Petoskey and Mackinac Island

A few weeks ago, we all went up north to spend some time at Darren’s aunt and uncle’s cottage in Bay View, a tiny little gathering of cottages next to Petoskey.  Darren’s dad was there as well, and we had such a great time hanging out around town and going up to Mackinac Island.  The first night we enjoyed feeding the ducks down by the bay, and then watching a beautiful sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we headed up to Mackinac Island.  We briefly crossed over the bridge so that we could say that we had been to the UP, and then took the ferry ride over to the island.

We of course took a carriage ride tour around the island – the best way I think to explore the island for the first time.  It took us all over the island, past the governor’s mansion and the Grand Hotel, and one of the stops was a little butterfly garden.  The weather was beautiful and I can’t wait to go back!  One day is definitely not enough time to explore everything.

 

 

 

 

The next 2 days we continued to relax, and it just so happened that our good friends, Ashley, Kelly, and Ella, were staying in Boyne that week – just a short drive away.  On Tuesday we met up and walked around downtown Petoskey together, and the next day we spent some time at Avalanche Bay indoor water park.

Brooklyn’s favorite part of the playground was the mulch!  Later that evening, Darren and I took Brooklyn for a bike ride.  She loved riding in the trailer, but she wasn’t too sure about the helmet.

We rode down to the water again for the sunset.  Brooklyn sure loves her daddy!

 

The next day was Avalanche Bay.

It was a nice little family and friends getaway!  We enjoyed every moment of it – and we can’t wait to go back!! 

I have a lot more random pictures to post – but it is time for bed.  More to come soon I hope!!

What have we been up to lately?

Things have been busy around here as always. Sorry, this blog is a little random. :)

Darren has been to Europe with work and is currently in Guadalajara, Mexico. I would have posted some pictures, but he didn't manage to take any with himself in the picture.

We went to the Sigma Gamma Fireworks, a fundraiser for the Detroit Institute for Children, hosted at the Eleanor and Edsel Ford Estate in Grosse Pointe Shores. This was my favorite picture of the evening.

Brooklyn has been playing hard these days, and thus...sleeping hard. :)

We went over to Ashley and Kelly's for the Fourth, and had dinner while the kids played. This is something that I rarely see, so I had to capture it on film. That's right. The guy on the left, is Darren, working on his culinary skills with Ashley. I had to point him out because Darren in the kitchen is such a rare sight!! :) Sorry, honey! :) (Dinner was awesome by the way!)

Brooklyn and Ella played.

And then the little grubworms took a bath.

We had a family picnic at church yesterday. I just thought the outfit was cute.

Since Darren wasn't here, I let Brooklyn get a little messy with her spaghetti. (He doesn't like the messiness so much...but she did! :))

We blew up a pool for our yard a week ago, but it has been so cool, we haven't had the chance to use it yet. So, it was finally warm enough yesterday. Brooklyn didn't know quite what to think about that amount of water with that much freedom, but I think she liked it. The post-ponytail hair is my favorite!

Well, that pretty much gets you all caught up. Just a funny story to end on....

Last night Brooklyn and I were hanging out and she was sitting on my lap acting goofy, and then she leaned in to give me a kiss. You are thinking "how sweet"... so was I. Brooklyn is in to giving these open mouth kisses right now. No matter how many times we model the "kissy lips", her mouth always pops open. At any rate, she leaned in to give me a kiss, and when she opened her mouth, she burped in my face. We both thought is was hilarious! I got tickled more because she made herself laugh. Such a silly girl and such a sweet little blessing!