Day 5 - Mackinaw City

We were up early today for showers and cereal and were leaving at 8:45a to hoof it up the hill to the backside of the fort.    

Each day, one person gets to fire the opening cannon at the fort.  I've tried several times to get a spot that worked for our travel plans and its never worked.  But believe it or not, when I called just last Thursday, our preferred day was open.  Yay!  

We met the staff at 9:15 am.  The young man that led us gave us a brief history of the cannon Tyler would be firing.  He went over the liability waiver and safety briefing and then got to the logistics.  The trumpet started to play, he gave Tyler the agreed upon ready sign and "FIRE!"  

It was so cool to be a part of!  Afterwards, we looked around the fort for a bit and then headed back to the boat.  We took a brief stop at the first church on the island and looked at the incredibly old stain glass windows.  Then I ran to Doud's Grocery Store for a few items and then back to the boat.

Once aboard we got busy with prepping to head out.  Our check out time is 11:00 am.  Just before we headed out, we saw some visitors in the water - 4 otters.  It was fun to watch and listen to them play in the water behind our slip.

We pulled out by 11:00a.  We have 12 miles to go but technically aren't supposed to arrive for 2 hours.  So we set our speed at 10 mph and just slowly made our way across to Mackinaw City.  The lake was super calm yet again with very little wind.

We stopped to fuel up and pump out and then made our way to slip A10 around 12:30p.

I ordered lunch from BC Pizza and while the boys finished setting up our water and electrical, Sammy and I took the scooters to town to pick it up.  We ate lunch and played a game of Ticket to Ride.

Then the kids took the scooters to find Tyler some ice cream.  Scott and I were gonna walk to Starbucks but found some bikes that are available to rent from the marina.  I was grateful for some wheels but have never rode a tricycle before and I was surprised how difficult they are to ride.  LOL.  Anyway, in spite of our how silly we looked, we pressed on and met the kids at Starbucks.

Then it was back to the boat for a relaxing afternoon.  We had ravioli lasagna for supper onboard and then decided to go play a round of mini-golf.

Tyler needed to head back for work so he and Sammy took the scooters to make good time.  Scott and I walked over to the postoffice to deliver some outgoing mail.  Then walked back.  Sammy worked on her audition choreography while I worked on church stuff.  After Tyler finished work, we listened to Sammy's latest script and then headed to bed.

It was a wonderful day!

Day 27 - Mini-Golf Champions

It was another great day!  After breakfast we got started on our schoolwork.  Because it was a beautiful and sunny day, we decided to do our work on the patio.

After lunch it was back to work!  We decided to take a break from school work and head out to play mini-golf.  We had a great game!  Everyone ended within a few putts of one another... and if I might add, I finished with three holes-in-one!!

The game wrapped up just as the sun was going down so we decided to do something different for dinner and headed to Broadway on the Beach.  We went to a restaurant that the kids and I visited two years ago called Rooster.  We were the ONLY patrons there.

Once we got home we had just a little more school work to complete so we wrapped that up and then gave the kids free time while Scott and I took Coco on a walk.  After we got home, we all headed to bed and watched TV in our respective rooms.  Good Night!

Golf and Beach on a Sunny Day - Day 19

As I woke up this morning and opened my eyes... I knew today was different already.  THE SUN WAS SHINING!  Wow!  There was an extra skip in my step as we got dressed and ready to start the day.  We decided to head out mini-golfing.  Tyler requested the dinosaur course.  The flood waters have receded enough that the main roads are all clear and most businesses have reopened.  

During the game, we saw a very large turtle warming himself in the sun...

It was a great game!  I lost my ball in a water hole (black balls are crazy-hard to find).  Tyler won by 3 strokes!  Afterwards, we decided to hit Red Lobster for lunch.

Right away, Sammy asked to feel a lobster.  Heck, why do we pay admission to the aquarium when we have the friendly staff of our local Red Lobster to help?

During the meal, our waitress accommodated Sammy's request for Elsa to have a meal with us... that's a main dish, side item, and beverage in doll-size containers.  And the kicker is, Elsa ordered something DIFFERENT than Sammy!  Sammy was so excited and Elsa thanked the waitress repeatedly!  I'm sure our waitress knew she was helping a young girl play dolls... but I'm not sure she understood the full impact it has on Sammy when people go out of their way to participate in her inner world of play.  We all left with full tummies and smiles on our faces.

Then it was finally time.  6 long days of no sun, no waves, no swimming...  We headed out to the beach!

While Mary and I relaxed in the sun, Tyler gave us lessons on how best to boogey board and Sammy dug holes in the sand and made drip castles.

We did it all - played in the sand, boogey boards, jumped the waves, and even spent some time down at the sand dune again... it sure is fun!  We even saw a little turtle heading into the surf... not much bigger than a ping-pong ball, he was fun to watch!

 

It was 6:00 pm when we walked back into the condo.  I couldn't believe it!  We took showers as quick as we could and then headed out for dinner.  In the end, the kids got McDonalds and the adults picked up some dinner from Mythos to give Mary a chance to try Greek food.  It was delicious again!

On the way home, we stopped by the Kroeger parking lot to admire this gigantic tree all lit up!  We sent a picture to Grandma Bev since she missed it last week because of all the rain.

It was a busy day... it was a beautiful day... we are all pretty tired.  So we decided on a family movie night.  The kids both snuggled in on the couch and we watched the Prince of Egypt.  It was so interesting to me to hear their comments and favorite parts.  We pointed out things that were different and the same as our Bible study these last few weeks.  It warmed my heart. There's no place I'd rather be than snuggled on the couch with these two!

Wonderful Weather and New Flavors - Day 11

Today we kicked off with another round of mini-golf.  This time we visited the Rainbow Falls course #1.  Both kids did great even with the higher temperatures this morning.  In the end, Bev and Tyler tied for the win.  Sammy and Tyler each shot a hole-in-one!

After we got finished up, we did Bible and made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

We spent some time down this afternoon at the beach again... enjoying the waves and sand.  Gretchen and Dean came out with us to jump the waves.  After the ocean, we had fun in the sand making castles and playing in the tide pools.  It was great!

 

After we got cleaned up we decided to go out for dinner.  The Ademas really wanted us to try a local Greek restaurant, Mythos.  I'll be honest... I was pretty nervous!  The only way I agreed was knowing there was pepperoni pizza for the kids.  I looked over the menu and had NO IDEA what or how to order.  So I asked everyone at the table if I could just try a bite of everything they ordered... which they warmly agreed.  We started with a dipping plate... four dips (hummus, tirokafteri, tzatziki, and melitzanosalata) served with pita bread, meatballs, and falafel balls.  It was amazing.  That left me feeling confident so I tried everything... Roka, Pastisio, Orphanie, Politiki, Gigandes, Moussaka, Briam...  I loved it all!  I couldn't believe it!  The kids did awesome waiting at the restaurant as our meal lasted 1 1/2 hours.  Tyler even tried a few new things!

After dinner we came back to the condo for Uncle Roger's famous Banana's Foster.  We enjoyed sharing stories and lots of laughs.

After I got the kids tucked into their beds, Bev and I went out on the patio to relax a bit.  We stayed up til 1:00 am just sharing and catching up... it was wonderful!

Another fabulous day!   Thank you God!

MiniGolf, WonderWorks, and Animal Facts - Day 10

Today was so much fun!  We started off with mini-golf at the Treasure Island.  It is a fun course with lots of steep hills to play.  Bev shot a hole-in-one twice!  The kids both did great!  Around the 15th hole, Sammy stopped golfing as she was starting to overheat.  But she made it til we finished and we all walked out together.  Tyler won. 

After golfing, we needed to stop for groceries, but Sammy still wasn't up to par.  So we picked up Steak N Shake and I left Sammy and Bev in the van eating lunch while Tyler and I ran in for the list.

We were wrapping up in the produce section when I realized we had missed Tyler's favorite crackers.  So I asked him to go grab them while I finished.  But he forgot where we were meeting... and, long story short... he ended up at the van.  Bev texted to let me know and I asked that he come back in.  When he saw me, he instantly teared up and ran into my arms.  I felt so terrible!  But he handled the whole situation so well.  I was really proud of him.

After we put the groceries away, we took some down time at the condo.  At one point, the house phone rang and Sammy beat me to it.  She had a lovely conversation with Uncle Roger... explaining we were doing Bible and were looking forward to our afternoon plans.  When it was my turn to talk, I was surprised that it wasn't actually Uncle Roger, but Patrick, the lobby attendant, calling to tell me we had received a package... Oops!  (Later on, we introduced Sammy to Mr Patrick so she would know who she had actually been talking too)

We called the Adema's around 2:00 pm to tell them we were ready.  Sammy had requested we visit the "upside down house" today so we all headed off to WonderWorks.  We had SO MUCH FUN!

 

 

We spent quite a bit of time exploring the exhibits.  Both kids really seemed to enjoy it and loved showing their favorite spots to Uncle Roger, Aunt Gretchen, Grandma and Dean.

After we all finished up, we took a jet boat ride and took in the rainbow overhead.

It had been a big day, so we grabbed take out from JimmyZ and ate back at the condo.  After dinner Tyler and Dean read us one of Tyler's new books (Who Would Win?) that arrived in the package earlier today.

We wrapped up the night watching a movie together that featured some pretty amazing animal facts.  Tyler was pretty intrigued!  The kids, Grandma, and I read a chapter of Ralph S Mouse.  Then they were off to their rooms to snuggle into bed!

Today was a great day all around.  Cannot wait for tomorrow!