Perfect Nantucket Day

While on the east coast with my parents they volunteered to watch the kids while Nick and I escaped to Nantucket for an almost perfect day.  

The weather was perfect 

We took the ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket Harbor and made a bee line for Black Eyed Susan's. . .fast, greasy, delicious!  This picture makes the wait seem more dramatic than it was. . .

We then strolled around town before renting bikes and heading out to 'sconset.  The best way to see Nantucket is via bike, we biked 26+ miles around the island taking in many sites.

Like the Brass Lantern Inn (famous Nantucket landmark) 

I took a snooze on 'sconset beach

This was Nicks favorite spot.  A bus stop.  It WAS shady with good people watching.

We also ride past the lighthouse. . .

 

And another lighthouse. . .

For a small island Nantucket certainly has it's share of lighthouses and big boats

We grabbed some clam chowder and crab cakes before ferrying back to the mainland.

Nantucket.  We love you.  See you soon.

365 Days of Grace

Gracie bear turned one today.  We didn't do a big party, but rather met a few friends at the beach this morning to enjoy the beautiful August morning.

Can't you tell all the guests at the party are age appropriate?

She was the youngest in years, but enjoyed kicking over the big kid sand castles and dipping in the water.

After our beach date the birthday girl took a 3.5hr nap.  Gracie you have been a sleeper since the night you were born.  Thank God.

Once Nick got home from work we enjoyed tacos and ice cream on the boardwalk, if there is one thing Gracie likes more than sleep it's food.

We followed up ice cream with some park and pier time not necessarily in that order.

It was a quiet birthday, perfect for our little introvert.  We hit all her favorite spots with {most} of her favorite people.  At the end of the evening she fell asleep in my lap as I stroked her messy hair.  Her hair is always a mess.  Tonight the tangled knots didn't bother me as I thought of all the fun places, people and things we experienced together for the first time this first year.  May she have many more years filled with new adventures and may she give me a few more years of messy hair to brush.  It was the perfect ending to a year I'll never forget.

Fisher was disappointed there was no cake, but what's new.

Happy Birthday Grace Louise!  We love you forever.

Since I am feeling sentimental I made a video of the last year that can be viewed at this link, I promise it's not spam.

http://flipagram.com/f/HixBsDUXwD

Dog Days of Summer

Fisher and Grace Louise spent the last few days with Jann and Horacio at Longlake.  They didn't have any fun at all, I could tell from the wet bathing suits and photos like this.  

And this. . .

Fisher is big into catching anything that moves lately- bugs, fish, toads- all better look out for the little man.

Meanwhile I enjoyed a couple of quiet days at home.  I even met a friend this morning at her studio for some painting al fresco.  This is her pic and her painting but you get the point.

The kids returned tonight just in time for some park play and fishing on the new dock.  Fisher caught 2 fish, including an elusive "shark with a mustache".  Who knew real life sharks lived in Spring Lake.  I'm not going swimming again! (I think the locals call them catfish)

Summer don't leave us, we are having too much fun!

Up North!

We spent a long weekend up north celebrating the last days of summer with my college friends and Nick's grandparents.  

FRIDAY

Katherine drove her honda civic to pick up the kids and me in Spring Lake.  Our husbands had to work, but we jumped at the chance to start the weekend early.  Flexible schedule = stay at home mom perk.  After some finagling we fit two car seats, two kids and much luggage in the back of the little civic.  We {thought} we were in great shape to make it to her in laws cottage in Harbor Springs. . .

Then we started talking and talking and talking. Next thing you know we are on empty with no gas station for miles.  Thankfully a sweet baptist church lady took pity on us and filled up our tank with gas from the lawn mower.  It will forever go down as the day I was saved by a baptist.

Katherine's in laws have an adorable cottage smack in the middle of all the downtown Harbor Springs action.  The Schaal and Thornton families joined us for some fish tacos and beach action before turning in for the night.

We also managed to snap this pretty cute pic of all the little guys. From left to right- William Thornton (2), Fisher (almost three), Levi Schaal (4), Isaac Schaal (7)

SATURDAY

We walked a couple doors down for fresh donuts from Johan's before cruising the farmers market.  Then we headed to the Schaal family cottage on Little Traverse Bay for swimming, supping and a bon fire.

Our attempts at photos were less (maybe more?!) successful. Katherine, Julianne, Laura, Me

All the little ones. . .

Doesn't this look like fun?  No really it was.  We must all have a high tolerance for chaos.

SUNDAY

We woke up at Walloon Lake in Nick's grandparents house.  Literally woke up as we arrived late the night before.  I should also point the kids slept in five different beds in five days.  We were all tired.  My patience in particular was at dangerously low levels.

However it's hard to be stressed at Bob and Lee's.  Awesome food, great company, beautiful view. As an added bonus the Schnee family was in town from Colorado.  We loved catching up with them and enjoyed the extra help with the kids.  It was hard to leave.  Nick has wonderful memories of summers spent on Walloon and loved seeing Fisher splash in the cool water.  

We had such an awesome weekend.  The question is- did we behave well enough to get a return invite next year?  

Princess Caroline & the Parade of Cousins

July brought a parade of cousins to Spring Lake.  Fisher could not have been happier.  Who can blame him?  Older cousins do things like push you down the street on a long board in your pajamas, let you throw sand at them at the beach, and answer to the name princess.

Thanks for visiting Youngjohns and Detenthals!  We loved having you. 

When Texas Comes to Town

My friends Courtney and Carolyn jumped on a plane from Dallas to visit us in Spring Lake.  I am thankful that in our short time in Dallas we cultivated lifelong friends.  Having these girls here for a few days reminded me how much I miss them.  Kind of like having a bite of an apple pie when you really want a ginormous piece or even the whole pie.  And yes I can eat a whole apple pie.  We're already looking ahead to our next adventure.  However, maybe next trip we can skip the thunderstorms, food poisoning and closed u-pick fruit farms.  

Friday we caught the sunset at the beach.  Our attempts at a jumping photo reminded me not to try and jump alongside classically trained Texas cheerleaders and dance team captains.  They breed them differently down there.

Seriously I ruined them all.  We had to try like 50 times.  Literally.  The below one must have been snapped just perfectly for the half second and inch I made it off the ground.

How do they just hang in the air?!  

Anyways then we caught up over drinks and the Grand Haven Musical fountain downtown.   Saturday captain Nick took us out on the boat and the rain began. And didn't stop. We made the best of it by hiking through the woods to the beach and visiting a local u-pick farm.  Lacking any fruit to pick.

We capped off the weekend with drinks and dinner on the town, Sunday morning church and shopping.

Thanks for coming girls!  Did I mention each of these girls has two kids?  The effort and organization it took to make this trek north was much appreciated.  Miss you big time.