Last Sandy Pines

The end of an era. We kind of knew it was coming for the past year or two. My parents finally pulled the trigger and sold their place out at Sandy Pines. They have had a place out there since the late 80's, so there is a lot of family history out there. Since I was about 8 or 9 we have spend most of our summers out there. Each year Papa would make improvements and update the site. We actually started off in a different lot way out in phase 5. It was basically just a field with dirt roads. That first year was one of the hottest summers in decades, so after about two weekends out in that head with no shade, they traded in that lot and got one that was nothing but trees! They then spent the next 30+ years improving and working on that lot making one of the best looking sites in all of Sandy Pines!

I have a lot of wonderful memories spent out there. I didn't necessarily love all the time we spent out there, I am after all, a bit of an indoor kid, not prone to love camping or outdoorsy stuff. I would make the most of it anyway. While Chad and Jill were out driving around on carts and mopeds with friends, I would hunker down at the table in the back of the trailer and draw or watch TV. We only got two channels out there, but I would always make sure to watch Star Trek (Next Generation and Deep Space Nine) on the little 12 inch TV that needed to have the antenna constantly adjusted. I would play with my Micro Machines, or pour over my comic books, only periodically taking time out to go on a cart ride or take the dog for a walk. They upgraded to a better trailer and I remember late nights reading Michael Crichton books in my room, sometimes even skipping sleep all together and reading straight on till sunrise (It was summer break, might as well, right?). I remember being home alone in the trailer while Mom and Dad were both at work; I would crank up the latest Michael Jackson album and sing along, trying to mimic his moves (and failing). As I got older I would push back against going out there all summer with my parents, opting instead to spend the week at the house alone and driving out to see them on the weekends. I had little to no interest in Sandy Pines as I was finishing high school or went off to college. It really wasn't until I saw the place again through new eyes, Diana's eyes, that I really started to realize how cool it was. Diana and I actually got engaged on the edge of that lake at Sandy Pines. We would come and visit regularly after we got married, sharing with Mom and Dad for the first time that we were pregnant with Ledger. He spent the first 10 years of his life going out there several times each summer and even learning to swim in the pools there.

We've got a lot of memories of that place and it will be greatly missed. Goodbye, Sandy Pines!

July 4th

Another trip out to ol' Sandy Pines! With it being the 4th of July weekend, we figured we'd head out there and enjoy the park at the height of summer fun! We went out and enjoyed a small meal with my parents, hung out and chatted for a bit, and then went out to find a place to watch the fireworks. Mema and Papa weren't really feeling it this year, so it was just Diana, Ledger, and I.

Last time I was at Dollar Tree I happened to see a bunch of fun 4th of July stuff there, so I stocked up. They were still in the car so I grabbed them before we headed out to see the fireworks. I got us a bunch of glowy stuff to make bracelets and necklaces! We cracked them to make them glow and then put them on. Ledger then hightailed it over to the playground equipment on the beach, where there were dozens of other kids playing. As it got darker and closer to firework time, it was really easy to see which one was our boy- he was the only one glowing! Once dark hit, we were all lined up in our chairs on the beach and sat back and enjoyed. Diana and the boy loved it, as always. We eventually made our way back to the trailer, said goodnight to my parents, and headed home, another national birthday properly observed.

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Sandy Fun

Now that summer is upon us, that means it's time to start going out to good ol' Sandy Pines! Mema and Papa invited us out for a nice Sunday afternoon at the park, along with Tim, Jill, and the kids. It was nice to get out there again and go for a cart ride and see the family. Tim took control of the grill, which Papa always appreciates; I certainly wasn't going to be the grill master. Sorry Papa, you didn't raise a griller...

After lunch we all helped to clean up, and then Ledger and I headed over to the water park for some swimming! Their annoying rules for allowing people in was super frustrating, causing us to wait about 40 minutes before we could even get in. Finally though, we got to enjoy the pool and slide for an hour! 

Sandy Pines Summer's End

Another summer draws to a close. Ledger is back in school already, but there's still one last visit to Sandy Pines for Labor Day weekend. Mema and Papa didn't move out to Sandy Pines this summer, opting instead to come and stay for the weekends but then go home during the week. This meant that Labor Day weekend involved a lot less packing at the end of it than usual. We had a great time having a bite to eat with them and going for a nice long cart ride. We even brought Wiggins with us to enjoy the day. 

Return to the Flea

 It's Memorial Day weekend- summer is here! Every year Sandy Pines has a flea market on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. I haven't been able to go for years due to working Saturdays, but I took this one off so we could go and enjoy the day with my parents at Sandy Pines!

It was always a favorite of mine growing up to go to the flea markets at Sandy. There used to be so many different booths, each one packed full of different strange junk they were trying to sell. It's not as good any more, with most of the booths filled with whatever pyramid scheme sell-at-home racket that's popular at the minute (LuLaRoe anyone?). Its a lot more rare to actually find a booth that's selling something that I would actually want to look through. At least there were still a few places selling different toys and such, so that kept Ledger's interest. My mom, as always, loaded up at the booth selling plants. She picks up a bunch of different potted plants and hanging baskets to decorate around their lot, so the first flea market of the summer is a big deal for her. It was fun to relive the flea market experience, but I don't think I'll need to go to them anymore.

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sandy water park!

Now we're talking!  It's finally warm enough to make our way to the Sandy Pines water park!  Ledger is such a confident swimmer now that he doesn't need any sort of swimmies or close supervision, so he was so excited to be let go on his own there!  we all hopped in the pool to cool off and enjoy the park, but he quickly started asking about going on the water slide.  I went down with him the first time, but we told him that he's big enough now to go on it by himself if he's brave enough.  Well, that's all the encouragement he needed!  After a minute or two of waffling, he decided he was in fact brave enough, and waltzed right up there to take the plunge by himself.  And he did great!  He came down and was laughing and smiling like a champ!  'I wanna go again!' he exclaimed.  No problem buddy, hop back in line!  I think he ended up going down it 10-12 times!

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summer pines

It's easy to know when summer is here, because it's Sandy Pines time!  Mom and Papa invited everyone to come by their place for an inaugural grill out for the start of the Sandy Pines summer season.  It was still a little cold, so we didn't make it out to the water park, but we did partake in a golf cart ride through the park.  Ledger was so excited to see his cousins and to be back at mema and papa's trailer!

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the sandy routine

with papa and mema having a challenging summer, we haven't had many chances to take ledger to sandy pines.  with papa now on the mend, mema told us we are welcome to use the trailer any time we want.  well, we weren't going to pass up the chance to enjoy the park! 
we stopped by and did what we usually do: go for a cart ride, play on the beach, and get some ice cream.  no matter how many times we do it, it's still fun!
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sandy with friends

we invited miranda, levi, and lissa to come by for one last hurrah before the end of the summer.  they came by for a visit out to sandy pines.  my parents were kind enough to host them, making a delicious meal and everything!  sandy had a fun fireworks display, so we stayed out nice and late, which ledger really loved!
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fireworks show

ledger loves fireworks almost as much as diana...  with the 4th of july upon us, we headed out to sandy pines to get the most of it!  i spend the day working, but headed out to meet them after work.  diana and ledger had gotten there earlier in the day and spent the afternoon enjoying all the fun of sandy pines with mema and papa.  when grandpa and grandma declined, the three of us headed out to the beach to get a good view of the firework show.  ledger, as always, had a blast and was so excited about being able to stay up way past his bed time!  the fireworks, as always, were great.  we headed back and said our goodbyes.  we thought for sure ledge would fall asleep on the way home, but he was busy chatting our ears off the whole way home!  needless to say though, he passed out about 2 seconds after his head hit the pillow that night...
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chad passing through

my brother only comes to town once or twice a year, so we always make a point of spending some time with him when he comes to town.  this time he and his wife (and even their dog!) were driving through on their way to spending a few weeks camping and touring the sights in the upper peninsula.  we spent the day with them and the whole family at sandy pines!  ledger always has a great time with his uncle, so they had fun together.  its kind of silly- ledger thinks miyuki is very beautiful, so he continually wants to give her hugs and stare at her...  she takes it in stride, but its super funny!
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christmas in august

sandy pines has a tradition of celebrating christmas in the summer.  mostly this is just to people have an excuse to put up their christmas lights at their trailers, not that i'm complaining!  mom and papa reminded us that it was coming and asked if ledge would like to come out and enjoy all the beautiful lights and fun.  well, of course he would!  so we headed out there so we could ride around and see all the displays.  needless to say, he absolutely loved it!  he was beside himself with excitement the entire time!
every once in a while its so great to step outside of myself and live vicariously through him and just enjoy his wonder and joy- its like a perspective reset.  it reminds me what is most important!
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sandy guests

from time to time i will take ledge in to grandville and the two of us will meet up with jeffry lee for an afternoon of errands and fun.  i gave jeff a call to see if he was up for doing the usual and he said that he actually had his nephews for the day.  well, we decided to make it a special day for all three boys- we took them to sandy pines!  i told them about the water park so they packed their swim suits and all five of us had a great time playing in the pool and enjoying the water slide.  afterwards we went and got some ice cream and played for a bit on the beach.  it was a pretty special day for all three of them; jeff and i had a lot of fun too!

fun 4th

i got some of the weekend of july 4th off, so we made a special trip to sandy pines to enjoy the time off.  mema and papa were thrilled to spend some time with their littlest grandson!  we always love the chance to go on a golf cart ride and we even got to see a parade and watch fireworks.  its always a great time with the family!
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doggy do

after having so much fun with the dogs last year, my aunt and uncle asked us to dogsit for them again this year- and we jumped at the opportunity!  we had a blast spending the week with their cute dogs and enjoying their beautiful home.  ledge loved the chance to have dogs in the house too- he wishes so bad that we would get a pet.  some day, buddy, some day...  it was also nice this time because i didn't have to run off to work every afternoon so i could actually enjoy the time with my family and those cute pups!  being so close to sandy pines, we also took advantage by stopping over at mema and papa's trailer to help out with rebuilding the deck and going for cart rides!
my aunt and uncle went on vacation and watching their dogs allowed us to go on a sort of vacation ourselves!
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pines visit

diana, ledger, and i have enjoyed having the house to ourselves these past couple months, but we still love to go out to sandy pines!  ledger especially loves the chance to see his his cousins- and take cart rides!  we don't get out there as often as we might like, but its good to go out when we can, the season isn't very long and we miss it all winter!

summer starts at the pines

its the start of summer with memorial day here, and that means we are heading out to sandy pines!  my parents had their annual memorial day grill out at their place and invited the whole gang.  its always nice to catch up with everyone after the long winter, see how much the kids have grown, and compare how much hair we've lost (i didn't win this year, but came in a pretty close second...)
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flea pancakes

with it being the last flea market of the year, i knew i wanted to go!  usually we don't actually get anything, but i just love to wander around and look.  mom, ledger, and i were up early, so we even decided that we would head out right away and partake in the pancake breakfast they always offer!  usually we get there too late for it because we sleep at the house and then drive in saturday morning, but since we just slept at the trailer, we were able to make it in time!  diana wasn't really interested since it would just give her a really bad stomachache all day, so we let her get a little more sleep.  we told ledger that we were going to get pancakes and he was thrilled- he loves those things!  we got a couple helping of flapjacks and found a spot to sit.  he feasted on them and ended up eating almost two whole pancakes!  he didn't plan ahead very well, we forgot to bring wipes for him, so he was a bit sticky and syrupy for the rest of the flea- but to be honest, so were we...
as we wandered around the flea market for a while, mom wanting to check out all the flowers even though we were at the end of the season, and ledger wanting to check out... well, everything!  when we finally made it back to the trailer diana was up and ready so we spend the rest of the day riding golf carts and enjoying the beautiful weekend!
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the sandy memorial

memorial day is always a little bittersweet.  its a wonderful time, and its always great to have a nice long weekend, but it also means that summer is over and its time to say goodbye to another year at sandy pines!  well, we headed up to the ol' pines for out last visit of the year.  we decided to stay there the whole weekend this time, i dont think we even stopped back at mom and papa's house at all!  we spent both nights on an air mattress in the screened in porch- which actually worked great.  it was a great visit, we got to see the kids, the family, all the sandy pines friends, and we got to close out the summer with a bang!
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the rocket's red glare

even though its really late for him, we kept ledger up so he could see the fireworks for the 4th of july.  he came along with us last year too and really loved it, so we knew he would be up for it again.  it was a bit of a cold evening, so we wrapped him up in a hoodie and brought a blanket along too.  the fireworks can be awesome to see, but for a little guy like ledger they can be a bit too loud, so papa was planning ahead and grabbed a pair of sound dampening ear muffs for him.  he really seemed to like having them on!  when we first put them on he thought it was really neat, he started going 'ahhhhh' just because he thought his voice sounded silly with them on!  there was an extra little chair for him at the beach, so he hopped in and enjoyed sitting on his own like a big boy, but as the fireworks started he wanted to sit on my lap so he could tell me about what he was watching.  he wanted a turn on mema's lap and mama's lap too!  after a while though i think the late night got to him, he stopped paying attention to the fireworks and instead nestled his head into my neck and just wanted to fall asleep- so cute!  after a minute or two i told him that he was missing out and that he should watch the fireworks, after all, he doesn't get to see them very often!  he listened and fought off the sleep through till the end.  when the show was over and we got back to the trailer he didn't put up any fight at all when we told him it was bed time!
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