Michigan - Fun with Family Part 2 - Cookout and Lawn Games

After we came back from Mackinac, we had a cookout over at Dawn and Gary's house and played badminton, football, and lawn darts.  Good times!  (Note: I may have thrown a lawn dart or two, but that was the extent of my athleticism.)

Lily - looking cute as always.  

And, note: if you ever want to call a big hockey player adorable,  just strap his baby girl on his chest and there you have it - super adorable pic! 

Lawn darts!  Apparently banned and no longer available for sale - super fun, but I can kind of see why they might be banned - throwing large, pointy darts in the general vicinity of your competition... :)

Just more fun pics!

Michigan - Children's Museum

On one of our days, we went to the Marquette Children's Museum.  It was really cute and the girls really enjoyed playing there.  They enjoyed it so much that after we went "home" for lunch and naps, we went back that afternoon (same day re-entry is free).  As a mom of two littles, I LOVED the bathroom.  Being able to pee while my kid pees instead of having to do a pee pee dance while I wait on her and try hard not to rush her while simultaneously trying to rush her is just an amazing perk!  Plus, having everything low enough for the kids to wash their own hands without me having to juggle kids, soap, water, and an attempt at staying dry was also awesome!  Can you tell I liked the bathroom?  I've talked about it more than the actual museum.  Ha! 

Michigan - Mackinac Island

I should break this up into multiple posts, but I'm not.  Just know, lots of pictures ahead and it's still just a fraction of what I took!  We really enjoyed our little side trip.  

Mackinac Island in Michigan is like stepping back in time.  You take a ferry to it and there are no cars on island, but there are LOTS of horses and buggies and FUDGE!  Oh my, that fudge is GOOD!

I snapped this pic on the way to Mackinac at a rest stop that was near a section of beach on Lake Superior.  One of my greatest joys as a wife and mom has been watching Brian with the girls.  It always makes my heart swell!  

Ferry Boat ride out to the island.  Naomi wanted to be up top until she figured out how very cold it is once the boat really gets moving and the wind whips up from the water.  Brrrr!  She hid out under Daddy!

Views of Mackinac - aka bicycles, buggies (and horses) and boats!

Love our little family pic with the horse and buggy!

 

The Grand Hotel as seen from our buggy tour:

Our first stop on the tour was at the Butterfly House.  I took a ton of pics because the butterflies were so beautiful!  Here's a little sample:

The girls taking a little beverage break before we see the butterflies.  

This butterfly landed on Brian when we first got there and rode around on him the entire time we walked through the place. 

Lots of beautiful butterflies!

 Me and Brian in front of a little Love Blooms sign.  :)  And cutie Olivia smiling!

The next stop was at this awesome arch!  At some point in the ride from the butterflies to here, Naomi fell sound asleep in my lap and slept through me climbing off with her, walking around with her and climbing back on the buggy with her.  Have I mentioned how heavy a sleeper she is?  

 

We toured the Fort next and the girls wanted to fire the cannon.  In fact Naomi cried when she found out that only the re-enactment soldiers got to fire the cannon so we found her one that she could pretend to fire. 

Here are some beautiful views, some from the Fort and some from the walk down the hill back to the main street.  

We had a little lunch with a little fudge of course which put everyone in excellent spirits!  We took a little walk along the water front before boarding our ferry back to the mainland.  

I think it may have worn some of my crew out since this is the pic I snapped on the ferry ride back.  

The next day before we drove back to Marquette, we used our free passes to go to a little in-hotel waterpark.  It was the perfect size for preschoolers!  Plus, they had a warm pool too!

Then, we cleaned up, grabbed some lunch and drove back to Marquette.  :)

(Mmmm... just noticed that the strap on Olivia's carseat is twisted - oops!)

Back at "home", someone snapped this pic and it doesn't really go anywhere else, but I love it!