Aaaaaand this is what happens when the kids use Photobooth on the iPad

Evans cousin convention

Does it count as a cousin convention when there are only three cousins?  Sure!  Why not?  Erin and Sonia made the long (though not nearly as long as it used to be) drive up to Michigan to see us for a few days, and the kids are having a blast.  All three kids are obsessed with Star Wars and have been acting out scenes from the movie (well, if the movies had scenes involving things like interaction between Yoda and the Ewoks) and acting like complete goofballs.  Here is just a taste of the mayhem we caught on film (or at least the SD card):

The kids have played in the cinnamon-infused sandbox.

They have wolfed down ice cream.

Charlotte found and befriended a dragonfly.

They played some more in the sand box.

Aaaaaand, they ended the day with a wild dance party in their Abbey nighties.

Shake your booty!

The end.

Jolli Lodge - Last Post

Saturday morning, we decided to hike up Pyramid Point.  Pyramid Point is a peninsula between Good Harbor Bay and Sleeping Bear Bay, and is visible from the Jolli Lodge.  The hike is pretty easy -- less than a mile uphill on a very nice groomed path in the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.

After hiking through a meadow, we made our way into a forest.

After climbing through the forest, the trail ended and the world seemed to fall away!

Family portrait . . .  In the background, you can see North Manitou Island.  It was pretty hazy, so it was hard to see long distances.

After hiking back to our Big Red Van, we drove over to Cedar for our "international" experience of the vacation.  Cedar is known for its Polish population and their very energetic Polka-Fest.  But, we were there for the tacos at the Cedar Sol Hydro Farm.  Apparently, they sell hydroponic equipment and hydroponic crops . . . and tacos.  As reported by the Pennsylvania/D.C. Taylors, the tacos were excellent!

We sucked down our tacos and headed back to the Jolli Lodge for more swimming.  (You can see Pyramid Point in the background.)

Peter, running off after his blue tube . . .

No vacation is truly a vacation until we've taken a picture of Peter jumping into a lake.

Splash!

The Lodge from the beach.

The four of us went out in a couple of kayaks for a while, and then later Peter and I spent a considerable amount of time at sea.  When we came back to the beach, Peter found the paddle, climbed back in, and practiced for a while.

For dinner on Saturday, we got together with Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Don, Maisie, Quinn, NanaB, and GrandDad at a cottage they rented in Leland.  Unfortunately, we did not take any pictures.  

Sunday morning, we woke up, had breakfast at the Early Bird in Leland, picked up the dog and hung out with Uncle Dave and Aunt Lisa . . .  and didn't take any pictures again.  Awwwwww.

We can't wait to go up North again!

The Mystery of the Pink Cat

No, that's not the title of the latest Busytown Mysteries episode the kids are watching -- it's a real life mystery!

We were all in the kitchen, finishing up lunch.  Charlotte asked to be excused and when she walked toward the family room she came across Rocky.  "MOM!" she shouted, "Rocky is all pink!"

I walked over to investigate and found that indeed, large patches of Rocky's fur were neon pink.  It wasn't wet and didn't smell like anything.  It was on his head, sides, front paws, and face.  We shut him up in the laundry room and did what Sally Cat (from Busytown Mysteries) would have done -- took pictures.

We started combing the house, looking for what on earth could have turned Rocky so pink.  Nothing on the main floor looked like the culprit, so I decided to check the basement.  Before I was halfway down the stairs I spotted a large, bright pink spot on the concrete floor.

Charlotte, following close behind me, explained she had been "decorating" the basement floor with chalk.  Apparently, Rocky had headed down there to go potty (the cats' litter boxes are down there) and had fallen in love with the pink spot.  He must have pawed at it and rolled in it for a while in order to get such good coverage.  Luckily, I can't find any footprints or anything else that got stained by the chalk (other than a Snoopy stuffed animal that Peter dragged through it before I could get it all wiped up).

We hauled Mr. Pinky upstairs and hosed him down in the kids' bathroom.  The chalk washed out easily and I didn't even need to use any shampoo.  Peter shrieked with glee as he saw Rocky shrink from his normal magnificent fluffiness down to this:

"Can you turn him back into Wocky again?" Peter asked.

Poor Rocky is now licking himself all over and desperately trying to forget the traumatic experience.  Decorating the basement floor has now been banned, and we're all headed outside to investigate what the workmen are doing at the very back of our yard (where the heavy equipment was parked while the neighborhood was getting repaved, the grass is being replanted and sprinkler systems reinstalled).  WHEW.

More Jolli Lodge . . .

On Friday after dinner, the six of us headed back to Leland to show the kids Fishtown.  Up by the Cove, there are always fun cars.  On Friday night, there was an Amphicar.  If you look closely, you'll see some seaweed hanging from the port-side prop.

The old Janice Sue - some things never change . . .

The kids at the Fishtown candy store.

We drove back to the Jolli Lodge, and Peter shot some hoops.

I got credit for the assist on this shot.

Peter out-maneuvers NanaB and goes in for the score!

Niki led us all down to the beach to watch the sunset.

Mama bear watching the sunset.

Peter and Charlotte and NanaB.

Vacation sunset #2.

After the sunset, the kids crashed.  They were tired little puppies.

Up North at the Jolli Lodge

For the Fourth of July this year, we packed up the Big Red Van and headed up North to vacation at the Jolli Lodge in Leelanau County.

By mid-afternoon, we had dropped Connie off at a kennel, had lunch at the Red Mesa Grill in Traverse City, driven around the bay and up the Leelanau Peninsula to Jolli Lodge, were greeted by Erin, Katie, Aunt Martha, Uncle Doug, Granny, Grandpa, and June-the-Jolli-Lodge-Dog, and were on beach.  This sign is cheerful, but a little morbid, don't you think?

Charlotte and Peter had a blast playing in this little paddleboat.  Charlotte named it the "Wheeler."  They spent a lot of time riding the waves in it.

We played, stepped on a nail, went to an urgent care clinic all the way back down in Traverse City, enjoyed a wonderful grilled meal by the Pennsylvania/D.C. Taylors, and then settled down to watch our first sunset of the trip.  The kids yelled "Goodbye Sun!  See you tomorrow" as the sun dipped down behind North Manitou Island.

We spent the next morning catching up with the Pennsylvania/D.C. Taylors and Granny and Grandpa (and apparently didn't take any pictures), and then headed across the Leelanau Peninsula to Suttons Bay, where NanaB and GrandDad keep their boat in the village marina.

We had lunch in a park, then headed out onto Suttons Bay.  We motored all the way up to Omena, then came back and anchored for some swimming.

Peter took a nap, as he does on moving things (he took a nap in a kayak with me on Saturday . . . ) and Charlotte took the opportunity to dance around with the American lag . . . for a one-day-late Fourth of July picture.

Next thing you know, we were in the water.  It was cold.  VERY COLD.  Now, water in Northern Michigan is typically cold in June, but due to the very cold spring, it was like swimming in the Arctic.  Charlotte declared it was "colder than snow."

Charlotte stayed in the water for a while, though.  Ever since she visited Grandma Jo and Grandpa Spike in Dallas, she has been a little river otter.

Peter, who is rapidly becoming our "sensible child," dipped his toe in a while, egged me into diving underwater, and then finally jumped in . . . and jumped right back out.

Eventually, GrandDad took us for one more high-speed blast around the Bay . . .

 . . .  which the kids loved -- they squealed and giggled like maniacs as the boat's big 350 thrummed and the boat lunged over the waves.

Finally, we pulled into the Suttons Bay Village Marina, and then headed off to dinner at the Village Inn.

To be continued . . . .