Pentwater

Staley's week at Miracle Camp was the week before our Pentwater vacation.  We picked her up from camp and continued a few hours north to start our annual family week of vacation in Pentwater.

Our week in Pentwater upheld all the traditions we hold dear.

We stayed together with my brothers and their families.  The cousins loved playing together every single day.

We ate dinner together every night, played games,...

read books...

played Shopkins and Hatchimals,...

and got to help Grammie and Grandpa celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with dinner, decorations, cake, a card shower, and a special video tribute from friends and family.

When the weather cooperated, we spent our days at the beach.  Our last 2 days were rainy and cold, keeping us from the beach and sending us all home a half day earlier than usual.

We had a couple really nice days at the beginning of the week and we braved some wind and chilly weather to take advantage of the beach on a few other days even when the weather wasn't ideal.

Staley enjoyed braving the cold Lake Michigan water to go swimming every day.  She also went on beach walks and dune adventures with her cousins and beach cousins.

She enjoyed spending more time this year with Nellie and Gabby, two of her slightly older "beach cousins" (my cousins' kids).

Adelie did not venture into Lake Michigan much, but enjoyed building sand creations, playing in the inlet, and playing restaurant with Grammie.  She really enjoyed spending time with her cousins Caroline and Lucy throughout the week.

Collecting beach rocks was another favorite Adelie pasttime.

Briggs loved playing in the sand, going into the dunes, and playing in the inlet.  He got braver with playing in the shallow water of Lake Michigan, but never ventured too far into the big lake.  He really enjoyed spending time with his beach cousins Gabe and Knox this year, who are both about his same age.

We enjoyed a few evening walks to the beach to watch the sunset.

Walking into town for ice cream is always a highlight.

Spaghetti night with the extended family (all 52/57 of us) is always a fun tradition.

The best part of every year in Pentwater is the opportunity to spend quality time with family.

Whether we are playing games all together...

or watching the sunset...

or walking into town...

or making our own rainy day fun...

or playing at the beach...

...the best part is being together with family.

It wasn't our best week of weather...

but it's still one of the best weeks of the year.

Hooray for Pentwater!!

Miracle Camp

Staley enjoyed a week at Miracle Camp in Michigan with 3 friends back in June.  She spent the week enjoying activities like swimming, zip lining, rock climbing, archery, playing games, doing crafts, enjoying her friends, and deepening her faith and understanding of God and his goodness.

Staley went to camp with the same friends from last year...Lilian, Kelsey, and Kaitlyn.

She was in a cabin with her 3 friends, 4 other girls, and two counselors.

She loved going to camp with her friends, but really enjoyed getting to know the other girls in her cabin too.

Staley said that she began to get homesick the last full day of camp, but otherwise really enjoyed her time.

The house seemed different and quiet without Staley here, but we got to see pictures that the camp posted, monitor what she bought at the camp store each day (smoothies, candy, and a stuffed animal), and send her e-mails telling her how much we missed her.

Adelie told us daily how much she missed Staley, although Briggs enjoyed having the opportunity to sleep in Staley's bed each night so that he and Adelie could have "sleepovers" together.

Staley was exhausted by her week away, but...

I'm so glad she had the opportunity to enjoy a week at camp, growing in her independence, her friendships, and her faith.

Summer Fun

We started off our summer with our South Dakota trip and leave in another 2 days for our Michigan trip.  In those few weeks in between our trips, we've filled our summer days with lots of fun and time with friends and family.  We've enjoyed play dates and sleepovers and swimming and library programs and camps and outdoor fun with neighbors.  

Staley went to a sleepover for Josie's birthday.

The kids had some friends over for an afternoon of water fun.

We enjoyed a fun get-together with cousins...complete with a performance, of course.  Their original production of Rumplestiltskin was their best show yet!

We've fit in several swimming outings.  With cousins...

friends...

and solo.

We've enjoyed story hours and art activities through the public library summer reading program.

We celebrated Caroline's 7th birthday at her house with more water fun.

The kids attended a 3 day, all-day church camp with Liam and Caroline's church at East Bay Camp.  They had a great time!  They also each attended a sport camp put on by the high school in town.  Briggs went to basketball camp, Adelie went to volleyball camp, and Staley went to track camp.

We went to a friend's house for water fun and popsicles one hot afternoon.

The kids had a great time playing with their friends.

Playing with neighbors and friends is an almost daily occurrence.

Catching bugs with Dava

A "creepy" fashion show with Charlotte and Lucy

Hours of American Girl doll playing with Annalise

Adelie's first time sleeping over at a friend's house with Stella.

And we also enjoyed a fun evening of shooting off rockets that the kids made with Zach.

Rocket building and rocket launching were both fun activities.

Staley hasn't built her rocket yet, but Adelie and Briggs both had their rockets to launch.

We have fit in a lot of fun in a few short weeks of summer already.  Looking forward to lots more!

Growing Up

She is going into middle school.  She is taking on new responsibilities at home, like unloading the dishwasher, cleaning the bathrooms, and vacuuming.  She has a summer "job" of volunteering at the library.  She has been walking to the school and to the library by herself.  And now she's away all week long at Miracle Camp.

She's growing up fast!

Vacation Time

Today Adelie was asking me if I will have to work extra after being off a week for vacation.  I explained to her about "vacation time" at work and how they still pay me even when I am on vacation.  Adelie exclaimed, "I would just take vacation every day!"  

Oh, if only it worked that way.