The second half of our vacation was spent up north. We spent another 4 hours in our old Honda Civic, headed to Indianapolis.
The cousins had a blast at the Partain house!
We spent the night at my sister's house, then drove another 6 hours to the Palapa at Ludington Michigan.
We immediately ran to the beach to catch the ending of a beautiful sunset. Every single sunset at Lake Michigan is amazing!!
Walking out to the Lighthouse.
One of my favorite things to do-relax on the back porch while the kids climb the dunes!
We all had great moments of true rest.
And the beach....such a magical place! There were big storms the first few nights which made awesome huge waves the next day. We played beach volleyball and watched fireworks while sitting on cold sand. I never thought a lake could be so beautiful!
One thing we LOVE to do on a cloudy Ludington day-Go Carts!!
After 6 glorious and relaxing days, the dream ended. We left the Palapa and headed east to Detroit.
There, we spent a quick 36 hours with both sides of my parents' families. My parents with my uncle Terry and aunt Mary. We only get to see them once a year, but it's always a blast!!
Ruthie got passed around like usual, meeting all of her extended family.
We looked through old pictures and found this one of my grandmother Harriet. I've never met her, but I honestly think (and like to believe) that I'm a lot like her.
That night, we checked into the hotel pretty late. Hotel life with little ones is actually kind of fun!
The boys ate Fruit Loops for the first time and kept calling it "Candy Cereal". Because, they're right.
While in Detroit, We got to hug lots of special people. Ruthie Mae Reiné was introduced to everyone who loves her so much! My grandmother Joan Reiné got to meet her newest great grand daughter!!
My grandmother, my mom, Ruthie and I all share the middle name Reiné! So cool to have this photo of four generations of Reiné!
My parents with all 6 of their grandchildren.
Poor little Ruthie Mae-after 3 weeks of traveling and sleeping in strange places, her last day of vacation was tough. She didn't sleep for 9 hours straight, ha! This is what sleep deprived Ruthie looks like:
We raced home to get that girlie in bed, but not before meeting her Aunt Errin!! Technically, Errin is my cousin, but really, she's a sister!
After the kids passed out, the grown ups got to visit in the outdoor patio of the Hotel. That night was WAY too short!! I hated saying goodnight and goodbye. SO SAD!! The next morning came all too quickly. Up at 5am for a 7am flight. Y'all, it's HORRIBLE waking your children up so early!!
Abby and Sally drove us to the airport and sent us off to Bellingham.
We had uneventful flights. Traveling is always pretty great with our kids and we had daddy with us this time!
Dan did try to win some cash in the Las Vegas airport, but he lost a dollar, haha!
I'm pretty sure we flew over the Grand Canyon.
Classic Laz decides to rest while we all figure out a plan.
Driving through Seattle and up to Bellingham was great. Everyone fell asleep and Dan and I got to process our trip and talk about our new home in the NW. We are so thankful for the ability to spend money on flights, to sit and relax and eat all day and visit with people we love. It's so extravagant! We took none of it for granted.
.JPG)
