Michigan in Collages

After an early wake up call (from a little man, not our alarm clock), an hour and a half car ride to the air port, dropping off the rental car, waiting in line to check baggage behind a group of 30+ tourist from Asia that all had over-weight luggage, a delayed flight, a four hour plane ride to Phoenix, a two second good bye with my parents (So sad for Isaac. He had their non-stop attention for two weeks and then all of a sudden they were gone), running to the gate to make our connecting flight, one more hour in the air, a major poopy diaper right before take off, and a car ride home on a California freeway during Friday traffic... Can you believe we finally made it back to home sweet home!?

It's 6:30am now but it feels like 9:30am. Isaac had been waking up between 7 and 8am Michigan time (4/5am our time) so I'm glad he is somewhat adjusted already! I was going to blog last night but I'm one of those people that has to be fully unpacked and have the suit cases put back in the closet the first day home. We also cleaned the house... The cats had the place to themselves the whole time so there were a LOT of fur balls to clean up! It was nice to wake up and not think about all I needed to do. Blogging was the only thing on my list today. Oh, and I guess grocery shopping... Ugh!

Back to our trip...

I've been going to Michigan at least every other summer since 1988. My dad is from there and his whole side of the family still lives there. My grandma passed away in February so this was my first summer back without her. It was obvious that something was missing.

We split the trip between the upper peninsula with my dad's brother's family and the lower part of Michigan with my dad's sister and family. Both are grandparents so Isaac had tons of toys to keep him entertained. I must say that Isaac always wanted to be outside. The boats, quads, and rock supplies were endless so it made for one happy boy.

Isaac has reached the "watch me" stage. The cutest was when he would call my dad (Iso) and then make a funny face at him. This went back and forth many times. Or he would call my mom (Mummu) and then do a big jump and expect a round of applause. This kid was working it!

The parks back east are absolutely amazing. They are castles that seem to go on forever. One park had THREE tire swings! I don't remember the last time I even saw one tire swing in California. These parks were definitely built with parents in mind. I think Shaun and I had just as much fun playing as Isaac did! I also love how they're tucked back in the woods and have nature trails to explore. Isaac loved calling for the frogs and little buggies!

Shaun and I were also able to go on two dates while we were there. The first was lunch over looking the river (it was on the 6th floor) and a movie. The second date was relaxing in the cool air by the boardwalk. We got iced coffee and then laid out beach towels under a tree and just talked as we watched boats go by. Simple, but priceless.

There is no way I can fully write about how wonderful our trip was. I want to say a special thanks to my Aunt Jean and Uncle Don AND my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jim for letting us stay with them!

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Favorite family pictures

Favorite Isaac and Daddy pictures

Favorite Isaac pictures

Favorite Isaac, Mummu, and Iso pictures

Favorite Isaac and cousin Luca (18 mo) pictures

Favorite scenic pictures

Favorite "there's a story behind these" pictures

(top left corner then clockwise: 1.) Isaac saw some girls laying on the boardwalk so he decided to join them. He crawled right up next to them and started giggling. 2.) Shaun took us for a little boat ride in the pram but I had a super hard time getting in. This belly just gets in the way. 3.) My poor mom picked Isaac up one day and threw her back out. She ended up having to find a chiropractor. Here Isaac is helping her stretch on a park bench. 4.) My Aunt Cathy was a 3rd grade teacher for 22 years. She knows every children's book by memory. She bought Isaac some books and read them to him. He is standing because he had to act out the dogs going fast in the cars. 5.) My cousin found a little deer and gave it to Isaac. While he was playing in the yard he saw my uncle's deer statues. He took the smaller deer up to them and said "baby" and "mama" and then had them kiss. So cute!