St. Joseph, Michigan

Ahhh.....Michigan. I could go there every year and never get tired of it. And we have been there the last three years in a row. People say, "Don't you want to go somewhere different?" Well, there are lots of places I want to go in my lifetime. But during this season of my life, Michigan is the perfect destination spot. It's easy to vacation on a budget. You can be at the beach in four hours. And the beaches are beautiful. Who needs Florida with the salt water, seaweed and jellyfish. It's not humid and certainly not as crowded. Which I think is my favorite thing. Each time we've been to small beach towns that are laid back, relaxing and beautiful. With lots to do. Places like Gatlinburg and Gulf Shores get on my nerves after a couple days, they're so "touristy." And there are wineries. Lots of wineries. I swear Tim Allen isn't paying me anything to write this glowing endorsement. But he should be.

This year we went back to St. Joseph where Adam and I went last year to celebrate our five year anniversary. We loved it so much we had to go back and take the girls. And we took my sister Kyleigh as our babysitter. Best. Idea. Ever. Seriously, if you have kids and have never taken a babysitter, start now. When I first heard of people doing this (pre-kids obviously) I thought that seemed crazy. And then I went on vacation with my own kids and realized it's not vacation at all for the parents. It's like being at home with better scenery. Kyleigh will be a senior this year. She was a huge help with the girls; entertaining them in the car, helping get out the door, playing with them on the beach, wrangling Madi in restaurants, etc. And two nights Adam and I went out by ourselves and she hung out with the girls in the hotel. It's a good deal for her too - she got a free vacation and got to spend five days with her nieces. Plus, Abi loved having her around and really missed her after we got home.

Packing ridiculousness



Kyleigh "The Babysitter" Nelson



The sky was so pretty I was determined to get a family picture.
As if you can't tell, it was also very windy. After awhile it became ridiculous trying to
the girls to smile and tame my wild hair.



out to lunch



mmm...pickles



St. Joseph had all this cool "art" around downtown for the kids to enjoy



riding the big carousel down by the beach



There are a ton of yummy icecream places in St. Joe. I think we got icecream three nights. ha!
Kilwins is the flippin best, because I know by now I've convinced you to take your next trip here.



We spent a morning at The Curious Kids Museum. It was about the caliber
of the Kids Commons. But I actually liked this one better because they had more
for younger kids.



Madi loved the sand. She crawled in it, layed in it and ate lots of it.



Abi...was not such a huge fan. She kept wanting to rinse the sand off and then go right back to the sand.
By the last day she had pretty much gotten used to it though.





snack break



beach naps




diva




Daddy and his girls. The day before we left was Father's Day so we didn't
really celebrate much. It was a frenzy of laundry and packing till midnight. But
he opened his gifts from the girls and we went to church with his dad. That just shows
why he is such an awesome dad. He doesn't even want to be celebrated.

 

I love that they are both giving me the same annoyed face!



We found a cool putt-putt place but Abi mostly ran around whacking things with her golf club.



In case you can't tell....I am the winner!!! Yes, I beat Adam!!
He takes putt-putt very seriously and I was sooo happy.



family pic attempt 678




Next to the carousel there is a huge splash area to run around in.
We didn't last long, the water was pretty chilly.



fun at the toy store



We visited the Sarret Nature Center to see a few animals and walk a couple trails



They had a really neat tree top trail that was 60 feet high into the trees



family pic attempt 823




A tulip tree that had been around since the pilgrims!



Cheesecake and coffee after dinner at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe




the beautiful view

 

On our last night Adam and I went out to a delish dinner.
We ate here last year too, and have been talking about their crab cakes for an entire year since.
The crab cakes alone are worth the four hour drive. 

 

love birds

Sunday was our six year wedding anniversary. We had just gotten back from vacation so we played it pretty low key this year. Saturday night we ate at our favorite place, Mark Pi's and saw the new Superman. In 3D because I looked at the times wrong. On Sunday, our actual anniversary, Adam made dinner (hamburger helper), brought me a Steak 'n Shake milkshake (where we had our first date) and let me pick the movie (Runaway Bride, ha!). I was one happy girl. One day when we were at the beach, these people's ginourmous canopy flew away. And Adam was the first person on the crowded beach to run and help. And that's why I married him.

3D for life