Down Time

Last week was our annual family summer vacation.  This is only the second year in the past 11 that we have not all been together.

Son Josh is away for field training in Alabama and could not come and daughter Amanda was working so she got to stay home with the mutt. 

Twelve years ago one of the home schooling moms sent an email saying that her parents were moving and the house she grew up in was going to become a cottage and let us know it was available for rent.

While the children have dubbed it the Ugly House for reasons unknown, it has become our haven. Fittingly, it in is Grand Haven.

To say it is a cottage is a bit of a stretch. The only thing that makes it cottage-ish is the fact that there is a beach nearby.

The “cottage” is actually a three story, 7-bedroom home with a wrap-around screened in porch on which there is a bench swing hanging from the ceiling.  It is close enough to the beach that the older kids can get there easily but far enough to keep the younger ones safely away. (Getting to be not such an issue anymore).

A short walk takes you to the top of the staircase that leads down to Lake Michigan.  It is the sunset spot. From it you can see one of the famous Lake Michigan lighthouses. 

On Sunday, after Mass,  we take the  “stair” photo and the change in the kids from year to year is so cool to see. 

Every year some things stay the same and some things change. 

This year there were  no crossword puzzles done but lots of books were read and enjoyed. 

We still had lunch with the kids and date night dinner at the Kirby Grill. 

One of our favorite activities was pottery painting. Unfortunately the Ceramic Cafe went out of business and the space is now a clothing shop.  Thankfully we have lots of pottery from previous years and all the memories.

This year there were no tears as we were packing.  But there is the promise of next year to hang onto and so the countdown to Grand Haven begins again. 

Telegraph Cruise or Bust!

As we were driving the last 3 miles home from a week at the cottage, we spotted the car buffs who were out all up and down Telegraph Road watching the muscle cars that were being shown off by their owners.

Our tenacious one was curious about what was going on, and after I explained it to her she asked if we could go watch for a while.  I told her we could go after supper.

After we were all unpacked she spotted the empty boxes and asked if she could have two of them.  Her mental wheels were spinning.  She knew that the folks on Telegraph had places to sit and food to eat and so she got creative.

She glued a box lid down to make a table and then she took another box apart and glued it to the first and cut a hole at one end creating a wagon-type handle.  Then she packed her snacks (fig newtons and Oreos) and grabbed a towel to sit on.

She realized she would need pockets for her snacks so she put on her hot pink bathrobe and she was ready to go.  My dear one and I walked over to Telegraph with her and crossed to the median to sit in the shade. She laid out her towel and bathrobe for seats and proceeded to eat her snacks and watch the cars.

She asked her daddy to carry the box home as the noise created by dragging it was a bit much. :-)

We were only there about 15 minutes but I'm quite sure she'll remember it as a great time!

Losing It!

I'm not really sure what my problem is lately, but I have locked my keys in the car twice in the past few weeks (once with the engine running) and almost locked them in a third time.

The engine running time was especially unnerving since I didn't notice until I came out of the store.  Thankfully AAA was close by and fast.

I could blame the kids for distracting me but I've been driving with noisy kids in the car for a quarter of a century and it was never an issue.

I never used to carry a purse and now I have a wristlette.  I wonder if the actions of having to, first remember to get the purse, and second to actually reach over and pick it up off the floor, throws me for that big of a loop?

I finally put the extra fob in my purse just to be on the safe side.  I don't like having to have a back up system.  This getting old(er) thing is not all that fun.

Baking Day

I can always tell when the kids are feeling peaceful.  They start to bake.

When the three oldest girls were little we used to love spending time baking.  Mostly we made chocolate chip cookies because they were easy and had lots of ingredients to measure and pour.

We would close the sliding door that lead from the kitchen to the basement stairs and then pull up a chair by the door and they would stand on that to reach the countertop.

I baked some with the younger ones, too and now a few of them love to get in the kitchen and bake a favorite recipe.

They have expanded from chocolate chip cookies, I'm glad to say, so we have a nice variety on occasion.  Right now, for example.

Yesterday was a peaceful day.

Amanda made sugar cookies with purple (?) icing, and Erin made banana bread.

Not to be outdone, number 3 son made chocolate-zucchini roll.  YUMMY! 

Yes, I tried each one!  So good.  

I love it when they are peaceful and ready to bake but I'm glad we don't have this much variety all the time.  

Mini Get-Away

My dear one and I took the three youngest kiddos up north this weekend.

We spent a couple of days in a little hunting cabin in "a clearing" in the woods as our tenacious one put it.  My dear one and his brother, dad and uncles built it many years ago and have since updated it to include two bedrooms, a bathroom and a laundry area.

The older girls never wanted to use the outhouse so the bathroom was a must for keeping mom and kids happy on trips to see grandma and grandpa.

This is the view from the chair in the corner. Look at those

racks! There is also a good size fireplace and mantle which is awesome in the late Fall but, which,  in

94° weather,  we did not use.

We went to the beach one day and the water was surprisingly warm.  Of course sea shells were collected and stones skipped.  

The water was so shallow the kids could walk out a fair distance and still not be in up to their waist.  

I actually finished two books.  They are re-reads but it was still nice to have some quiet, peaceful time.

They had a great time playing with a couple of their cousins and were very sad to come home.  But we'll go back in August for some more family time.