Lake Michigan – part I

So as I mentioned in my previous post, we decided to skip Florida this year due to the oil spill and instead, we went north! I’d been to Lake Superior when I was very young but that was a LONG time ago and I didn’t really remember it so I didn’t really know what to expect of Lake Michigan. Let me just say – we were not in the least disappointed! It had everything I love about the beach in Florida, minus all the things I don’t like (i.e., jellyfish, seaweed, and saltwater burning my eyes!).

We set out bright and early on Friday. This little booger slept maybe hours the WHOLE 13 hour drive (which was obviously better than the ONE she slept on the way home).

She seriously did so well though! On both trips, we only had about 2 melt downs! It helped that she rode about halfway up there in my parents’ car! :) Zach and I enjoyed a nice little drive together! Here’s little miss enjoying stretching her legs while eating!

Uncle Greg was heading the opposite way as us on the interstate and we met up for a few minutes at a gas station!  

After making our way through Friday evening Chicago traffic, we finally made it to our house, which was beautiful and set in the middle of the woods! It was SO peaceful and nice (unless you were my 17 year old sister who was about to die because our 3G coverage was non-existent. Thank goodness she was still able to get texts out!)

First time to see the beach – I adore this face!

Ava LOVED the water. Like seriously loved it. Like TOLD it “i lu you” when we left for the week. :) It was such a joy to see her have so much fun! On calm days, we’d be out in chest deep water and she was right there with us, swimming back and forth between people. She learned how to kick her arms and legs and had no problems putting her face in the water! She also loved letting waves crash over her head! 

Playing with Aunt “Ste-FEE” (she calls Stephanie Stephie, but with a major emphasis on the fee sound”

She loved finding rocks and throwing them. Here she was about to throw two fistfuls of rocks. She had rocks in her hair and everywhere else imaginable!  

We stayed in Michiana, MI, which was right on the Michigan/Indiana border. The time was SO confusing. If I was in the bedroom at the house, my phone was on central time. If I took my phone into the bathroom, it was on eastern time. Anyway, we spent a lot of time in St. Joe. The beach there was GORGEOUS!!!!!!!! Seriously. I was in love with the beach there. Anyway, we have some friends who live in St. Joe, and they took good care of us! They cooked us dinner a couple of nights and took us around. One night they cooked dinner and Ava was about ready for bed and was whiney, when they asked if she wanted chocolate cake and she said a very empathetic yes!! She enjoyed it, as did we! :)  

The second beach day was cut short due to an afternoon thunderstorm, but we still had a fun morning! We also took a fun afternoon trip that I will write about in the next post!

So that gets you through the first couple of days! More coming soon! Thanks to all the commenters stopping by from Jenna’s blog hop! I’m definitely enjoying hearing from some new people! :) Hope you have a great day!