returning gifts

though we had an awesome long weekend, we were both so glad to see our little boy again!  it was such a huge blessing that diana's mom was willing to take ledger for us and allow us to have a special weekend away- we are so thankful!
while we were up north we certainly didn't forget our boy, we got him a couple things that we thought he might really like.  part of the fun of returning was giving him his gifts!  at one of the stores up in grand marais we came across something that we knew ledger would love.  now, its not even remotely souvenir-ish, but we know our boy wouldn't really care for something that was supposed to be played with...  so instead we got him a double bendy headed flashlight!  strange, i know, but he had recently been obsessed with flashlights and also loves anything he can bend around and mess with, so we figured it was a perfect fit.  he loved it and played with it for a long time- right up until the batteries died, then he lost interest.  go figure.  the other prize we got for him was a little addition to his wind-up toys collection- we got him a wind-up crab!  and, oh boy, did this fascinate him for hours!  unfortunately the gears on it broke, so it didn't last as long as we hoped.  although, that just meant that he got to spend hours telling us about how it was broken instead of actually playing with it.  so... win/win?

spring and out

unfortunately it was time to pack up.  on our final morning we wrapped up our time in beautiful grand marais by cleaning out the hotel room and taking one last little drive through town, stopping for a minute to check out the souvenirs to remember it by.
though it was time to go home, we still had a stop or two along the way- there was one more amazing state park to check out!  levi and miranda wanted to stop by kitch-iti-kipi.  its got a funny name, but it was really cool.  there is a fresh spring that you can go on and look down and see everything in it, the water is absolutely crystal clear.  as we made our way over to the spring we saw the little floating dock type thing that goes out over the water.  its kind of ingenious, really, there are cables set up that go all the way across the spring that the floating dock is connected to.  there's a crack wheel that you turn at it pulls out out over the clear water and the dock has an open middle so you can all look into it and see straight down.  it was really rad to be able to see all the way the bottom which was 80 or so feet down.  you could even see the sand moving around from the fresh water bubbling up from the spring!  definitely worth checking out.
finally all the sight seeing had come to an end and it was time to head back to real life down in the lower peninsula...  we stopped again for lunch in mackinac city, picked up the other vehicle, and made our way through the michigan mitten.  it was really an awesome time; diana and i are already signed up to go again next summer!
(more pics)

pictured pictures

after checking out a few local parks, it was time for the main event: pictured rocks!  levi, having been here many times before, knew that the best way to enjoy the national park wasn't by boat tour, but by renting our own boat and wandering around by ourselves for the day!  we got there a bit before our scheduled rental, so we grabbed a bit to eat at a really cool homegrown cafe.  after a light snack, we walked over to a little shop or two and got a couple gifts for ledger- well, we couldn't exactly come home empty handed, could we?
finally, it was time to get our boat, so we headed over.  levi took care of the paperwork while the rest of us loaded up our supplies for the day.  they had a bunch of great boats, but we lucked out and got the best, newest one in the fleet- what luck!  after the safety rundown, we were off- out on the open water with an awesome powerful boat to go play on!  as we pushed off the dock it really felt like we were kids again and we had just gotten away with something- how could anyone trust us with such an awesome ship?  it baffles the mind...
for the next five hours we were on our own- free to check out all the sights for ourselves!  we wandered around in the bay for a while, stopping over at a shipwreck to check it out.  the water was so clear we could see the remains of the ship that sunk back in the 1800's.  after that we headed down the coast to see the amazing cliffs and waterfalls that lined the coast of lake superior.  i tell ya what, we could not have possibly gotten a more beautiful day- we started off in hoodies, but within an hour the sun had warmed us up enough to enjoy the trip in shorts and t-shirts.  the sky was clear and the water was warm... ish.  well, it is lake superior after all, it doesn't really get warm.  to be honest, the next several hours are some of the greatest of my life- out on the open water with my beautiful wife and a couple great friends, we just got to soak up the unbelievable views and experience total freedom!  it was so amazing that i am kind of at a loss for words, actually.  at one point we pulled into the shore, pulled out the coolers, and had a nice lunch together.  well, levi and i did anyway, the two girls were too busy collecting shiny rocks from the beach to waste time eating!  after the shore visit, which involved dropped sunglasses and a totally soaked miranda who retrieved them, we continued on our way down the coast.  finally, after seeing an amazing waterfall that shot off the cliff into the water, we realized that it was time to head back.  so we pulled around and were on our way.  just for fun we decided to take the long way around the island back to the rental place.  oops.  turns out the island is a lot bigger than we had anticipated... we ended up getting back to the dock about an hour later than we were supposed to.  they were totally cool with it, so everything turned out ok, but we were getting a bit worried about the clock as we kept rounding what we thought was the last bend in the island... only to see another one appear!  i guess next time we will have to rent it for longer! (oh, darn!)
(more pics: 1, 2, 3)

u.p. park and rec

the next morning we were up and at 'em, we made a quick stop at another local restaurant for breakfast, and then we were on our way!  along the winding path to our destination there are a bunch of different awesome sights to see, and since levi had been up here many times before, he knew which ones were worth our time.  we got the chance to see an amazing waterfall and a beautiful beach.  we just took a couple of quick stops, only about a half hour or so at each, and then kept on truckin'.  both stops were really cool to check out.  the first one was a path in the woods that lead us to a bunch of stairs that brought us to a really fantastic waterfall.  the path continued but levi told us that this was the best part, so we didn't bother checking the rest out.  and honestly, we didn't need to, the view that we saw was worth the effort it took to climb back up those hundreds of stairs!
the second location was a really great little beach.  i would have thought it was rather out of the way, that is until we pulled in and couldn't actually find a parking spot- the place was packed!  we eventually found one and made our way to the shore, playing in the sand and rocks for a while in the freezing cold lake superior water!
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around grand marais

after the scary off roadin' portion of our stay was over, we payed a visit to one of the local restaurants.  it was a great little place where levi and i got a homemade pizza to share.  we wondered back to the motel and quickly decided it wasnt time to be stuck in our room just yet, so diana, miranda, and i took a little walk to the shore to just enjoy the fresh air and beautiful landscape.  it was cool to see some of the locals playing at the park and the different types of boats that had tied up for the evening.  i tell ya what, this sure is a great small town.  if it weren't so far north i'd love to live there!  well, actually the location wouldn't be a problem for me, but diana would never survive in a place that stays cold for 11 months of the year...
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off roadin'

one of the things levi was so excited about was doing some 'off roadin'.  now, i have in my mind some idea of what that means.  to me it means driving around on some trails and checking out the cool scenery.  well, i was wrong about that one...  to levi it means making his own trails, taking the vehicle to its limits, and getting us in some sort of life-threatening situation or two!  i think i like his version more than mine, that's for sure!  we started off pretty mellow, just trekking around on some two track trails, but then he started veering off the beaten path- and right into huge sand pits that threatened to suck down the vehicle forever!  we were tossing and turning inside that thing as we went down hills and missed trees by inches.  for some reason i couldn't fathom, miranda thought it would be a good idea to rock out with her seat belt off- she regretted that when we took a bump and she went flying into the air and bonked her head on the ceiling of the fj!  the crazy trail that we had taken eventually opened up so we slowed down- and its a good thing we did because the ground suddenly dropped down- about 100 feet straight into lake superior!  this was exactly the kind of trail that levi had wanted to find, a cool place to stop for a while and wander around checking out the amazing view.  we walked around for a while and enjoyed the pit stop.  but once my heart had returned to its proper rhythm and the blood had returned to my knuckles, we were off again- back into the chaotic 'path' that took us there!  i would have loved to take some video of the crazy path we were taking, but i was much to busy holding on for my life...
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hip- hip- marais!

as we got into the upper peninsula we knew we were going to be in for some gorgeous scenery!  i've been to the u.p. before, but its been 25 years or more since going up there with my family.  diana had never really been up there before, so we were both in for a new experience.  after a long drive we finally made it to our destination: grand marais (pronounced 'muh-ray') right on the coast of lake superior!  levi and miranda had been there before, in fact, levi's family has been making this trek since the 50's!  we had gotten a room at one of the little motels and, after a scenic drive around the town, we checked in for our two night stay.  you can tell this is a really small town- when we pulled up to the motel levi walked over to the office and taped on the window was the key to our room and a sign that informed us that the caretakers would be back... eventually!  so, we grabbed the key and unloaded the vehicle.  after getting everything in its place, we took a quick look around and i was amazed at how cool this little town is- it really feels like some sort of cape town in new england.  just a real quaint little village with a great view of the water- so beautiful!
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da yoopee

it being summer, we figured it was finally time to go on a summer vacation!  miranda and levi had been planning on going to the upper peninsula for a while and they really wanted us to join them.  well, twist our arms... ok- we'll go!  we made plans for ledger to be watched by his grandparents, and the four of us headed off for a long weekend away!
levi had some work stuff up in mackinaw city, so the three of us, diana, miranda, and myself, all headed up to join him and head off from there.  with a little time to kill before we headed up, we checked out the sights while we were there.  everything was so beautiful we knew we were in for a great time together!
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engaged in fun

my brother has been in the military for over a decade now and despite his best efforts, finally succumbed to falling in love.  while stationed in japan he found the girl of his dreams!  it took a little while, thanks to visas and international paperwork stuff, but he is finally able to make her his wife!  in celebration of the engagement, my aunt and uncle hosted a special family get together to for everyone to welcome her to the family!  of course, diana, ledger, and i wouldn't miss it- so we headed up to grand rapids for the festivities!
we had a great time seeing them again- ledger always loves to see 'aunt' miyuki and even got to spend the evening playing with his second cousins!  it was a wonderful time with everyone there thrilled with the newest addition to our family.  we hope to see them again soon!
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birthday treat

when its diana's birthday or ledger's birthday we make a big deal of it, but for me?  well, i'd rather mine pass without much fanfare.  all i really want for my birthday is some time with my beautiful bride, and perhaps a tasty meal!  well, thanks to her mom, both of those birthday wishes came true.  she was willing to babysit so that diana and i could go and enjoy an evening together and have a lovely romantical dinner at the ol' re-lob (that's 'red lobster' for the uninitiated...).  it was exactly as i had hoped: a beautiful woman beside me, a bubbly child at home, and a belly full of delicious food.  now that's how you welcome in 35!

our beautiful lake

sometimes diana and i just sit on the back porch and enjoy the view- and what a beautiful view it is!  we have been so lucky to spend this last year with diana's mom and david just enjoying the lake and raising ledger in such a beautiful place!

spooky nerds

one of the things i like most about when kate and jared visit is that it gives me an opportunity to revel in my nerdiness!  jared is definitely a nerd and so when he comes by he and i allow our nerdy powers to combined and the result?  this.  he brought with him a roll playing board game and we were able to talk the girls into playing a game of it with us to try it out.  well, it didn't take long and they were hooked too!  it was a 'haunted house' type game where we were roaming around the house looking for the scary stuff and working together to fight it off.  super nerdy stuff- but so much fun!  over the course of the weekend we were actually able to pull it out two more times!  at one point, as they were deciding if they should try to head out before or after liam's nap, it was suggested that if liam takes his nap here, we could squeeze in another game...  well, that's all it took- the kids were in bed and the game was out!
i'm pretty sure we need to find this game so we can play it again soon...
(a few more pictures from their visit)