August 2019

August 1, 2019
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!

July 2019

July 4, 2019
We love the 4th of July! We'll be the first to admit, it's too hot to be outside, but we suck it up and have a fun time! Our city does a big party at our main park, inflatables, corn hole, yard games, live music, food trucks and end the night with fireworks. It's so much fun!

July 5, 2019
We really wanted to go to the beach this summer, and today was the day! With Emma being so little, we didn't want to stay over night, so we just did a day trip. Which is totally doable for us, we only live 2.5 hours from the Gulf. I didn't want to get my phone sandy or wet, so I pulled it out for 5 minutes, took pictures of what everyone was doing, and called it good! We had a super fun day! This beach is great for kids because it stays adult-waist deep for a very, very long time! Also, there is a play ground and a splash pad too!

July 6, 2019
I've started calling Emma "Little Miss Sunshine" because her smile is so cute that it brightens up anyone's day!

July 9, 2019
In case you need more proof...

Conner asked if he could get a picture with Emma

July 10, 2019
My kids all like to taught Daddy saying, "Na, na, boo, boo, you can't get me!" But of course Caleb's two year old voice is the cutest!
In this video Caleb starts off saying "Get me, Get me, Get me!"

In this one he keeps telling Daddy to "Get Isaac! Get Isaac!"

And one more picture because she's so cute!

July 14, 2019
Conner got this puzzle for his birthday. He has put it together up many, many times, but this time he wanted to show it to Grandpa and Grandma Eggett!

 

She really is such a happy little girl!

July 15, 2019
The boys love to dance!

July 18, 2019
For 3 years I watched a little girl in my home. She became a part of our family. We love her and looked forward to playing with her. When I went on maternity leave with Emma, I was planning on watching her again afterwards. But as the time approached, I wasn't feeling ready. I decided to just do 2 days a week. Unfortunately, her mom needed full time care so they found a daycare/preschool for her to attend. The kids really miss playing with her. We met up tonight at The Jumpy Place to let the kids play! It was so much fun to see her (and her mom)! Isaac said he didn't want to take a picture, so he wouldn't look at me. Kids.

July 21, 2019

We had a pirate and Spiderman come to our house today!

Caleb is our first kid who loves to lay on the floor to watch tv.

July 24, 2019
Headed to Grandpa and Grandma Eggett's house! Our flight was super early in the morning. It was suppose to leave at 6am, but left 2 hours late.

We decided to spend the day in Salt Lake City. We wanted the kids to see Temple Square and then we also wanted to go to This Is The Place Heritage Park since it's Pioneer Day.

Because we had been up for so long, all the kids fell asleep on the bus to This Is The Place Heritage Park! Conner kept telling us he wasn't tired. He got defensive when we said he looked tired. And within a minute, he was sound asleep!

This park was so much fun! We did panning for gold, petting zoo, sitting on horses, a train ride, a different train ride, splash pad, leather imprints.
We will definitely have to come back next time we are in town. We wanted to explore more but we ran out of time!

Somehow I didn't get a picture of Conner's "shoe". The day before I went to get his tennis shoes and notices 1 pair had a big ol' hole in it and the other pair drives me nuts because they won't stay velcroed shut. So I went out to our shed and got the next size up shoes for him (keep in mind that these are hand me down shoes). While waiting for the bus in SLC we discovered that Conner's shoe was falling apart. Upon closer inspection, the rubber sole was completely gone! When we got to This Is The Place, I was able to wrap what was left of his shoe with a bag and then using packaging tape, tape it up/on. This was the best we could do until we got to Grandpa and Grandma's house. It was a funny and memorable experience!

 July 25, 2019
With three new babies, it's time for family pictures! Not to mention, we haven't done them in 5 years! Conner was 2 months old last time we did Eggett Family pictures!

I can't pick just one of these pictures, I love all 3!

The photographer did a spot-on job capturing my boys! And yes, you have to see the whole progression to understand Caleb's personality. Notice we never did get a normal smiling one...

 

We ended up using this one

July 26, 2019
While in Utah, we visited Ammon's Grandpa and Grandma Fisher

July 27, 2019
Daddy took Conner and Isaac on a hike today. They had a lot of fun. They now think that every hike ends with ice cream.

  What handsome boys I have!!

July 29, 2019
My dad grew up at this cabin. I believe it was built when he was about 5 years old. They would live at the cabin during the summers because their house didn't have AC. I have a ton of memories from the cabin, mostly my teenage years. But this could quite possibly be my last time coming to this cabin. My dad and his sister, who co-own the cabin, are trying to sale it. So we spent 2 nights here at the cabin so we could have one last hurrah!

Conner liked the 4-wheeler the best of the three boys. So he got to go out on it more with Daddy!

Where the cool kids hang out...

Caleb didn't get a nap today and he literally fell asleep while we were out on a ride. I had to hold his head with one hand and drive with the other!

Momma's Mad Skills! When I was 5 years old, Elise and I wanted a Nintendo. So, with help from our parents, we did a phone book route to earn money to buy it. I haven't played it in YEARS, but it's like riding a bike...

July 30, 2019
Stewart Falls. Oh. My. Goodness. I haven't done this hike since before we had kids. I remember it being like a 30-45 minute hike in, pretty easy hike. I was so excited to do it with our kids! It took a lot longer than I remembered. A. Lot. Longer. On the way out, Caleb needed to be held most of the way; he even fell asleep on my back. Emma was super unhappy. She doesn't like the Ergo Baby carrier. Conner did great. Isaac was tired, but other than a little complaining, he did good too. We ran out of water on our way out. I highly recommend you don't take kids younger than 4, unless they're experienced hikers.

July 31, 2019
We visited the grave of our twin sons who passed away 6 years ago.

Then headed to the airport to go to the next part of our trip, Michigan. The boys did a really good job on the flight.

Unfortunately we had a layover. It was in Dallas/Fort Worth. We boarded our second flight and then had to de-plane because of mechanical problems. They sent us to the opposite end of the airport to a different plane. When we got there, we found out this plane had a broken AC and our flight was too long to go in a plane with no AC. So they sent us back across the airport, near where we had started. Now we had a working plane, but no flight crew (I guess they didn't have enough hours left to fly at this point). People were angry. We were just exhausted, it was late at night, our kids were tired and we still didn't know if we were going to be stuck in Dallas for the night. One lady told me she was sorry we were going through this with 4 kids. At this point Emma was screaming because she was so tired and couldn't fall asleep. I saw this same lady go up to the ticket counter, obviously upset. At one point she even pointed at me. I think she was telling them that they better do something for me because this was ridiculous! A few minutes later they brought a cart full of snacks and drinks for all of the passengers. They happened to put it right by where we were sitting, so I was able to get food pretty fast. The lady from before came up to me and asked if she could get me some snacks and drinks for all of my family. It was so sweet of her to be looking out for me.

We have come to the conclusion that going places with kids is called a trip. A vacation is when you go without kids. That being said, we had such a fun trip in Utah and were looking forward to our trip to Michigan!