Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Fourth of July

Festivities started with a visit to the Lakeside Festival in Crystal Lake with Grammy on Saturday (July 2nd)! The girls had a blast riding rides and eating ice cream.

Jem and I on the train!

Jade and I on the Carousel!

Ice cream break!

Afterward we went to visit Grampy at his new office!

On Monday (July 4th) I took the girls to see Finding Dory in the morning and then we played outside for the rest of the afternoon! Nate woke up in time for dinner (ribs from Portillos) and some fireworks at home! 


Ran into Jade's friend Ashlyn from school and her little sister!

She asked me to take this picture! 

Chalk obsessed!

Smoke bombs!

Jade really liked these!

Sparklers!

Happy 4th of July!!

Friday, July 1, 2016

St. Joseph, Michigan 2016

We made a return to St. Joseph Michigan for a quick mini getaway! We had so much fun doing some of the same things as last year, as well as trying some new things!! Warning, this post is LONG!

Ready to go!! It's about a 2 hour drive, which is perfect!

We got to check in early, which was nice! The girls checked out the beds while Nate unloaded the car!


Off to the beach for a picnic lunch and swimming!!

Lucky I caught her for a picture!

Playing in the sand with Daddy!

First real experience with wet beach sand!

Hanging out with Daddy!

Just relaxing!

Jemma's idea of relaxing!

Mommy & Jemmy selfie!


We made a quick stop at the splash pad after the beach, however our visit was short lived as Jemma was run over by another kid and skinned her knee!

We tried a new restaurant for dinner, Azul Tequila! Jemma was short on sleep and fell asleep on the 6 minute walk. We did wake her up to eat when her food came. ;)

Next we rode the big Carousel. It was taking a little long to get going and Jemma was a little impatient!

Jade loved it!

After we walked around downtown, had ice cream and took some pictures on these fun sculptures!

We had to stop at them ALL, multiple times! :)

The next day we experienced some unseasonably chilly/windy weather conditions! That didn't stop us, we continued on and everyone had great attitudes! First up was a stop at the Curious Kid's Children's Museum! 

Waiting for it to open!

The Veterinarian station was a hit with both girls!




This was Jemma's favorite exhibit. She sat on this stool, organizing food on a boat for at least 40 minutes!


The face painting station was also a hit. Nate decorated Jade with hearts and smiley faces!

Jemma only wanted hearts!

After the Museum we had a blustery picnic lunch and spent the afternoon playing at the park and walking by the beach!






 


Kids did a little quiet time/nap and the weather perked up, so we headed out for a chocolate treat and some more pictures with the bug sculptures!

:)


Afterward we headed back to the hotel and got changed for dinner, another ride on the Carousel, a stroll by the beach and more ice cream! :)

Repeat from last year, Silver Beach Pizza!!


These two were such buddies this trip!


Delicious pizza!



Sweet sisters!


The final morning we took a walk down the pier to see the Lighthouse and stopped for Mimi's cupcakes before hitting the road!










Such an amazing little getaway! Thankful for this special time together. Nate and I both think we are ready to extend Family Vacation another night or two in the future!! :)