So I don't Forget...

PIERCE
Last Tuesday Pierce wrapped his arms around my legs while I was making him lunch and said, "Mom, I love you." Best. Moment. Ever.

JAMES
One of James' friends came over and said, "I shooted you." James: "It's shot." Friend: "What?" James: "It's not shooted, it's shot. Mom, lots of the kids in my class don't speak very well."

PARKER
In the back of the car listening to the song, "Hall of Fame," he says, "I love rap. I think I am going to be a doctor during the day and then in my time off I will be an artist and a rapper."

JACE
Mike and I needed to chat for a minute last Saturday without the kids' big ears listening, so we told them to go play while we talked for a minute and we shut our door. After about 10 minutes, we opened the door and Jace came in and in a hushed tone said, "Were you guys making another baby?" I tried to keep a straight face and told him, "No, we were just talking." Jace: "Good, because if you did try and make a baby, you would lock the door right?"

Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore

A few years ago we went to Sleeping Bear and hiked the dunes and played in the gloriously clear water, but this year we decided to try something different. So, after my early massage on Saturday morning (also paid for by the hotel) we grabbed some food at the grocery store and headed out.

We decided to float the Platte River, which was exceedingly slow, but perfect for our little gang. We ended up half floating half walking until the ground got sharp, then we all put our feet up. We had a short hike back to the base, then got in the cars to spend the rest of the day at a beach in Frankfort.

Michigan beaches are awesome. Nice sand, decent water, and even on the 4th of July weekend, no crowds!! We are going to miss that. We had a relaxing and sunny final day as we watched the kids play and play as we chatted and chatted. A quick bite at A and W and we were home before midnight. What a weekend!

Traverse City! One of our most favorite vacations ever!

The Traverse City Resort and Spa contacted me through my blog and asked if we would be interested in coming to their resort over the 4th of July for a few days and and enjoying all the amenities. Umm...YES! It could not have been better! We loved every minute that we spent together.

The hotel itself was fantastic. I mean really great...(to read more, click here) One of the first things the kids saw was Dylan's Candy Bar! Dream come true. We took them down the first night and let them spend $7 on whatever they wanted. The candy was overpriced but yummy and their faces were totally worth it. We got lots of hugs for being so "Awesome."

After we got our bags taken to the rooms and settled in, we headed over to the beach where there were tons of fun activities going on and we met up there with the Duckworths, who are awesome traveling companions. The Beach Olympics was a total highlight (Jace won second place) and the kids had fun decorating rubber duckies and racing them. The actual beach area was small but it didn't bother the little ones at all. It was really a beautiful place!

After our day at the beach we ate at THE YUMMIEST Mexican restaurant...Osorio's. We were all in heaven with the authentic and homemade Mexican food.







After dinner we rushed to the 4th of July parade at the Cherry Festival. We waited awhile and realized that as much as we wish we were, we are not a parade family. We enjoyed the patriotic displays though, saw a few floats, then left half way through. It was one LONG parade!

Doesn't he look cool? Gets better looking every year ;)

After we ditched the parade, we headed to the carnival where we paid way too much for way too little. The faces of these boys were worth every penny though. Scared spitless.

Happy 4th of July family ;)

That night, instead of sticking around the crowded and hot city, the boys wanted to go back to the hotel to swim at the indoor pool. We grabbed our candy and went up to change, then they headed down for a super fun swim. As I watched from my lounge chair I remember feeling so lucky to be a mom of these boys who have so much fun together. Just one of those moments when you want to freeze time. After the swim, Pierce was asleep so we gathered in the boys room and watched the fireworks on TV together. May sound kind of lame, but it was perfect for our family. We loved every minute of snuggling, sharing candy and showing our best dance moves to the music, then we all stayed awake way too late watching extreme treehouses.

The next morning we spent an hour playing tennis together, proving we are absolutely horrible.

And that this guy is cute no matter what. 

After some tennis we went swimming at the outdoor pool in the beautiful sunshine, then the kids begged to go inside to the "cool" pool. So we headed indoors and they all had a blast...this time with dad and Pierce too.

One of the main reasons we went up over the 4th was to experience The Cherry Festival. We also realized that we are not a family who loves to be in crowds when it is boiling outside. But, we got a taste of the festival and watched some flying dogs, ate the best cherries we had ever had, indulged in cherry snowcones made with real cherry juice (the best!) and partook in a little fair food. It was a fun thing to do once, but we were more than ready to get back to our awesome resort.

On the way back we loved looking at the cute coastal homes. I didn't take pictures of very many, but I loved this color combo.

 Part of the blogger package was a three coarse meal at their super nice restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. It was much more posh than we expected, but our kids were SO GOOD. It was so cute to see how seriously they took the situation of eating somewhere nice. It was so much fun to try all the food together and have them enjoy a really nice meal with us. We loved it all. If you want more info on the restaurant, you can click here.

Our view was amazing.

For its guests the hotel also provided a bon fire each night with live entertainment, beach games and s'mores. It was another one of those beautiful moments you just sit back and enjoy. We loved watching our kids have a great time with their friends as we sat back and watched the sunset. We stayed out way too late and enjoyed every second of our time together.

As we headed to bed that night we felt oh so grateful for our beautiful life.