Recipe for a Great Vacation

A widespread heat wave + mild drought + lake house = One fabulous vacation  

We went to the lake house last week to hang out with Hubby's family and to celebrate the 4th of July.  Previous vacations taken during the same week have been pretty disappointing as far as the weather is concerned.  One year the weather report promised sun--it rained every single day and was miserable to the point that we packed up early and went home.

This year was the first time that we had great beach weather every single day--5 days in a row!

We had a busy week.  The morning of 4th of July started with David running a 5K race with Grandpa.  He ran it last year for the first time.  Despite a lack of any previous training and horrible heat and humidity, they crossed the finish line in 29:05.

David and Grandpa lining up for the race

Running across the finish line

After the race we grabbed our bags and went to see the parade where the kids raked in a ton of candy while the adults sat on the curb working up a sweat.  One kind float handed out popsicles wrapped in plastic that we put on our necks to help cool off.

We spent the afternoon at the lake.  It is the first time in recent memory that I have ever truly desired to go into Lake Michigan.  Usually the water is frigid.  This time after walking over sand so hot that our feet burned, we tossed our stuff down and ran straight into the water to cool off.  It felt heavenly to the point that we stayed in the water for over two hours and never got cold.  The kids all agreed that this was the highlight of their vacation--when mom and dad played with them in the water the entire time.

The day concluded with a spectacular fireworks display over the lake.  On our way home for the fireworks, God threw his own fireworks show via a lightening storm.  The entire sky was flashing beautifully for a good half hour.

Dressing up for the 4th of July

Thursday we went to the beach again.  Friday we hung around the house until the new dock was delivered.  Hubby and my father-in-law spent the afternoon putting it in with only a little help from the rest of us.  My mother-in-law and I lorded over the proceedings from our lawn chairs while sitting in the shade of a tree and the kids took turns spraying themselves and the guys with the hose (they sprayed the guys off to check for leeches between each dip in the river--ewww).

Putting in the dock

Joy "helping" 

David spraying Lizzy with the hose

Marching across the almost completed dock (more reeds need to be cleared first)

Enjoying the new dock

Friday evening Hubby's parents left and our friends came up for the weekend.  We went blueberry picking Saturday morning while waiting for the clouds to burn off.  We spent the afternoon at the beach, playing in the water and digging gigantic holes in the sand.  We even got to watch a beach wedding about hundred feet down the shore.  Joy asked if she could be a flower girl in the wedding and if we could go to the party afterwards.

Blueberry picking--they were delicous

 We had a campfire Thursday night which Joy missed because she was soooo tired.  She woke up around 11:00pm and realized that she'd missed the s'mores, which led to tears.  I made up for it by letting her roast a marshmallow over the stove and eat a s'more for breakfast.

Roasting a marshmallow over the stove

The breakfast of Champions

The kids had a ton of fun playing with their friends.  They caught butterflies, rode their scooters on the bike path, played card games and cribbage, and a rousing game of corn hole.  There is a resident doe and fawn that walked past the house twice a day every day we were there.  We named the fawn Spots for obvious reasons.

Spots

All the kids eating breakfast

Lizzy's butterfly

Joy playing Go Fish

David having a heart-to-heart discussion after riding scooters

Lizzy's got her game face on

Lizzy is a little excited after winning the game

Sunday we left for home via an extremely circuitous route.  We turned a three hour drive into a six hour venture by taking back roads, a different highway than normal, stopping for lunch at a restaurant with a play land, and then stopping again at a big sporting goods store so Hubby could buy some new fishing gear and other random things.  We all had a great vacation and can't wait until we can do it all again next year.