Earlier in August, we went up north for our family vacation. Since we had such a wonderful time in Frankfort last summer, we decided to head back there again this year....and we were so glad we did because we had another amazing time! It takes about 4 hours to get there, which considering we are used to an 8 hour drive to Wisconsin, really isn't that bad. We try to make the drive fun for Brett and Camden by packing lots of snacks and surprising them with special activities to do in the car. Both boys did really well and also loved stopping at Wendy's for lunch where they got prizes in their kids meals :-)
The first picture of our trip....eating at Wendy's and playing with their new toys!
I struggled with what activity to get Camden for the car ride since he is still so young, and after much thought, decided on this little magnet set of trains, planes, and automobiles from Learning Express. It was a huge hit....for about 10 minutes and then he was ready for a snack!
Fortunately, Brett enjoyed his activity book a little longer.......like maybe 20 minutes, and then he started to get a headache! Hey, at least I tried. I think next time I'm just going to pack tons of food and let them play with our phones the whole time...ha!
This picture cracks me up and is the essence of what parenting young kids is all about...coming up with solutions quickly and being flexible! As we were nearing our destination and driving in the middle of nowhere, Brett had to go to the bathroom. The next rest stop was probably only 15 minutes away, but Brett said he had to go bad.....so, Kyle found a side street, pulled over into the woods, and voila! Mission accomplished.
And about a half hour later....we arrived!!! Woo Hoo!!
Over the course of the week, I took so many pictures and can hardly remember what activity goes with what day! So, to make it easier on myself, I'm going to divide up my posts by the activities that we did :-) And our first one.....going to the beach and enjoying the water!! So much of our time was spent by the water and I literally took too many pictures to count! Here are some of my favorites (and there are a lot!).
We stayed in a motel right by a beautiful beach on Lake Michigan. Both boys learned the path to the water very quickly, and as soon as we would open the door, they were off!
The beach was most quiet early in the day, so that was our favorite time to go!
So beautiful and peaceful!
Camden loved hiding under our shade umbrella....and eating goldfish :-)
These next few pictures were taken at a beach on Crystal Lake, the lake that my family and I used to stay on when I was a child! We were so happy to find this little gem and the water was just how I remembered....crystal clear and absolutely beautiful!
Brett can be shy around new kids, so it was nice when this outgoing little boy started talking to him and sharing his squirt guns :-) They ended up playing together the whole time!
One evening Kyle took Camden down to the beach while I stayed back with Brett so he could finish watching a tv show he was into. When it was over, Brett decided he not only wanted to join them, but he wanted to get his swimsuit on and go for another swim! Well, I should've know to bring Cam's suit down too, because as soon as he saw his big brother jump into the water, he insisted that he go swimming too! Before Kyle and I could stop him, he was in the water, splashing around in his diaper and onesie! Since he was already wet, and we really didn't feel like going back to the room to get his actual swimsuit anyways, he swam around for 45 minutes just like that :-) Eventually his diaper expanded so much from the water, we just took off if and let him be free under his cute onesie! Both boys had the time of their life that evening and more than once I almost ran back to get my swimsuit too (but the thought of having to take yet another shower that day deterred me....I had already taken two because I can't stand dry lake water on my skin!).
Camden literally has no fear at all in the water, and watching him is no small task! But man is it worth it to see the joy it brings to his face. The biggest smiles I have ever seen are when he is swimming!!
And as always, Brett was a fish, too!
I can almost hear the Baywatch theme music as Brett runs down the beach in this picture! Love it :-)
Not much is more fun than an evening swim on Lake Michigan!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next vacation adventure....collecting rocks at the Point Betsie Lighthouse!
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