Micah trying out the headphones to watch the movie on the way out - he did pretty good!
Alex had the back seat all to himself...well, at least the only person. There was quite a bit of stuff he had to share it with.
My boys on the way out. They were sooo good for the 7 hour car ride. Can't say the same on the way home, but at least it wasn't both ways:)
First taste of the beach...ahh, Pure Michigan.
Cherry Republic! My favorite part of Glen Arbor. Sad, but true :)
Alex and Micah ready for smores.
So sticky!
Love this shot of Micah.
Christian and Laura built a nice fire. I was back with Reid for this outing, but glad to be able to experience the memory through pictures and story telling. Micah came back home telling me that the "sun is sleeping, and the moon's a-WAKE! and there are sooo many stars in the sky." Potentially one of the only times the kiddo's been awake to see the sun set and the moon rise (intentionally).
Enjoying the night.
The next morning we headed to the Sleeping Bear Dunes to climb. We met this huge turtle along the way!
Love this shot of father and son!
And this shot of the family :)
Off we go!
Laura and Alex are just ahead of us.
There's never a dull moment in our group, especially when it comes to picture taking.
This was my view from the climb. I was a little slower (as you see Christian and Micah way up there) carrying Reid.
Micah was pointing out the lake to Christian. I think they look too alike here.
Me and my boys :)
On the way back down...
And Reid's out. Never seen a baby fall asleep like this before, but I guess when you're far enough past nap time anything is possible.
We hit up Pierce Stocking scenic drive after the dune climb. This dune was not climeable (for us) although we have some friend's whose husband did it with their 2 year old on his back. This climb down to the lake and back is ridiculously steep and impressive to do.
The "Mama" team on the trip :)
Micah was too busy here to be bothered with a family picture, running up and down the ramp...
Still running, so another shot without M!
And it's beach time. Reid's hair is crazy, I know...one day we'll cut his comb-over, haha.
First time at the beach for both kiddos. Micah loved the sand! It took come coercing to get him there sometimes, but once he was there, he didn't want to leave! We loved soaking in the last days of summer before the short season of fall hits to send us in to the long months of winter.
Sweet boy.
Enough of the pictures, already, I'm ready to play!
"See ya later, Alligator."
A couple family shots on the water before heading back to non-scenic, Illinois. Thanks to Laura for being our photographer!
Laura and Alex...ready to get home to see their other half. :)
Our home sweet home for the weekend. Not the most picturesque inside, but you could not beat the location! Downtown Glen Arbor...the only time we drove all weekend was to do the Dune climb.
On the road again...Reid didn't do near as well on the way back, crying for the last 1-1.5 hours of the trip. The silver lining was that it became white noise for the other 2 kiddos, causing sleep to ensue ;)
You wouldn't know it by this sweet smile, however.
Micah wanted to hold Reid's hand, and literally fell asleep doing so. He loves his brother!
And there is our trip. We had a great time, with great company, and fostered great memories.
We also had quite a tough couple of days with Micah on vacation...his strong will exhibiting itself in massive amounts, leaving Christian and I to scour more books, articles, parenting teaching, friends' advice, etc, etc. We are continuing to learn about our little boy's temperament, and consequently figuring out the best ways in which to deal with his outbursts. One of the things that has stuck out in both of our minds in our recent readings is about discipling our child, not disciplining him in the form of punishments, necessarily. And also realizing that his strong will is a good thing that we shouldn't break, it just needs to be nurtured and guided in a positive direction. Ahh, parenting. We never thought it would be easy, we just didn't see it being as hard as it is sometimes. :) And I know we're only at the tip of the iceberg in this journey!! So, if you think of it, pray we continue to raise our boys in the ways that God desires us to. Pray we stand strong, don't give up, and trust that we are doing the best that we know and allow the Lord to guide our actions.
the book shepherding a child's heart by tripp is a great resource for "discipline" among other parenting things - and is a free audiobook on itunes right now!!! :)
ReplyDelete- deanna