Family Vacation

I'd have to say that the highlight of our summer was our family reunion to Three Oaks, Michigan. We had so much fun. The kids were really looking forward to going away for a whole week (so were we!) and it turned out to be everything we hoped it would be...fun and relaxing. We stayed at this great place called Lakeside Cabin Resort. It was a very family friendly place
and our cabin was fantastic!

Here's our cabin! This was home for the week. It had two porches...a little one on the front with two rocking chairs and a huge one off the back. Our neighbors on both sides spend summers there and were very friendly.

This was the best part of all...the loft! The kids absolutely loved this cozy space and claimed it as their own. The ceilings were just tall enough that we were able to set up Marissa's pack-n-play up there, as well. Aunty Melissa and Uncle Rick stayed up there too when they joined us later in the week.




This was our family room/kitchen area.






We did ALOT of fishing..both real and pretend! The resort had a little beach with a dock that the kids could fish from...it was perfect for them.
Tom took Jacob almost every day to throw in his line. I think he asked us (at least) 20 times a day if/when he could go fishing...it was hilarious. He caught quite a few fish over the week!

The resort provided everything we needed to go out for a canoe ride on the lake, including life jackets. Jacob and Jenna went out in their own canoes. Jenna was happy out there on her own until she paddled herself into the spray fountain in the center of the lake. Jacob had to rescue her. She was done after that! The little ones took turns going out with Tommy. Marissa loved it.




I've always wanted to go blueberry picking and it finally happened for the first time on vacation! I was definitely the most excited person in the bunch about this...but it WAS alot of fun and we came home with a ton of yummy blueberries.



Here's Jenna, Anna, Nicholas, and Jacob proudly displaying their harvest. We picked almost four pounds of blueberries!


My Uncle John and Aunt Nancy brought their speed boat up with
them and we were all excited to get it in the water. I've never been tubing before so I was a tad nervous, but Uncle John assured me that he would "be nice"...which he was the first time out...but my second ride was crazy! My family said they could hear me screaming from the shore. What a blast!! The raft was really cool...three people ride together. The end seats are extra bumpy. I almost bounced out of the raft multiple times. Here I am with my cousin Michelle and my Aunt Jan before my first ride.

The kids also rode the raft and Jacob and Jenna loved it. I was AMAZED that Jenna agreed to go out! She tends to be a bit tentative in situations like this but on vacation she was open to trying all kinds of new things!

Marissa and Nicholas preferred the safety of the shore and spent hours on the beach wading in the water and playing in the sand. Aunt Jan gave each child a net to catch fish (or lightning bugs) and Nicholas spent a great amount of time trying to do just that. He never did catch a fish, but he had fun trying.



Beach "Connect Four" anyone????









We also visited some "real" beaches. The kids had fun exploring all the rocks and running from the tide on the shores of Lake Michigan. This beach was near the lake side town of New Buffalo where we did our shopping and went out for ice cream.

I just love these pictures...






This family picture was taken at the Warren Dunes beach where we discovered a new hobby...searching for sea glass! Jacob and I were especially interested and walked up and down the shore looking for our gems. We found lots of blue, white, brown, and green pieces but we weren't lucky enough to find red which is very rare. We came home with over 30 pieces! Tom, Jacob, Jenna, and Nicholas also climbed a 200 foot dune to the top at this beach!



So vacation is a good time to catch up on some extra rest and relaxation, right? This is where we found Nicholas after a returning home from a long day at the beach. He was exhausted and slept standing up like this for 2 1/2 hours! Marissa chose to take a snooze under the shade of Grandma's sunhat.

We had nightly campfires and each family took a turn hosting one at their cabin. It was so much fun to hang out with everyone, tell funny stories, play games, and of course make smores! We even made bananas foster one evening...yummy! The Brezinski's had a great set up...firepit and lake access for fishing! It was great family time.

Anna provided us some great relaxation time. She told us months ahead of time about the spa treatments that she would be offering on vacation. She took "reservations" and had quite the set up...full foot spa complete with massage (with scented lotion of your choice) and nail polish. Of course, every woman on the resort was there but I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that most of the men joined in, too! Here's proof...sorry Michael, don't be mad at me but this is just too funny not to share. And I do believe that cousin Danny opted to get the full treatment complete with a light dusting of glitter powder! My dad got not one, but TWO, pedicures! He was actually in line behind me and hovered around the entire time worried that someone would cut in front of him...too funny!

To cap it all off, a good friend of the family invited us to come have a bon fire on the beach. We continued our search for sea glass, watched a beautiful sunset, and gathered around the fire to stay warm...it got a bit chilly!







The girls...Shannon, Me, Anna, Jill, Lelah, and Michelle.


So, here we all are! I'm so thankful for my family. These are the people that matter the most to me and I'm so blessed to have each and every one of them in my life. We had a great time, lots of laughs, good relaxation, and tons of fun! The only bummer is that the Visco's weren't there with us the whole time (they came up for a day)...but they had a good reason for missing our reunion....


...meet Dillon Michael...the newest addition to our family. Welcome baby Dillon!