Traverse City, August 2013

On Tuesday, August 13th we drove 3.5 hours northwest to the beautiful Traverse City. The kids were wonderful in the car. I'm sure it helped that they each got to pick a movie to watch, and we stopped off for lunch half way. Cora did really well and slept for an hour on the way there. We stayed in a cute little cottage that had a living room, kitchen, bathroom, main bedroom, and a loft for the big kids. Because we were staying at a campground, we had great "camping" benefits like the awesome fire pit right outside our front door, but we also had lovely conveniences like a shower and kitchen that a resort would offer. It was a great balance, and we definitely loved using the fire pit to make s'mores and tin foil dinners our first night there.

On Wednesday we woke up and it was really cold out, so we couldn't make our way to the lake like we wanted to. Instead we decided to go downtown and do some exploring. We found an adorable little pottery shop where the kids each got to pick something to paint. Maya chose something impractical of course, a dolphin, even after I tried coaxing her into getting a cute cereal bowl or something that she would actually get to use every day. She wasn't having it though. Josh chose an airplane, and I was surprised how long he actually sat and painted it. I thought he'd get bored after a few minutes, but he painted the entire thing. They'll get their creations in a week or so after it has been glazed. We're excited to see how they turned out!

After the pottery shop we went to a nice restaurant for lunch. Nick and I split two entrees - he had the local fish and chips and I had a pastrami sandwich. We then headed back to the cottage, which was about 15 minutes away, and I stayed with Cora while she napped, and Nick took the kids swimming at the pool. They must have been brave because it was still chilly out and they got in anyway. We decided to head out again when Cora woke up. After an hour's drive we pulled up to Sleeping Bear Dunes, and it was an awesome sight! We made it up the first big dune, and the next smaller one, but after that we had to stop. Maya and Nick did go up one more smaller hill so they could see the Lake Michigan view, but Josh couldn't go any further. I was proud of how well he did! Finally, we stopped off at the lake to play for awhile before driving home.

We took a quick walk by the lake to kill some time before the pottery shop opened. Absolutely breathtaking. It was hard to believe we were walking by a lake because the water was so clear and beautiful, and the sand was clean, soft, and perfect.

The last picture cracks me up. Nick is not so impressed with Josh's painting skills. :)

Having lunch.

Gorgeous! I want to go back...

Check out the tan line on Maya's leg/butt. Little stinker tans so easily.

Can't have a vacation without a trip to Urgent Care. Cora had a nasty eye infection so we stopped on the way back and got her some drops from the pharmacy. She's such a little sweetheart and didn't whine or fuss, in spite of the fact she didn't feel well.

Thursday morning we got up and had some chill time while Cora took a nap. I was talking to a lady at the front desk and asked her if we could peek into one of the larger cottages they had available. If we were to come back next year we could use the extra space, and for only $20 more a night I wanted to see what the differences were. Wow. We were staying in a dump for the first 2 nights. Haha. Not really, but the model we saw was amazing! We found out that the unit was open that night and they offered to let us move our stuff and try it out for no additional charge. At first we didn't think making the move would be worth it for just one night, but I'm so glad we decided to go for it. It was a lot more comfortable...we weren't walking on top of each other, and it was much cleaner. A big benefit since Cora is crawling and into everything.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach. When we got back we did some of the fun activities offered at the lodge: bracelet making and a tractor ride driven by a 12 year old kid. No joke. He looked young enough to be my child. Scary stuff but we survived. We had grilled chicken and some sides for dinner and of course s'mores for dessert since it was our last night.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! They are both so happy looking at each other.

A successful Giordano Family Vacation! As Josh would say, "I'm not wait for our next bacation. Can you, mom?" I love my little family.