I Probably Should Be Blogging...

Right?

I mean- Ethan has gotten his Webelos rank in Cub Scouts, Arrow of Light and crossed over into Boy Scouts. Not only that, but Nathan was able to advance his WHOLE den to those ranks all while going to school, getting all A's, and working to support our family. I think that is blog-worthy anyway.

You would think I would want to blog about our last minute trip to the sand dunes with our friends on Labor Day Weekend. That was so fun!
The kids were so conflicted seeing a "school bus" that day, but amazed by the snowmobile skimming on the water and monster semi truck dune buggy!I would seem ungrateful for the good time we had if I didn't document that!

I especially should be blogging about the fact that I now have 3 different kids, leaving for 3 different schools, at 3 different times during the day.

Wait... I just said 3 kids in school. Three kids in SCHOOL. Not to mention a husband in yet another school!

That means I have a little bit of "me" time for the first time in.... a long time. A lot of that time is spent getting kids off and back home, but I have time. That is probably the BIGGEST reason I should be blogging.

It seems however, that in those 11 years of having kids underfoot constantly I have neglected to do a lot of "necessary" things. So instead of blogging I have found myself getting into the guts of my house. Surprisingly, I love it. I might only have 2 hours a day to myself this year, but I HAVE TWO HOURS TO MYSELF!!!

I will want to remember that on that very first day of Kindergarten, Jaleigh raised her hand and when called on said, "Um, I haven't actually ever been to this school before, and I haven't been in Kindergarten, and I haven't even been on a bus before, and I think I should be quiet now."

Pure genius.

I HAVE to remember that after that very first day of school, someone actually slept on the TOP BUNK for the very first time. And NO ONE'S head got chopped off by the fan either! (Not that we have EVER had that ceiling fan on- and even if it was on, it would be no where near anyone's head...) Ok, so it might have been the school induced coma that my kids fell into way before bedtime, and she might have just barely been on the top bunk, but for me, that is blogging news!

I really want to blog about the sweet things my husband does for me. Like the time last week when he said he had plans with a friend after working 5 days in a row. He secretly canceled them, ran a bunch of errands for me, and surprised me with the sweetest 2 page letter, flowers and my first ever i-pod. He said that "now that you are a runner" (HA!!!) it might be easier to have something smaller (than my 5lb mp3 player that is the size of my hand!!) and he made sure he didn't spend any more money than he would have had he gone out with his friend. Little things like that mean SOO much to me! Not just nice and sweet, but thoughtful. Love him...

Yeah, so I really should be making more time to blog... Don't ya think??

Not tonight though, I feel like watching a movie instead...

Time Out

After a short very busy week, we needed more wide open spaces.

We headed up to Sleeping Bear National Park on suggestions from several friends. We had been to Sleeping Bear several years ago with Nathan's parents, but weren't really all that impressed. Apparently we didn't get the visitors map, because there was SOO much to do!

The first day we were there, we just set up camp and crashed. Nathan had just come off a 13 hour shift and I got a lovely 2 hours of sleep after getting everything ready to go. Our WONDERFUL kids just read, played games and slept until we woke up 2 hours later. It's amazing how great 2 hours of really hard sleep can feel.

We noticed that the campground was very quiet with lots of older campers, and not too many kids. It was kind of strange. One of our camping neighbors was especially nice and brought over kindling when we were having trouble starting a fire with damp wood. One night, he played his harmonica for his wife, and had Nathan & I smiling and the kids dancing around. So cool!

Then the neighbor on the other side of us... He seemed nice enough, but there was just one thing ...

He wouldn't wear pants!! He had a little black speedo (I hope that's what it was) that he wore all the time, but that's it for the lower region. I'm sorry. Can I just say? If it is cold enough to wear a sweatshirt- it is probably cold enough to wear pants. And furthermore, pants are not optional attire. Hat, yes. Pants, No. uggg.....

As we explored the area, we went on a cool scenic drive that led to a Lake Michigan Overlook. As Nathan and the kids walked down the dune to get a good look, it looked as if they had come to the end of the world! I was freaking out, so I followed them to the most unbelievable view.

Stunning blue for as far as you could see.

I decided that I love this color blue for a backdrop!
This is Ethan saying, "Can't we go all the way down??"
Can you see how steep this thing is?!?
This is Nathan telling Ethan, "Tomorrow". The kids thought it was so fun to play with my anxiety... We watched a Old Fashion Blacksmith's demonstration

and the kids helped with a re-enactment of a U.S. Lifesaving Service boat rescue.

Nathan and the kids even indulged me in a visit to Traverse City for a while, to visit an old favorite place we took Ethan as a baby. 11 years has certainly changed things there! It wasn't as magical, actually kind of gross, but it was still a great day, and the kids had fun.
While Nathan & I were NOT successfully taking a self portrait, (could you just die for that smile?! LOVE IT!!)

The kids were playing on this playground.

Miss J happened to loose one of her "favorite" earrings (every pair of earrings are her favorites!). EEK!! After about 5 or 10 minutes of searching through the sand, I earned my SuperMom cape thankyouverymuch!

Our neighbors joined us for the end of the week, and eventually the "overLOOK" became an "overCLIMB". Nathan took ALL the kids (except for Miss J) ALL the way down!! It was quite a workout, but they all made it back up!

The sun wasn't as bright the second day, so the colors weren't as vibrant, but still sooo beautiful!

I was lucky enough to get out and do some quaint "little town" shopping with the girls one day. Man- I need to do that more often!! We found some of the coolest things! One of which is something I hadn't seen since I lived in England a LONG time ago, and before that as a kid. I fell in love with these! When is the last time you saw milk being sold in glass bottles??

And who wouldn't want to eat here?? YUM!!

I am soo not ready to be done with the summer...

P.S. I am looking for some different music for my running playlist. What is your favorite exercising music?

Sometimes Dreams...

are as good as reality.

Last night I had a good dream.

I DID the photo shoot. Without anyone around. It was awesome, and I woke up knowing that I could do it. I knew I could....

:)

Wanted: Spine

Photo shoot.
Ready, Excited.
Lots of people- one with big camera & excellent lens.
Intimidated.
"Camera Girl" tells me I'm doing it wrong. (I'm not...)
Crumble, Fold, Leave.
Grrr....

P.S. In case you were wondering, I don't shoot weddings. (anymore)

Perfect 6

With days not too hot, but hot enough and the water exactly the right temperature we spent a perfect 6 days... together.

We canoed to the beach, and for a nighttime guided tour, and we rode our bikes everywhere else.

This kid blew me away. We biked roughly 2 miles up and down hills. This kid never stopped, and never wrecked. (ALMOST, when dad decided to "race" her down a hill, but she held steady!) She's been without training wheels for how long?

We hiked inspiring trails every day

we came upon a "natural" playground. The kids had fun playing on the see-saw until Ethan got a little rowdy. Nathan decided to "have a go" with Ethan. Can you see Ethan's body all tensed up? You know what happened next...

One evening we went into town to a special "Movie in the Park" that the kids thought was just magical! Everyone just showed up with blankets and lawn chairs and hung around until the movie started at dusk.

They even had a little boat ride for the kids to pass the time. Price of the entire night? $2.50 for 3 bags of popcorn and a soft pretzel. Memories? Priceless.

Almost every night ended with a snack of some kind

And of course a fire!

On our last perfect night, we drove into a local town for a "homecoming" fireworks show over the lake. While we were waiting, Saroya learned to whistle with a blade of grass!

It was so much more beautiful watching the reflection on the water, and since we got a waterfront seat, I got some cool pictures!

A perfect way to finish a perfect week.

Now we are home for laundry, a wedding and work before heading out on another adventure next week. We can't WAIT!