After getting in to the airport a LOT later than we had planned last night, we decided to sleep in this morning. Then we had the drive from Detroit to Kalkaska to make. It's about 3.5 hours. By the time we got to our cabin AirBnB in Grayling and got settled in, it was late afternoon. Ammon, Grandpa Dietz and the 3 boys went fishing and row boating in Selkirk Lake. Meanwhile, us girls went grocery shopping and picked up pizza for dinner. We ate lake side then headed back to the cabin for the night.
August 2, 2019
Today we drove to Elk Rapids and played at the beach! We had so much fun! Our cousins came too! They brought a kids kayak which my boys loved! The sand was super soft, the water was super clear, they were having their city festival days in the park right behind us. It was a great day!
On our drive to Elk Rapid we passed a lot of side-of-the-road cherry stands. Some even advertised fresh pies. So on our way home we had to stop and get some! We got an "American" pie - it was divided into 3rds; 1/3 cherry pie, 1/3 apple pie, 1/3 blueberry pie. We took it home to eat that night. It was DELICIOUS!
August 3, 2019
Today we went kayaking on the river! We took Emma to Mark's cousin's house where she babysat Emma while we were out. Ammon and I both had a kayak with one of the boys in it, and Mark and Carrie shared a canoe with one boy. The boys had fun taking turns in the different boats. None of us were brave (stupid?) enough to take our phones on the river, so sadly we have no pictures! Caleb's favorite spot was at the front of my kayak (Daddy wouldn't let him do it on his kayak). He would crawl out to the tip, then sit down and hang his feet into the water. He had a life jacket on and in most places the river was only 2 feet deep. We had so much fun!
After kayaking we went to pick up Emma and had a lot of fun at Jeff and Lisa's house.
August 4, 2019
We went to church in the morning, then to Grandma Gerri's house for lunch. She cooked up a delicious meal! She had some activities for the kids too! That afternoon Ammon and his cousin, Kyle, went on a family history tour (Mark lead the tour) while the kids and I went with Kyle's wife, Jordanae, to their house to play. We had such a fun time!
4 generation picture
August 5, 2019
Today we left Emma with Grandpa and Grandma Dietz and the rest of us went to Mackinac Island. We got to ride the ferry to and from the island, which the boys loved! We went on a horse drawn carriage tour, went to Fort Mackinac (where I learned that Mackinac- French spelling - and Mackinaw - British/English spelling are pronounced the same way). We got some amazing fudge and saw all sorts of fun things!
Carriage Museum
Arch Rock
Fort Mackinaw
There was this great children's hands on area!
Views from Fort Mackinaw
Isn't it funny when you go back and look at pictures...you don't remember it feeling awkward when you took the picture, but when you look at you wonder why you did what you did! Why did I pick Isaac up so he couldn't touch the ground? He looks uncomfortable! Haha
That is Fort Mackinaw behind us
We had such a fun day on Mackinaw Island!
August 6, 2019
Today we packed up all of our stuff, loaded it all in the rental van and headed back to Detroit. On our way out of Grayling, we went to Heartwick Pines. There was a fun logging muesum with hands on stuff for the kids!
It was such a fun vacation, and wonderful to see where Mark grew up. We enjoyed exploring a part of the country we haven't been to before (Ammon hadn't been there since he was a kid).
Some things to remember from the vacation:
1. Caleb is our worst sleeper. He's even worse than 3 month old Emma. We tried and tried to get him to sleep well in the Michigan cabin, but nothing worked. We tried laying with him until he fell asleep and we gave up first (after laying with him for 2 hours). The nights that we magically did get him to fall asleep in his own bed, he would wake up around 3:30am crying and yelling. So he'd end up in our bed. One night we gave up. Told him to stay in his bed and then went downstairs to watch tv. A few minutes later he came walking down the stairs. Ammon said, "Hey, you go to bed," Caleb said, "No, you go to bed," then sat down on the couch and watched tv with us. I know it sounds naughty, and it was, but with his little two year old voice it was so cute too! Many nights he stayed up late with us because we didn't know what else to do.
2.Traveling with kids is a Trip, not a Vacation. You could also call it an Adventure. Vacations are when only adults go. Trips are so much fun, I love watching my kids experience things; but there is no sleeping in and no relaxing on the ______ (beach, front porch, etc).
3. My kids think hotels are the most amazing thing. EVER. Mostly because we typically do a pizza movie party at night. Conner asked if we could live in a hotel because he loves them so much.
August 13, 2019
I always love it when I look over and the boys are being sweet to Emma. They are all such great brothers!
August 16, 2019
I follow a local bakery on instagram and the other day they posted a picture of a cookie that said, "Some of y'all didn't have brothers who would WWE choke slam you just because they felt like it. AND IT SHOWS." I often feel like this is something my kids can/will be able to say. They're always wrestling. So when I see them getting along, it makes me so happy and I have to take a picture!
August 23, 2019
Caleb, who is 2 years and 3 months old, has learned how to ride our kid 4wheelers. He's actually pretty good at it. But before I show the video of him doing well, I have to show the blooper one...haha!
Notice he ducks his head long before he gets to the slide, the problem is then he can't see where he's going! LOL! It's only funny because he did not get hurt.
Here's the video of him doing a good job. Although he might not have the turning while backing up thing down yet...
August 23-24, 2019
Today is a sad day for our family. My sister, Elise, and her family are moving to Arizona. We got to have JD and Maia sleep over at our house the night before they left. My kids kind of get it. They know they are moving far away so we won't get to see them very much anymore. But they still ask to play with JD and Maia.
As we Elise and I were talking before they left, she said something like, "I think I'm going to be able to make it through our good byes without crying, but I really am sad to be moving away from you." and then we both started crying. It was so much fun having them live so close to us! We got to see them about once a month, get together for all the birthdays, holidays and special occasions. Our kids got to know each others by playing and having sleepovers. Elise passed hand me downs to me, and then I passed (what was left of them) back to her once Caleb grew out of them. We would babysit for each other so we could date nights, or just a night off. I am truly going to miss having her so close. We love the Cranmer family so much!
Friday Night
Luke is catching up to Emma in size. They're 1 1/2 months apart in age. So when Luke was born there was a bigger size difference.
Saturday Good Byes
August 25, 2019
Sunday Naps. Yes, Emma is a thumb sucker. She's our first one to be a thumb sucker. It's kind of cute (right now).
August 26, 2019
There was a teeny tiny puddle of water in the back yard. But if you know Caleb, you know he found it!
He looks so big/tall/old in the picture!
Caleb is such a sweet, loving, adorable boy (when he wants to be). We sure love him a lot!
August 30, 2019
Caleb wanted to help with dinner tonight. He kept telling me, "It's hot! It's hot!" over and over again. It was cute so I wanted to record it, but of course as soon as I start recording he stops saying it...It's still fun to hear his little boy voice. It will be especially fun in 5 years!
