, entertained and content they were. This is not to say that there were no "moments" but that the expected moments were few and fleeting. I think Ryan and I had a harder time than they did...but then again, we are old! ;-p

Michigan was beautiful...in a 1950's/parent trap/horror flick setting kind of way. Hahaha! The lakes and waterfalls were breathtaking and the dunes were stunning. Abigail and I have decided that next time we go we WILL conquer Devils Slide, but not by rolling down as we do not want to break our arms or necks. Instead we will walk down (without falling) and climb back up! We start training next week, hehehe!

Ryan had a blast being "off" of Dad/student/work duty, instead spending time fishing, golfing, playing cards and shooting with his dad and brothers. He claimed the most points and was crowned "king of the yoopers!"

Abigail  loved the freedom! I tend to be a bit (or a lot) OCD and protective and the fact that I gave her some (the span of 5 cabins) to roam, and lots of time fishing and swimming were just what this girl needed! Oh, and she got to drive the golf cart which is always a big hit!

Amelia had lots of attention and time spent outside as well. She got to tag along on a few boat trips and swim/splash in the lake and run with the big kids. Of course my little social butterfly made a few new friends, Ethan and Riley.

Axel is such a happy baby and impressed his aunts with (what I am certain will prove to be temporary) ability to follow instructions! We finally celebrated his first birthday "correctly" with cake and he was loving all the new food he was offered and does not discriminate. He will eat pretty much anything and proved this when he picked up and ate duck poop. It made me quite ill as I saw what was about to happen but could not get there quickly enough to stop it. I shudder now thinking about it. He does not seem to have suffered any ill affects but I am still leery and pumping him full of the frozen milk I have in the freezer in hopes of killing any nastiness that might have found its way into my poor baby's system.

I am overwhelmingly happy to be home! I was not prepared to be quite so out of touch (no internet or cell signal) but I am proud that I managed so well. I had lots of time to spend with kids, reading/journaling and since there was really nothing else, I got to sit and watch HGTV and DIY because they did have satellite TV. I even got a break from dishes & laundry! :-D

We got to visit the Oswalds Bear Ranch and several state parks while we were there. Hiawatha National Forest was pretty impressive.  I do have pictures thanks to "vella" but they will require a chunk of time that I do not have right now.

There is still so much to say, but I feel like this pretty well sums it up so there you go. I'll get the pics uploaded when I find that elusive "free" moment. :-)