South Haven: Beautiful Beach Days

We went to the beach many more times during our trip, and each time the kids got more and more comfortable there.  By the second visit, we were able to get them into the water, a real bonus since it got pretty hot some days.

We built sandcastles.  They make amazing sandcastle forms these days!

We ate things both healthy ...

... and not-so-healthy.  The kids got to try Hawaiian shaved ice for the first time during this trip; I'm pretty sure they agreed with us that it is much more hype than actual enjoyment.

Mollie and I even flew a kite together!  (Thank you, Grandma/GG for the awesome pocket kite!  It was amazingly easy to get into the air and fly.)

By the end of the week, we had a couple rains here and there and the water got cooler and more tumultuous so we didn't frequent the beach as much.  We knew we'd never be able to keep the kids out of the water if we went, so we decided to just find other things to do.

I'm so thankful for this trip, in part, because it started our kids on a love for the beach.  The sun, the surf, the fine sand ... who could really ask for more on a sunny Michigan summer's day?

South Haven: Blueberry Pancakes and a Walk

As I mentioned, the kids woke up surprisingly fresh-faced after a sketchy night of sleep.  It could have been because there were blueberry pancakes to be eaten.  I'm not sure.

After breakfast we went for a walk with Oma.  Sally came along, too.

This next picture just had to be enlarged.  This is what it looks like when your two year-old is terrified of dogs and needs to be whisked into your arms ASAP.

The walk along the harbor was just beautiful, and Mollie did a good job taking care of Sally up to the very end.  I, of course, ended up carrying her home.  Such is life, though, right?

South Haven: Moving In and a Chilly Eve

In mid-July we drove down to South Haven for a lovely little week-long vacation with my parents and sister.  I have a ton of pictures from it, so I'm going to try very hard to keep the commentary to a minimum and just let the pictures do the talking.

After freaking out with excitement at their new surroundings, the kids settled down for a little reading time with Oma and Grandpa E.  

After dinner we went to the ice cream shack at the beach for a little dairy treat.  It was the coldest night we had on our trip, but that certainly didn't stop us.

Though the birds nearly stopped Mollie ... she was terrified of them at first and insisted they were "eagles" not "sea gulls".  (In her defense, their names sound a lot alike.)

The next morning, after a not-so-hot night's sleep (thanks again, Monsters Inc.) the kids were up and ready to go.