Hello, June!

June was a really fun month for us! The weather was pretty nice (a bit too much rain but I guess that's better than a drought!) and we had lots going on.  As the school year ends and a busy summer starts, June is always another favorite month!

Chloe had her next Karate promotion on June 1st. She was promoted from a white belt to yellow belt. She had tested in mid-May but because I didn't know how to read the report (obviously I'm new to all this stuff) I wasn't sure if she was actually getting promoted. We were very happy to see that she was called up front and got to get her new belt. 

We'd been outside a lot recently and Megan had a bug bite that got infected. Why get an infected bug bite during the week when you can wake up on a weekend with one? So off to the doctor's office! While there we noticed that in addition to her cheek, she had a few more on her arm. Good grief! Poor girl.

As soon as she started on the antibiotics it improved quickly and thankfully it didn't scar. We were able to go on our adventures that weekend which included a walk in the park, ice cream, and the farmer's market. 

The next big thing was Chloe's last day of school.  As you know, it had been a crazy school year for her with her school burning down in March and being out a month while a new location was prepared.  Since she went 5 days a week and going to school was such a big part of her life, I knew the end of the year would be a pretty significant time for her. I tried to play it up by talking about all the fun stuff we'd do this summer but Chloe was clearly sad about summer vacation. (Don't worry, I'll remind her about this in a few years!) For some fun we talked about teacher gifts because she is all about that sort of thing. She wanted to make cards for her teachers (of course), bake some cookies, and we decided to get a gift card to one of her favorite eating spots (Panera Bread).  The day came so we got some farewell shots and prepped our gifts!

We picked her up that day at noon and went out to lunch. Nothing says summer like a gigantic brownie sundae served in a martini glass bigger than your head!

The real last day came the next day at her school picnic. We made our 7 layer bean dip and headed out to a local park to meet up with the rest of the school family. 

Onto all those fun summer activities we promised!

Miniature golf and ice cream with friends! We took Ann to Dairy-Go-Round and the girls had to ride some of the horses on their carousel. 

The next day I had to get some work done on my car so instead of sitting at the shop we went across the street to a diner right by the railroad tracks. They had a horn the girls could pull and it was the highlight of their breakfast :)  

When the car was done we headed to Meijer for groceries and the girls got to ride Sandy the pony for the first time. I can't believe they still have Sandy in stores. I remember riding Sandy as a kid. Still only a penny! 

As if the day was not busy enough, I took the girls bowling that afternoon. I had signed them up for a program called "Kids Bowl Free" where they each get two free games of bowling per week. I'm hoping to take them several times over the summer. 

The last big family event for the month was Father's Day weekend. We celebrated with my family up in Lansing on Saturday (my dad's birthday always lands around Father's Day so we usually get together that weekend to celebrate both) and on Sunday spent time with our little immediate family.  For my dad's party I made pineapple upside down cake, cookies, fruit salad, and pina colada punch.  Our lunch was hotdogs and hamburgers, potato salad, beans, mac and cheese, salad, chips, and veggies. We had so much good food! 

The afternoon was warm so we spent most of it outside. The kids splashed in the pool, tooled around the yard, and played dress up.  Cousin Delaney also worked her craft with face painting. The kids loved it! 

Most of the TV shows the girls watch are on PBS so last year I took them to a kids event sponsored by our local PBS station - "PBS Kids Club Live." Barney does a live stage show and there are several characters there. A petting zoo, bouncy house, crafts, face painting...it's a lot of fun. This year I saw that Daniel Tiger was going to be there so we decided to go again this year. The weather was perfect and they really enjoyed every part.  Not only did we see Daniel Tiger, but Cat in the Hat and Clifford the Big Red Dog. The girls got their faces painted and bounced bounced bounced. 

A fun morning! 

Away

For the first time since having children, Nathan and I went away for the weekend ALL BY OURSELVES! The last time I was away from the girls overnight was when Megan was two weeks old. Nathan had to rush me to the hospital in the middle of the night for an emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder. (I know it sounds exciting, like something off a TV show, but I can assure you it was not, and, if possible, even less romantic than it sounds.) We'd gone away together as a family a few times but after our last experience (Megan throwing up in the car on the way, then me having the Worst Toothache Ever and spending most of the time in pain counting the moments until I could take another Motrin) I vowed that we were not going again unless we could go alone. I love the girls to pieces, but four people, two of which crash at 7pm, in one hotel room is not much of a vacation. So, with babysitting arranged (thanks Dad and Chris!), we made plans to visit Traverse City for the weekend. 

We dropped off the girls in Lansing and then made a leisurely drive up north. No one threw up. No fighting. No requests for "kids songs" (Nathan's favorite part). We even stopped for some coffee and hot chocolate. Wait in line? Who cares! We chatted. Time flew by. By early afternoon we were in Traverse City. Our first stop was the old Psych hospital that has been turned into are area with offices, shops, and restaurants. We had lunch reservations at Trattoria Stella. Everything was awesome! The service was terrific and everything we ate was so far above average I think we stopped talking to soak it all in. 

It was a beautiful afternoon so we parked in the downtown and walked around, checked out some stores, and found the "Hearts Wall."  Found some souvenir shirts for the girls and grabbed take out for later.

At this point we just wanted to check into our hotel and be "home" for the night so we got unpacked and walked along the beach right outside our door. Such a pretty sunset! I love how the sky transitions to blue to golden over the course of such a short time!

The sunrise was just as pretty as the sunset the night before! After sleeping in (hello, king-sized bed!) we headed off for a substantial breakfast before driving out to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  We ate at a little French hole-in-the-wall called Chez Peres (later that weekend we'd stop back to their patisserie for croissants).

So, about the dunes. Nathan and I had never been so we thought we'd climb up one dune and see the lake. Note to future Julie: when the U.S. Park Service hands you a brochure at the gate, read it before you get out of the car.  I ended up reading it later, that night, in the hotel which was only helpful to plan our next visit. We did end up having a really fun time (after the first hill) but unfortunately we did not make it all the way to the lake. Turns out there are about 9 dunes between the parking lot and the lake. Next time! It would be fun to take the girls here when they are older and can carry their own supplies.  Here are the highlights of our dunes climb.

Since we'd burned about 10 trillion calories climbing up and down sand dunes, we decided a treat was in order. Not far away was Moomers ice cream so we trekked there and ate about 15 trillion calories of delicious. We got butter pecan! Nathan thought it was the best ice cream he's ever eaten (hence why he's not so happy that I make him stop for a picture. LOL)

We were so worn out from our hiking and eating! We got a late lunch/early dinner and headed back to the hotel room.  Despite shaking out our clothes and shoes, we were still covered with sand so next tasks were to shower and take some Advil.

The next morning was foggy and drizzly. We'd planned on brunch so we slept in a bit and then ate one of the best meals ever at Apache Trout Grill. Seriously, if you have a chance to eat brunch there, do it! The meal was pricey but, oh my, so delicious!  I ate a lot of mac and cheese and I can testify that it was probably the best I've ever eaten. In honor of it and a super yummy peach crape, below are their pictures (but first, bonus footage of the fishermen next to the restaurant.)

We decided to drive up the shore to Petoskey to shop. When we finally got hungry later, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants (Twisted Olive). Thankfully the clouds parted and it ended up being a beautiful sunny day.

Of course we had to stop by the World's Biggest Cherry Pie on the way back to Traverse City!

Last stop that day was Mission Point Lighthouse. There are lots of little peninsulas like this in Michigan so we made one last drive to see the lighthouse. It wasn't quite sundown but the scenery was so beautiful. Lots of vineyards and rolling hills!

The next morning we were off to Lansing to pick up our girls. It was so nice to be away, but also very nice to see these smiling faces waiting for us!