We are a good road tripping family. We listened to lots of books on tape, ate lots of snacks, and traveled the 6 hours in the car like the road tripping champions we are.
This was our biggest Pentwater group yet. My entire family (both my mom's side and dad's) were in attendance minus my one cousin who lives in El Salvador. Although some people only came for part of the week we had one evening together where there were 58 of us (including a few in-laws and friends who are like family.)
All 23 of the cousins and second cousins, ranging in age from 3 months to 13 years.
My generation with all my siblings, cousins, and spouses.
My parents with their siblings and spouses
We had beautiful weather all week except for one (and a half) rainy days. We used our one rainy day to go out to breakfast, shop in town, and play with cousins at our house. The rest of our days were spent on the beach.
The best thing about the beach was playing with cousins. There were sand creations and dune adventures.
There was water fun. Lake Michigan was frigid (as usual), but that didn't stop the kids. However, the outlet water was much warmer and the kids played much longer in it.
There were tadpoles to catch.
There was reading time.
There is always a request for mermaid tales made out of sand.
My cousin's daughter, Nellie, was a big hit with all the younger kids. She was like the pied piper, organizing the kids in various activities and dune adventures. Wherever Nellie was, there were sure to be some younger kids following.
One day Nellie engaged all the littles in a game where they were baby seals and she was the mommy seal. They played this for at least an hour. So cute!!
She also spent some time teaching Staley how to play the harmonica.
Adelie still has a special bond with my Aunt Maggie and they spent a good portion of time playing together on the beach.
Briggs had fun playing with his cousins Caroline and Lucy...
...but he also spent lots of time with my cousin's daughter, Reese, who is 5.
And Valentina, who is just a few months younger than him.
Of course, Uncle Ethan might have been his favorite playmate.
Evenings were time spent at the house where we stayed with my brothers and their families. We again stayed in the carriage house with Uncle Ethan while the rest of the family stayed in the main house.
The kids loved having time to play with Uncle Ethan.
Staley always hurried to get ready for bed so she'd have a little time to read with Uncle Ethan before bedtime.
We celebrated Melissa's birthday with homemade pie.
And, of course, enjoyed s'mores night with the entire extended family. Because there were so many of us, we did not do spaghetti night as an extended family this year.
We still enjoyed a few nights of walking into town for ice cream.
There was game playing after the kids had gone to bed.
And, of course, beautiful Michigan sunsets.
As we were packing for vacation, Staley told me, "Pentwater is the place that feels most like home that isn't our actual home."
She is so right.
Pentwater does feel like home.
