July 2017

Summer!  My favorite time of year.  I'm wondering if I will think that after the boys are grown.  I just love the flexibility to do fun things when school isn't in session.  We had a great July!

David and Brennan headed to Mississippi for the 4th of July weekend while Thomas and I stayed in town because of his work.  The restaurant is especially busy during holidays.  Here are Brennan and Daddy looking at a tank in town.

I got to see Laure, Peter, Kate, and David and their friends in Louisville.  The Browns were up to explore the caves.  We met up in Louisville for a wonderful dinner at Mussels & Burger downtown.

David got back in time to see the fireworks and attend wine club at Eric and Cindy's!

Then we lit some of our own sparklers and waited for Aunt Shelly, Danielle, and Natalie to make their way to us.

Brennan loved all the attention from the girls

Especially the walks

They truly get me!

We stopped by Hotel Indigo to see Miles

And completed the Where's Waldo activity with the downtown merchants.  We always love it when the Bretheims visit!

We had a few rainy days in a row so I took the boys for some day trips - including a day of Duck Pin Bowling at Fountain Square

And a quick trip to Mississippi so Thomas and I could see the family too!

The boys with Grandma Carolyn

Brennan and I were at Kroger when what drove by, right in front of us?  Had to stop for a quick photo.

We attended a block party downtown.  Look how grown up they are?

Brennan drove us around town quite a bit in July.  He has his permit but doesn't get his license until April 2018.

David and I had a GREAT time exploring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail with Mike and Renee.  A perfect summer day in Kentucky!

The Art Museum at the 21c Hotel is a must see.

And please don't worry about Bailey.  He had an awesome July as well.  Here he is, begging for something.

His regular perch on the desk where I work on the computer and he can look out and growl at the walkers.  This time, a cat showed up on our front porch and he was HOT about it.

Loves to be petted by his brothers, but always wants to have his eye on Mommy.

More driving with Brennan (Mom, photos again?)

An awesome night at Cabaret at the Commons with my friend Amber.  This time Kyle Dean Massey (from the tv show Nashville, several Broadway shows...) was our guest and he was incredible.  

And then we went on a family trip for just a couple of days before school started.  Seven years ago Grandma Nan and I took the boys on a Circle Tour of Lake Michigan.  Two highlights were the 450 ft. dune at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Mackinac Island.  We returned this time with Dad!

Quick stop through Notre Dame on the way north.

Sleeping Bear Dunes was a hit!

The hikers climbing up.  The boys have been wanting to do this climb for 7 years!

They made it with Dad!  All the way down to Lake Michigan, and all the way back up! 

We spent a day on Mackinac Island as well.

We had to recreate 2 photos from 2010 and 2017!

They thought it was funny to cry by the Town Crier sign in 2010.  This year, they didn't think I was as clever.

And, the start of Thomas's senior year - first up - Senior Portraits!!

Holland, Michigan

Our last stop on our Lake Michigan trip with Grandma Nan was Holland, MI.  I had heard a lot about Holland and would love to see it in the spring when all the tulips are in full bloom!

See the purple circle for Holland's location on the Lake Michigan coast.

There are a number of Dutch tourists spots and some pretty city parks in Holland.  We spent time at one Dutch shop - Veldheer's.

They have imported Delft (pottery) from their shop in Holland (Europe), and they paint some of the pottery at the factory in Holland, MI.

I liked the nativity sets.

The boys tried on wooden shoes.

But what they were most interested in was a wooden duck that when you walk, it's tail feathers and wings flap.  They chose to pay for this duck with their own money and he quickly became they're new little brother.  They've named him Holland.  (We clearly need a pet)

Here a lady is wood burning Holland's name and the year onto the duck.

The boys were so, so, so happy.  They even strapped Holland into the seat belt between them on the way home.  Really, we need a dog.

101 Places to See Before You're 12 - A Big Dune

A Big Dune

We spent one day on our trip doing a LOT of driving on the coast of Michigan in order to get to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  If you'll check out this map you'll see the yellow line where we drove one morning and the arrow indicating Sleeping Bear Dunes.

The drive was long - we went through countless cute little towns that I would love to return to visit someday. Along the way we stopped several times to enjoy the views.

The boys decided to see where this trail led them.

Thomas scaring me by jumping from rock to rock to rock to rock...

We made it to Empire and then took the Sleeping Bear Dunes scenic drive.

The Native American legend is that there was a fire on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan.  A mother bear and her two cubs went into the lake and tried to swim across to the other shore (Michigan).  They didn't realize how big Lake Michigan is.  The mother made it across, but the two cubs drowned just shy of the shore.  There are two islands at Sleeping Bear called North and South Manitou Island in honor of those cubs.  The mother laid on the shore watching and waiting for her cubs and a large dune formed in that spot.

Below you can see North and South Manitou Islands.

We saw a lot of dunes along the drive.

Beautiful landscape all along the way.

Pretty dunes.  But nothing prepared us for...

...this observation point along the scenic trail!

It is really hard to show in photos how steep this dune really was.  Or how beautiful it is dropping straight into Lake Michigan.

This photo here shows about 1/3 of the way down.

The guy in the tan shorts, white shirt and white hat is standing about half-way down.  That's as far as I let the boys go.  Many families weren't letting their kids go that far.  From that point, it's a pretty steep slope straight down.

Here I am from another observation point showing the portion that you can't see from the top of the dune.  People returning have to walk using their hands to get back up.

But I'm sure when you're down there it's gorgeous!  I would love, love to return with David (and the proper shoes) and do this hike down and back up.  It was killing the boys not to get to do it.

After Sleeping Bear we went to a small town off the dunes and played on their beach.

It was a peaceful weekday afternoon and we all needed a little time out of the car (me especially!)

Thomas built a dam.

And Brennan built the Great Wall of China.

From the Book:

#49 - A Big Dune

A barrier island, a mountain of sand, a shifting desert:  sand dunes take different shapes in different places.  In coastal areas, they're fragile:  each year the sea claims a little bit more of them.  You can look, but you can't walk on them.  Even a little human activity can harm them.  In desert areas, they can stand up to anything.  You can hike up, roll down, or even "sandboard" across them.  And even though the wind constantly reshapes them, they remain more or less in the same places for years.  Lovely to look at or fun to play on, sand dunes are definitely worth a visit.