Panorama

You can use your mouse to move the picture in a 360 degree circle.

Big Shoal Beach

We all went to Big Shoal Beach this morning. It is on the south side of the island overlooking a sand filled bay. There are tons of rocks and sand and a fresh water stream right on the beach. It was windy, but the kids had fun digging and building all over the beach. We were the only ones there so it was nice and private. I love having such a neat place all to ourselves!

You Never Forget

Everyone says that once you learn to ride a bike you never forget. Well then, today was a day that Wyatt and Sam will never forget. They both learned to ride their bikes without training wheels today. It was so easy for them! I am sure that they could have done it years ago of we didn't live around so many hills, but they achieved this milestone on Drummond Island. They had plenty of support with both Mom and Dad running along side them, cheering each other on, Grandma and Grandpa watching, and even a little encouragement from some neighbors! It was exciting and we are so proud of our little cyclists!

Rock Hunting

We finally got some warm weather the past few days. It has been so nice to spend time down by the lake swimming and playing by the water. The sandy beach on the right side of our little island is ok, but there is still a big step down into the water and Shane has trouble maneuvering himself there. Yesterday we took a little rubber row raft and filled it up with lake water right next to the edge of the lake and gave Shane a few toys and he played there for a couple of hours and really enjoyed himself.

The other boys jumped on and off the rafts and threw buckets of dirt and water at each other all afternoon. Then they took a bar of soap that they found in the back of the golfcart and gave each other baths in the lake “just like grandpa”. They had to go underwater to rinse themselves off and at night they insisted that they didn’t need to take a shower because they took a lake bath!

Today John and I took the boys on a boat ride to harbor island to look for pudding stones. They each brought a bucket and walked all over the shoreline. We found a lot of pudding stones in the water just about a foot into the water. Sam was actually the best at finding pudding stones without help. He got so excited every time that he found one and wanted to know if he could bring it home!

When we got home the boys spent a long time washing and scrubbing their rocks clean! I am going to have to come up with some crafts using our pudding stones so that we can continue to funnel that energy into something productive and fun!

Daddy's Here!!!

We were so excited to see Daddy today after a week without him. He drove up here with a car jammed packed with groceries. We were pretty excited about that too because the boys normally big appetites are intensified by all of the activity! We are running low on food. We go through an entire loaf of bread a day! Seriously!


The thermometer hit 80 degrees today! We spent most of the day down at the lake. It was so nice to swim and enjoy all of the water toys. The kids were exhausted!


In typical Michigan fashion the weather cooled right off and we are sleeping with a nice cool breeze outside. Tomorrow's agenda: Fishing, strawberry picking, butterfly catching, some lake time, and a campfire!

Warmin Up!

Today we finally got a taste of summer on Drummond Island! We spent some time down by the lake and it was so much fun!

Sam-isms

Sam is enjoying every single moment on Drummond Island! He absolutely loves waking up here. Yesterday he woke up from his nap and gave me a huge hug and said "I love Up North Mom". It is so much fun watching him having such a great time. Yesterday Sam wanted to go down to the lake and check for turtles. I walked down with him and when we got to the dock Sam looked at a patch of lily pads and said "Mom, look at all of the froggy mats!"

Drummond island 2011

The boys and I are on Drummond island. We left on Sunday morning and met my parents half way and followed them the rest of the way here. It was a 10 hour trip and we only stopped 2 times... Once for lunch and once for gas! As soon as we got on the ferry to Drummond the kids got out of the van and went up to the observation deck with grandpa. They were so thrilled to be on vacation that they literally danced around the ferry deck shouting and cheering.

Then when we drove off the ferry the kids started screaming "yay we are up north!" they are so fun to be around because they truly enjoy everything about Drummond.
The kids have checked out the new four wheelers. Grandpa has 2 big ones and a little kid one. The kids took turns riding around the big garage for a long time yesterday and never got bored. They are having fun checking out all of the things to see up here.
So far the weather has been chilly and we have had to wear long pants and sweatshirts every day. It is irritating to me but the kids sure don't mind. They are finding plenty to do. Yesterday we went through three outfits for each kid because the kids were do dirty! When i gave them a shower at the end of the day the water in the bottom of the shower was literally black! They are living fully in the moment!

John will be up here at the end of the week and we are really looking forward to seeing daddy! Luckily we are able to webcam with him and can tell him all about our day, so he doesn't feel like he is missing so much! So far our vacation is off to a great start.

Flashback

We made a trip across Michigan and stopped in lansing to give the kids a little history lesson. This is where'd your daddy and I lived for 10 years. We met in our dorm Holmes hall. See the top floor? We both lived on the 6th floor.
Here is the bike path. We spent a lot of time trying to survive on that bike path... It is not as easy as it looks when there are thousands of kids all trying to get to class at the same time.
Here is the food science building. 10 years later we still can't find a parking space to let you walk in and see it.
Here is the garden where your daddy and I used to go all of the time. We got engaged on that bridge right there thirteen years ago.

When did i get so old? It is truly amazing to see my kids standing right there on that bridge! We would have never imagined how happy we would be together. I hope that my kids have such wonderful memories of their college days someday too!

Camping

We got back from Grand Haven on Tuesday and on Wednesday I left with the kids to go camping with a girlfriend and her kids. She has 4 kids too and they are all about the same ages as ours! We rented cabins at a state park in Pennsylvania. The cabins had 2 bedrooms, a family room, kitchen, and bathroom. Then it had a porch and fire pit outside. There were 10 cabins in a loop with a paved road connecting them all together. It was so great because we brought the kids bikes and they could ride around the loop over and over again without us having to worry about them getting hit by cars. We went hiking each morning and then ate lunch, let the kids nap, and then went swimming at the park beach until dinner. Then we ate and had a campfire until dark. We roasted marshmallows, hot dogs, and made smores and sat around the fire and relaxed. The kids all had flashlights and ran all over the place having a great time. John drove up after work and visited us at the campfire before driving home for work the next morning. As soon as we left the kids asked when we were going back, so I guess that means that they had a great time!

The Pick Up Man

This trailer was the best Christmas present ever! Sam is always driving somebody or something around in the trailer. He has learned to back it up really well and has almost earned his CDL license. His Daddy had a tractor and trailer that he loved to drive around as a kid too! Grandma Kathie and Grandpa Bill still have it at their house and the kids love playing with it when we visit. I will be shocked if Sam doesn't end up owning a tractor someday!

Who Needs a Bed?

John and I are constantly asking ourselves why we bothered to buy these two a bed in the first place! This is how they sleep 99% of the time!

Power Washing

John taught the boys how to use the power washer to clean their bikes!

He even taught Wyatt how to clean his tires!

Heavy Fish

When we were in Grand Haven over Memorial Day Jonah and Sam caught a bunch of salmon with John and Grandpa Bill. The kids were super excited to show us all of the fish in the cooler. We took a bunch of pictures and dumped the fish onto the grass. Then John moved the cooler out of the way and got everything ready to start cleaning the fish. We told the boys to put the fish back into the cooler so that they could get rinsed off.

Sam worked his little butt off and carried the salmon across the yard to put into the cooler. He sweated and grunted and used up every ounce of energy he had. Jonah just watched. Then John asked Jonah to help Sam and Jonah went right over to the other side of the yard and dragged the cooler over so that it was right next to the fish.

That story perfectly demonstrates the personalities of Jonah and Sam. Sam is a hard worker, but does not necessarily do things the easy way. Jonah never does more than he needs to and is always looking for ways to simplify things. Together they make a perfect pair.

This video is so funny. I laugh every time that I watch it!

John Deere Gang

Check out the gang.....