Trip to Michigan for Gram's 90th and Mackinac Island

We went to Michigan for Jason's Grandma's 90th birthday party. Elliott, Jill, Emma and Olive arrived to Jason's mom's house within hours of us. They drove from Minnesota. Its so fun having the 4 girl cousins together. This was dinner out on the deck.

 The next day was the big party! Family came from far and wide in honor of Gram's.

 This is a pic of Gram's with her 4 children.

 The party was a lot of fun on this river boat that slowly cruised down and back during lunch and live music.

 The day after was our treck to beloved Mackinac Island. We had a bit of a drive to get there and were very ready to pile onto the ferry. The last time I was in Michigan 3 years ago we also went to Mackinac Island (my first time) and we all had a ball! Brooke was only 14 months and our last morning on the island I found out I was pregnant with Skylar!

The 4 adorable cousins - Skylar, Brooke Olive & Emma.

Elliott with his baby girl Olive.

We loved Mackinac so much that this time we decided to stay a day longer than our last visit. Good thing we did because our first full day on Mackinac was unfortunately cold and rainy! The only thing we did was ride our bikes to the Fort and took a look around. This pic is the view from the fort.

Skylar is always 'on the phone'!

 For those who don't know, I should mention that on Mackinac Island there are no vehicles. This is definitely a main part of its charm. The only transportation are bikes and horse drawn carriages. There are a few horses that you can ride on but you have to be older. However this family owned business let the girls ride a horse around their yard. This was Skylar's first time and she was a bit scared but Brooke loved it!

We rented a 3 bedroom condo for us all to stay in and make our own meals. The only place on the island to rent a condo this big is 2 miles from the main downtown but it gave us a good reason to spend more time on our bikes. 

These pics are back at the condo on the cold/rainy day. We brought some activities for the girls. Emma loved the color in tattoos!

Watching a movie on the iPad.

 The next day we visited the Butterfly Garden. Brooke of course doesn't remember going last time but absolutely loved it! Skylar's was too scared to hold a butterfly until the very end.

The little girls goofing off.

 The second day was still not the best of weather, really foggy out on the water. You can barely see the light house in this pic.

 There was a live performer at the park where we hung out and listened to her for a bit.

 Then the girls got bored and headed to the beach. They could have spent all day here checking out the rocks and throwing them into the water!

Then it was back to the condo and more goofing off. Skylar trying to 'pump up' Olive!

 Then Elliott treated us to take-out desserts from a neighboring restaurant! On our last visit they had AMAZING carrot cake of which we ate every night. I can't believe the new chef decided to remove this from their menu!

No naps result in one tired little bear.

Heading out biking on our 3rd and sadly last full day. Brooke rode up front in this cute bike seat on our last visit!

 We biked around the island on the 8 mile trail. 8 miles doesn't sound very far but when you have 4 kids in tow with the oldest - Emma (6 years old) biking herself, it takes a while! Lots of stops to build rock towers and have lunch. The day started out very foggy again but burned off.

This is where Olive took her naps everyday. :-)

 Lunch time on the beach over looking Mackinac Island bridge.

Then is was off to get ice cream in town, strawberry for all the girls!

That evening we hung out at a school playground where the kids could play. But one big kid decided to play too. Elliott tried to do some fancy tricks on his NEW bike and tacoed the back tire when he landed! Surprisingly a bike shop in town was able to hammer it back out so he could ride again. 

Our home was Sunset Condos appropriately named for the amazing sunsets!

Our final morning on the island was by far the best weather day yet....sigh. We left early so the streets were pretty empty. The pic below is going down the hill from the upper part of the island. This hill is a killer going up with kids.

The beautiful Grand Hotel in the middle of this memorable hill.

Gorgeous day on the boardwalk.

Downtown with the horse drawn carriages.

I love this picture of Emma. No its not a real snake but she wishes it was! She looks so grown up in this pic! Can't believe she is only 6.

The brothers with their daughters.

Goodbye Mackinac

 After Mackinac Island we parted ways with Elliott and Jill. :-(  Last summer when Jason and Brooke were in Michigan they visited Grand Haven with his mom and had a ball. So we decided to go there for a couple of nights and headed straight for the beach when we arrived that evening. Unfortunately it was VERY windy and the water cold! Brooke did attempt to fly a kite by herself for the first time.

This beach is on Lake Michigan and is huge and gorgeous! Very soft sandy beach. Feels like you are on the ocean.

Carol and I waded in the water barefoot with the girls, they longer than me - too cold! We packed in our visit after only a hour. My feet were practically numb! We originally planned to stay in Grand Haven for 2 nights but the weather just put a damper on it. So we headed back to Carol's house the next morning. We were all disappointed and felt this visit was a bust. Oh well.

Back at Carol's house with the girls dressed up in their ballet dresses they received from Carol for the birthdays.

We paid Great Gram's a visit at her home. So sweet to see her with my girls.

Our last day in Michigan was Father's Day. The girls wore adorable matching outfits this day too from Carol. Jason and I did not plan on matching them but it worked out! Looks like we dressed for a family photo shoot. :-) All we had time for this day was brunch out and then stop by Great Gram's again for a goodbye.

Four Generations

Jason said the best part about Father's Day was when we walked down the isle of the plane everyone looked and many commented on our adorable girls.

We had a wonderful 10 day trip and the day after we got home we took possession of our new house! June was a busy month.