Ethan and Rebecca brought the babies to stay with us for a couple of weeks again. Let me tell you, coronavirus has been nothing but good to our entire family. Never in our lives would we have the chance to have Ethan and Rebecca with us for such an extended period of time so it is such a gift. I love that the top floor is basically theirs with all of us meeting in the middle while John and I have our own wing of the home. Last week, Ethan asked if we could go see some of the lighthouses since he felt that he needed a day off work and since he hadn't been with us yet. We scheduled the trip for Friday, and Ethan got the time off work. However, as the day approached, it looked like the forecast was more favorable (i.e. warmer and less rain) on Saturday, and with John having the entire day off on Saturday, we switched to Saturday.
A bonus was that I convinced Mark to come visit us for the weekend. May 16 and 17 were supposed to be his graduation ceremonies in Illinois from business school, but obviously they were canceled. Seeing on social media that people were hosting their own personal celebrations, I decided that we needed to do something like that for Markie as well. Knowing though that he doesn't have a reliable car at the moment, and knowing that he'd want to leave a car for Allison, I suggested that he rent a car AND that he rent a car big enough for our family to go see the lighthouses together. So, the rental company was out of rental vans, but he arranged for a very fun Ford Explorer (aka the cop car). And to boot, it was half the price of a van!
We set a goal of getting off by 8 a.m., and we did a good job, packing ourselves into the vehicle on time (this was after weighing ourselves since it was our weigh-in day and we had BIG plans for eating some mighty delicious food throughout the day). However, we wanted doughnuts. Like, it was a serious need. So we spent 40 minutes driving in the opposite direction to get a dozen donuts for ourselves from Dunkin' ;-). Let me tell you, #heaven. Chocolate cake frosted chocolate deliciousness. Ethan and Rebecca had packed a bunch of stuff for the babies. Markie was driving.
Man, being all in the same car was probably half the fun of the day! We had conversation for the three hours there, the four hours of driving in between lighthouses and the three hour drive home. So much awesome talking and eating and laughing. I loved it. And the Ford Explorer was really pretty amazing.
Before we even reached St. Joseph, Mark saw a sign for Chick-fil-A. It wasn't even a question--we took the exit, waited in a line of only eight cars, and got a whole lot of fried chicken deliciousness ;-)
We did the same tour as before since neither Mark nor Ethan had seen any. St. Joseph was the first lighthouse. The best thing about St. Joseph is the beach. It is such a beautiful beach, and for some reason, it's just not a very busy lighthouse. Rebecca had wanted to do family pictures, so we headed straight out. The sun was a bit bright so Brother didn't want to look up, but it sure was fun. And the lighthouses are just so picturesque.
Next up? South Haven. It was pretty busy there. I mean, it was difficult even getting through the small town to the beach. Not exactly. social distancing. No masks anywhere. We walked out to the lighthouse, but Mark told us we needed to head back because a lot of people were stopped at the end of the pier, and he was right. But of course, we couldn't resist a moment for Kennedy competition:
At the end of the pier, there was a small ice cream shack, selling cones. I couldn't resist when I saw all the flavors. Michigan sure does know how to do the cool, unusual flavors. I wanted to try six of them at least, but I settled on Michigan Pot Hole--just solid chocolate goodness. Again, it was a piece of heaven, sitting on a wall next to the ice cream shop, next to the lake in the sun. It made me think that summer might actually be coming.
We then drove up to Grand Haven. Grand Haven has a giant beach and parking lot, and over the past few weekends, the governor of Michigan has ordered the parking lots closed because so many people are there and NOT practicing social distancing. I kept my fingers crossed, but as we drove up, the police were parked in the parking lots, and no one was being admitted. It made most of us in the car very uncomfortable, thinking about being around all of those people (John being the exception), so we literally just drove by the lighthouse, saw it, and drove on.
The Little Point Sable Lighthouse was only an hour farther north, and it's one of my favorite lighthouses, and Rebecca and the babies haven't seen it yet, so we kept driving. Just driving up the shore though, heading north, the temperature dropped enough that we were putting on hoodies (well, John stole Ethan's because he didn't bring his own like I told him too...and yes, I'm going there). I was relieved when we pulled up to the lighthouse and didn't see more than a handful of cars. It's such a different lighthouse, and it ended up being everyone's favorite, but as Ethan says, that may have more to do with the experience.
We had brought swim suits, and Baby could hardly wait to get hers on. I looked up the water temperature after we left and had internet service again, and it turns out that she and Ethan were swimming in 44 degree water! But she didn't care. She jumped right in. And what a sight to see Ethan jump in too, being the good dad. Baby didn't want to get out, but when she could hardly talk because she was shivering so badly, we pulled her out. It was crazy watching her crying--she couldn't tell us why but it was obvious it was because she was crazy cold. After we got her back in warm clothes and John built a fire on the beach, she was happy as a clam again. But she and Ethan were jumping in the water, and swimming like otters. It was amazing to see how far out Ethan could go and the water wasn't even going above his knees. I can't wait until it's a beastly hot Michigan day sometime this summer, and we can jump into the cool waters of Lake Michigan.
So yes, Poppie built us a fire on the beach because he found a lighter. There was so much driftwood, and he and the babies and Ethan didn't have any problem lighting it. For being a tiny thing, it was just the right amount of warmth. It was a moment of perfection. The lake waves hitting the shore, the fire on the beach, being together as a family.
By this time, the day was ending and we needed to head back (I was teaching Relief Society in the morning in our new ward to women I had never met over Zoom....). We had decided that we wanted Texas Roadhouse but the one near our home was going to be closed by the time we got back, so we stopped off in Grand Rapids and picked up our order. We then talked some more and brought in the final few miles, rocking out to Def Leppard.
It was a terrific day. I can't wait to repeat it with Glo and the rest of the family this summer <3
A bonus was that I convinced Mark to come visit us for the weekend. May 16 and 17 were supposed to be his graduation ceremonies in Illinois from business school, but obviously they were canceled. Seeing on social media that people were hosting their own personal celebrations, I decided that we needed to do something like that for Markie as well. Knowing though that he doesn't have a reliable car at the moment, and knowing that he'd want to leave a car for Allison, I suggested that he rent a car AND that he rent a car big enough for our family to go see the lighthouses together. So, the rental company was out of rental vans, but he arranged for a very fun Ford Explorer (aka the cop car). And to boot, it was half the price of a van!
We set a goal of getting off by 8 a.m., and we did a good job, packing ourselves into the vehicle on time (this was after weighing ourselves since it was our weigh-in day and we had BIG plans for eating some mighty delicious food throughout the day). However, we wanted doughnuts. Like, it was a serious need. So we spent 40 minutes driving in the opposite direction to get a dozen donuts for ourselves from Dunkin' ;-). Let me tell you, #heaven. Chocolate cake frosted chocolate deliciousness. Ethan and Rebecca had packed a bunch of stuff for the babies. Markie was driving.
Man, being all in the same car was probably half the fun of the day! We had conversation for the three hours there, the four hours of driving in between lighthouses and the three hour drive home. So much awesome talking and eating and laughing. I loved it. And the Ford Explorer was really pretty amazing.
Before we even reached St. Joseph, Mark saw a sign for Chick-fil-A. It wasn't even a question--we took the exit, waited in a line of only eight cars, and got a whole lot of fried chicken deliciousness ;-)
We did the same tour as before since neither Mark nor Ethan had seen any. St. Joseph was the first lighthouse. The best thing about St. Joseph is the beach. It is such a beautiful beach, and for some reason, it's just not a very busy lighthouse. Rebecca had wanted to do family pictures, so we headed straight out. The sun was a bit bright so Brother didn't want to look up, but it sure was fun. And the lighthouses are just so picturesque.
Next up? South Haven. It was pretty busy there. I mean, it was difficult even getting through the small town to the beach. Not exactly. social distancing. No masks anywhere. We walked out to the lighthouse, but Mark told us we needed to head back because a lot of people were stopped at the end of the pier, and he was right. But of course, we couldn't resist a moment for Kennedy competition:
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| Brother spends a whole lot of time just watching Uncle Mark ;-) |
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| Mark just really wanted to take off his shirt. It was crazy warm and so many men were in swim suits. So John rode shot gun and took his off too ;-) |
At the end of the pier, there was a small ice cream shack, selling cones. I couldn't resist when I saw all the flavors. Michigan sure does know how to do the cool, unusual flavors. I wanted to try six of them at least, but I settled on Michigan Pot Hole--just solid chocolate goodness. Again, it was a piece of heaven, sitting on a wall next to the ice cream shop, next to the lake in the sun. It made me think that summer might actually be coming.
We then drove up to Grand Haven. Grand Haven has a giant beach and parking lot, and over the past few weekends, the governor of Michigan has ordered the parking lots closed because so many people are there and NOT practicing social distancing. I kept my fingers crossed, but as we drove up, the police were parked in the parking lots, and no one was being admitted. It made most of us in the car very uncomfortable, thinking about being around all of those people (John being the exception), so we literally just drove by the lighthouse, saw it, and drove on.
The Little Point Sable Lighthouse was only an hour farther north, and it's one of my favorite lighthouses, and Rebecca and the babies haven't seen it yet, so we kept driving. Just driving up the shore though, heading north, the temperature dropped enough that we were putting on hoodies (well, John stole Ethan's because he didn't bring his own like I told him too...and yes, I'm going there). I was relieved when we pulled up to the lighthouse and didn't see more than a handful of cars. It's such a different lighthouse, and it ended up being everyone's favorite, but as Ethan says, that may have more to do with the experience.
We had brought swim suits, and Baby could hardly wait to get hers on. I looked up the water temperature after we left and had internet service again, and it turns out that she and Ethan were swimming in 44 degree water! But she didn't care. She jumped right in. And what a sight to see Ethan jump in too, being the good dad. Baby didn't want to get out, but when she could hardly talk because she was shivering so badly, we pulled her out. It was crazy watching her crying--she couldn't tell us why but it was obvious it was because she was crazy cold. After we got her back in warm clothes and John built a fire on the beach, she was happy as a clam again. But she and Ethan were jumping in the water, and swimming like otters. It was amazing to see how far out Ethan could go and the water wasn't even going above his knees. I can't wait until it's a beastly hot Michigan day sometime this summer, and we can jump into the cool waters of Lake Michigan. |
| Our chauffeur needed to take a little nap ;-) |
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| Brother does NOT like sand. He had it on his hands, so Poppie just dipped his hand in the lake...kind of like an Achilles dip, but the opposite direction ;-) |
So yes, Poppie built us a fire on the beach because he found a lighter. There was so much driftwood, and he and the babies and Ethan didn't have any problem lighting it. For being a tiny thing, it was just the right amount of warmth. It was a moment of perfection. The lake waves hitting the shore, the fire on the beach, being together as a family.
 |
| No public bathrooms anywhere. John had no fear of building fires...or using nature's restroom ;-) |
By this time, the day was ending and we needed to head back (I was teaching Relief Society in the morning in our new ward to women I had never met over Zoom....). We had decided that we wanted Texas Roadhouse but the one near our home was going to be closed by the time we got back, so we stopped off in Grand Rapids and picked up our order. We then talked some more and brought in the final few miles, rocking out to Def Leppard.
It was a terrific day. I can't wait to repeat it with Glo and the rest of the family this summer <3
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