Summer 2022 Part 2

 ***Disclaimer - I'm very far behind on keeping up with this blog. But it's important to me that I keep a family history and this is the way I've chosen to do it. These pictures may not appear in chronological order and the details have become fuzzy and some pictures have even become lost. But two years after these events, I've recommitted to continuing our family history. ***

For the 4th of July we rented a little cottage up in Frankfort in northern Michigan and just had the best time exploring a new part of the world. We kayaked down the Platte River and visited Sleeping Bear National Park with the giant sand dunes. 

This spot became a favorite of ours. This is where the river meets the lake and creates this tranquil little spot to swim and float in water that's warmer than the lake. 

On the 4th of July we set off fireworks that were exciting to us because it was the first time we lived in a place that we could get ones that go off the ground. Somehow these are pictures that were lost when all our summer pictures got lost... but we also enjoyed s'mores before the fireworks. I LOVED the cooler weather of Northern Michigan in the middle of July. I could definitely get used to that. 

We walked out to the lighthouse in Frankfort and walked on the beach there. It was just gorgeous. I haven't seen a Michigan beach that wasn't gorgeous yet. 

Then we visited The Sleeping Bear big dune climb. This quickly became a "thin place" for me - place that feels close to Heaven. We came to watch the sunset and ended up falling in love. This dune is famous for being so steep heading straight down into the water. If you go down and can't make it back up by yourself, there's a $3,000 fee to be rescued! I was so worried that my kids wouldn't be able to make it back up that I wouldn't let them go down, but we've since learned that a lot of our friends have done it with no problem. I just know I couldn't do it! 

Later in the month Jeff and Carried and their family made a quick visit to see us while they were touring church history sites. Where else would we take them other than the lake for the sunset?! They had fun digging in the sand and splashing around. 

David and I got invited to be chaperone for youth conference to Nauvoo! Even though it was tent camping and so so so hot, and our bus broke down and we sat in a McDonalds for six hours, I was so grateful to get to go. Proof of this is long lost with the other lost pictures, but it's a core memory for sure!

Just before school started, we got invited to go to Cedar Point with friends. Turned out to be a blast! The kids rodes rides for hours and hours and then stayed up late playing card games in our tiny little cabin. We went with the Christensens, Frugone, Randall and Cammack families. We feel so lucky to already have made such good friends here in Michigan and we've only been here for 9 months. 

It started raining hard while at the park so we headed back to our camp site to wait out the rain and returned later for more park time. In the meantime I tried taking cute pictures of the girls, but they had a serious case of the giggles. 

The kids all jumped on this giant jumpy thing that was coved in puddles from the rain storm. I'll never be able to describe how funny it was, you just had to be there. 

And then it was the first day of school... I can't believe Carmen is a senior this year! It felt great to be starting the school year knowing we were putting new roots down here. 

Aliza starting 10th grade

Charlotte in her last year of middle school!

And Dallin ruling the school as a big 5th grader. His teacher this year is Ms. Glasser.

We all wore orange this day to support my nephew Lane in his battle with Leukemia. He's preparing for a bone marrow transplant in a few weeks. 

And to end this really long post, I guess I just felt pretty this day and took a picture. Glad I did, I don't have many pictures of myself. My hair is getting really grey, but I get compliments on it all the time, so I guess I'll just let nature to continue on it's course.