Another Independence Day up North

Another fun family filled Independence Day has came and went.  We went to Alpena on Wednesday, June 26th this year.  It was later than originally planned, but we decided to buy a new house (more on that in a later blog post), so we decided Andy working a little more would be in our best interest.  Our mosquito magnet Mia was bitten immediately upon our arrival at the property.  Her eye was swelling by our next morning there and looked even worse by Friday, along with a swollen, red, warm foot, so we headed into the Dr.'s.  At least after last year, we knew where to go and they had a file going for her already.  The Dr. was more concerned with her foot than the eye, and put her on some antibiotics and steroids.  She's always a trooper through it all.
 
Mia actually laughs more about being funny looking.  After all, she's our comedian in the family and I think she knows it adds to her stand up act when she looks that way.  We did manage to make it the rest of the 10 days there and the return trip home without any another Dr. visit!
 

One part I love about being on our property besides the quiet nature and laid back lifestyle is how our girls get along and use their imagination.  At home, Olivia is constantly saying she's bored and asking what she can do.  Remind you she has oodles of books, toys, games, puzzles, arts and crafts, etc. right at her finger tips at home.  Up north, I rarely here, "What can I do?" or "I'm bored."  Instead they go out together and create their own little world.  The photo above is their homemade teeter totter they developed.  The dirty sand pit behind is also what Mia dubbed, "The Compost Site."  She was the compost site worker and now wants to do that when she grows up.  Each girl made their own house on the property and would invite each other over on a daily basis.  Fighting between them is kept to a minimum.  It's not completely extinct there.  We have the occasional fighting over a toy, or during bad weather (rain and mosquito mobs) when they're forced to stay in the camper, but for the most part they are friends enjoying each other's company.

Mia lounging at Olivia's pad.
 

Olivia being the supreme hostess that she is.

As far as progress on the barn goes, we are happy to report we passed our final inspection!  Andy put the windows in, framed in the last wall, installed the garage door and put up the soffit and fascia.  It may not look like much, but he got a lot done in a short time.  We have no plans to do a lot more to the barn this year, but hope to start working on the inside of it next summer and maybe get it sided.

This year we were blessed to not only have Andy's parents and sister come up to spend time with us, but also Andy's grandma, and Aunt Doris and Uncle Gary, along with Robert.  Nana, Papa, Great Grandma, Aunt Doris (or Diva as the girl's lovingly refer to her), and Uncle Gary all made their grand appearance Monday evening.  The next day we headed to Ocqueoc Falls just west of Roger City for a short day trip.  I had never been, but remember my cousin Erica going regularly as a teen, and always wanted to see for myself.  Ocqueoc Falls is the longest (distance not steepest) waterfall in the lower peninsula and the only universally handicapped accessible waterfall in the U.S.  You can actually get into the waterfalls and walk up and down them.  They have a smooth ramp to allow for easy access to the falls or you can hike the rough terrain to them.  The area also boasts camping, and various lengths of hiking and bike trails.  It truly was beautiful.

Mia dipping her toes in.
 

Olivia scaling the falls.
 

The girls and I atop one part of the falls.  The falls kept going on behind us beyond the river bend.  Olivia, Andy, and I all ventured to the very top of the falls.  Andy and I decided we will remember water shoes next time. 

I took a step and it was a little deeper than I thought and got my shorts all wet.  Oh well.
 

Olivia absolutely loved exploring the falls and us giving her the freedom to do so.  She's getting braver as she continues to grow up on us.
 

Mia holding Aunt Diva's hand as we headed back to the cars.  Ocqueoc Falls is definitely on our family's to do list again in the near future.  After the falls we drove in to Roger City for the world famous Plath's Meat Market and picked up some food for a cookout, ate some lunch at a cute little restaurant, drove through the awesome and enormous rock quarry, and then hit the Old and New Presque Isle Light Houses.  Andy's grandma is amazing.  She's turning 84 soon and climbed all 130 stairs up to the top of the new light house and back down.  130 might not sound like a lot, but I have done it a few times now and get winded every time myself.  I think they said it's the equivalent of climbing to the top of a 12 or 13 story building.  It was terrific to be able to have so much family up with us to celebrate our country's independence.  My dad and Patty also were up to add to the family fun.  I of course forgot my camera this trip, so I only managed a few photos on my iPad which is what you see here today.  Not having my camera allowed me to enjoy all the fun and not be so worried about taking pictures and keeping my camera from getting broken.  Andy snapped a few on his phone too, which I'll include in my next post. 

1st Ever Sturgis Youth Triathlon

This past Saturday was the first ever Sturgis Youth Triathlon.  Of course Olivia jumped at the opportunity and it didn't take much convincing to get Jadon and Titus to participate as well.  With this being the first triathlon Sturgis has put on, we didn't quite know what to expect.  Around 50 youth ages 6-13 turned up for the fun event.  Olivia's age group was first and she was in the first heat.  She also competed against Titus, and her good friend Taner.  Due to the athletes needing to exit the pool and run through the lobby to get on their bikes, you had to decide if you were in the pool watching the heat, or outside watching the transition to the bike.  Andy, Elizabeth's family, and Nana and Papa were in the pool to watch Olivia and Titus swim.  My dad and Patty and I stayed out to watch her transition to the bike and so I could assist her getting dressed.  I was surprised to see her all of a sudden outside, not actually realizing the event had started.  She took no time at all getting her gear on and heading off on her bike.  As she was taking off on her bike the rest of the kids started making their way outside.  Titus, not being the strongest swimmer, was last out of the pool, but raring to go. 

And she's off.

Titus getting geared up.

Can it be?  She's back already.  Olivia was back on her bike from the 1/2 mile course in no time, with no sight of other participants.
 

She's off on her last leg of the race, the run!
 

Titus and Taner coming in side by side on their bikes.  As you can see Titus fumbling a bit in this picture, he wiped out pretty hard right there.  He got up like it was nothing and kept going.  He was such a trooper.
 

There's Olivia running back in on the left, while the others are all heading out still.  The 6-7 year olds only had a 1/4 mile run.
 

Crossing the finish line as the first in her age group!  Way to go girl.  She finished in 7 minutes and 24.  The race wasn't actually timed at all, but Andy had his stopwatch going for our own knowledge.  They wanted to keep the race fun and not make it a competition with the children.  Getting kids interested in exercise rather than the usual competition was the main focus which we understand and respect. 

Taner and Titus finishing strong!
 

Cousins and buddies proud of their accomplishments!  We are very proud of both of you too!
 

Jadon, being in the oldest age group was towards the end of the event.  I actually got to be inside to see the swim portion for his.
 

Swimming hard.
 

Headed out on his bike for the 3 mile ride.
 

Sprinting to the finish for the last of his 1.5 mile run!  He made up a lot of ground during his bike and run.  He's quite an athlete.

Jared with his fellow triathlete sons.  I know it's not the best picture of Jadon, but he was actually smiling.  That is something we rarely can capture on film so I had to post it. 

Overall, it was a family fun event that went by very quickly.  I am amazed at how well organized and smoothly everything ran, especially with it being the first year.  We will definitely be participating in the future years. 

June 11th Celebrations

June 11th is a very special day for our family.  Not only is it my father's birthday, but it's also my niece Jane's birthday.  This year my dad turned the big 60, while sweet Janie turned 3!  The evening of their actual birthday we celebrated at our house and had a backyard cookout.

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Grandpa and Jane blowing out the candles on their ice cream cake.
 

Everyone digging in to dessert.
 

The boys enjoying some ice cream cake too.
 

Mia being Mia.
 

Grandpa with all of his grandchildren. 
 

My dad and his daughters.

It was a terrific evening full of stories shared and memories made.  We're blessed that we can all be together to celebrate these special days.

Mud Running

A short while back, my sister Elizabeth informed me about the Mud Run in Kalamazoo.  I have always loved getting dirty, so I signed myself up for the 5K fun run, and Olivia was thrilled to do the kids' 1 mile fun run.  While registering her, I saw a parent was allowed to run with their child, so Andy agreed.  I was shocked he was willing since he hates running, but he had a terrific time too.

Jared, Jadon, and I all set to start the race
 

Here you can see all three of us entering the first muddy obstacle.  Jared is center, Jadon to his right, and I'm partially seen behind Superman.  I managed to keep up with Jared and Jadon through the first two obstacles, but quickly they pulled away, which I anticipated.

Here Jared and Jadon are exiting the last obstacle before they make the couple hundred yard run to the finish line.

Being a spectator was not a clean task either.
 

Here I am coming out of the last mud pit too.
 

After the race.  Jared and Jadon had already cleaned off since they finished quite a bit ahead of me.
We had a great time and I think we'll all be doing it again next year.
 

Andy and Olivia's prerace photo.
 

Asher entering the first mud pit.
 

Here he hits the mud pit.

He's the first one out of the mud.  If you look closely you can make out Olivia on the far back right.
 

Here's Titus and Andy entering the mud.
 

Olivia making her way through.
 

Asher skipped the slides and just went down the center.  He was super competitive and the first to finish for our group of kids.
 

Heading towards the finish line.
 

Titus got air born coming off the slide!
 

Olivia's turn

Andy is last down the slides.
 

Trudging through the muddy water at the bottom of the slides.

Titus almost there.  He saw us right after this photo and had the muddiest huge smile!  I wish I could have captured that.
 

Here come Andy and Olivia.

It was a blast and raises money for clean drinking wells in Africa!  Andy has even agreed to do the 5K next year.  If anyone else wants to join in the fun, I know you'll love it!