Ahhh, vacation!

Pictures:

* Kyle's first fish! He was SO excited!

* Captain Kyle helping papa drive the boat

* Jack & Ryan on the teeter totter

* Brooke lounging at the lake

* The crew after our hike up the sand dunes

* Brooke, Jack & Ryan wrestling on the sand dunes

* Kyle & Great Grandma skipping stones in the lake

* Papa, Kyle and Grandma enjoying the campfire

* Kyle sharing his smore with Lila

* Kyle and daddy playing putt putt

* Such a thrill! Jack, Brooke and Ryan were waiting for the garbage truck to come back by the cottage.

It's been a long, busy summer and of course, every day is a vacation at our house but we decided to get away for a week. My parents rented a house in Interlochen, MI (20 min from Traverse City) and my brother/SIL/nieces came into town from CT. We had seen pictures of the house on the internet and were anxious to get away and relax. Well, our new version (with kids) of relax, that is. The house truly exceeded our expectations and we're still a close knit family after spending a week under one roof :-)

The cottage was four hours from home so we broke up the trip with a stop in to my grandma's house, which was halfway. Grandma made a peach pie with crumble topping (one of my faves!) and she said it was going to be her last pie. The second part of our drive didn't go as well as the first. Brooke had the early signs of a cold which means that she gets a horrible cough, exaggerated by the affects from her surgery at birth. Kyle was as good as gold, the little boys slept most of the way and Brooke coughed/cried the whole way. Once we arrived, she had a temperature and was pretty lathargic so someone had to hold her while we unpacked the van. Later that evening we decided to take her to the Urgent Care in Traverse City, mostly to rule out another bout of pneumonia. After a chest x-ray (HORRIBLE to have to hold her in the contraption, arms in air, while she's screaming for you to get her out of there), it was determined that it was a viral infection, no pneumonia. Thank goodness my mom had me bring the nebulizer, as that's what the doctor prescribed. The first two nights were spent sleeping in a chair with her but she rebounded quickly and was great during the day.

The week was so much fun. There were six kids under age four, so you never know what you'll get but they all had so much fun together! There were a few firsts on the trip:

• My 9.5 month old niece, Kira, crawled for the first time!
• Kyle peed in the wilderness for the first time! Papa taught him...following his "adventure", he came back and told us all he's now "a regular guy". Kyle was so proud...I'm sure something he'll add to the list of things to teach his brothers!? Hopefully he remembers that he's only supposed to do this in privacy.
• Kyle played putt putt for the first time!
• Kyle caught his first fish! A bluegill and he was SO proud as you can see from the picture. Papa had taken him to get his own fishing pole and he chose a Spiderman one.
• Kyle's first campfire which of course meant his first smore! The little ones had gone to bed and he and Lila had a blast making/eating the smores. Cute picture of Kyle sharing his with Lila.

The week seemed to go by so fast. We filled each morning with activities and the kids all napped great in the afternoon. Here's a rundown of the week:

Sunday - took the kids to a great playground down the street. They all had fun chasing each other through it. My two year old niece, Lila had a blast on long, twirly slide...no fear, that little one! The triplets tried a teeter totter for the first time and thought it was very fun.

Monday - we played at our beach in the morning, then went into Traverse City in the late afternoon to do a little shopping. We had dinner in town, which was a treat with six wild children/six adults!

Tuesday - drove 30 minutes to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The weather turned out to be perfect for climbing the dunes - overcast! All the kids did great climbing up the first leg and had SO much fun playing and running in the sand. At one point, while Ed & Kyle continued climbing, the triplets started wrestling in the sand and were laughing hysterically! It was very fun to watch. Needless to say, they took an awesome nap that afternoon and I got to sit out on our beach and enjoy a nap and read a book! That evening, Ed, Kyle and my dad went to an Independent baseball league game (Traverse City Beach Bums). They had a lot of fun!

Wednesday - my grandma and Uncle Steve drove up to visit for the day. The greatest pleasure was seeing my 90 year old grandma playing with all of the kids. At one point she rolled up her pant legs and was skipping stones with Kyle. She enjoyed seeing Lila and Kira, who she doesn't get to see that often. We finished the day with an amazing homemade apricot pie, courtesy of grandma, who swore her last pie was from Saturday :-)

Thursday - We took a few boat rides around the lake. Kyle said his highlight of the week was driving the boat! The kids loved playing in the sand and shallow water at the house. The water on the lake was so amazingly calm which made it so wonderful for the kids. Mom and I went into Traverse City to do a little shopping (Brian & Elena went up to wine country) and lunch. It was great to "get away" for a few hours!

Friday - We decided to leave in the late afternoon to head for home as my cousin was getting married on Saturday. Ed and I took Kyle to play putt putt for the first time. He had so much fun and has a little competitiveness in him. As Ed and I were competing with each other, Kyle kept reminding us that he was going to win!

We had such a great week, spending time with family. Thanks to Brian, Elena and the girls for making the long drive from Connecticut. And thanks to my parents for ALL of their help, patience and hospitality. We can't wait for next summer!