We Love Daddy's Vacation...

One week down, and I'm sure no one will be surprised to read that we are still lovin' daddy's summer break. So many fun things to do; so much time to do it. Perfect. This past weekend, we had some good friends come to visit us from Indianapolis, Indiana. Elizabeth and I have been friends since we were little and our friendship has endured, even though we haven't lived in the same town since second grade. It was so great to see Liz, her husband Adam, and their two year old twins, Hannah and Noah. We tried to find lots of fun things to do, despite the crappy weather.

We went to Lake Huron in Bay City for a beach day. We all got soaked on the walk to the beach, but then the sun came out just in time. (This was after driving around Bay City for over an hour, looking for some indoor activities until the thunderstorm passed.) It was quite the adventure, but the kids had tons of fun playing in the sand. I think Anna and Ben-Ben were the only ones to go in, which was actually pretty gross from all the beach muck. Let's just say, it wasn't Lake Superior. *I have to give Adam credit for all the beach pictures. He has a great camera and great photography skills...thanks.*

Splashing around.

Beach babes.

Ben-Ben exploring the beach with daddy. I think one year olds in general are so stinkin' cute, and I'm particularly biased toward my own. They're still so little, and chubby, and baby-like in many ways. Yet, they act like they want to be little grown ups, walking around, being taken seriously. It cracks me up. (I also think that Ben looks like Charlie Brown a lot of the time.)

We went up to Frankenmuth to do some exploring, look through some shops, all while trying to avoid the rain. There was a war reenactment of Bunker Hill from the Revolutionary War. Ethan, Adam and Anna stayed to watch. Anna thought she'd be able to take part. But when she realized it was so loud, she changed her mind.

Of course we went to Bronner's. We couldn't let Liz and Adam pass up the chance to tour the largest Christmas store in the world. The picture of Elizabeth is posed. She kept getting so excited about all the cute Christmas stuff she was seeing, wanting to buy it all up, and I never had my camera ready. So, this was her re-enacting it...I forced her to. It turned out a little more crazy looking than excited.

And finally, more Children's Museum pictures. During the summer they have a whole outdoor section. Anna was of course drawn to the garden. (Ben, on the other hand, is drawn to the sandbox and big pile of dirt...trying to role around in each.) On a previous trip Anna was able to help plant some veggies and flowers, so in the picture above she's checking in on "her" tomato plants. For not having a garden of our own, and for Anna being so in to gardening, we've found lots of opportunities this summer. Finally, the last picture of Anna is her enjoying her favorite exhibit. It's called Camp Bowinkle, and Anna loves to pretend she's camping. So, there are a few of the fun things we did this week. We're taking a few days to prepare, then we're off to Marquette.