Elk Rapids (Day 1)

My folks own a condo Up-North in Elk Rapids, Michigan and so in hopes of keeping summer going a little longer, Jeff and I packed up the kids and were on our way.

The drive was great- shorter than I remembered - but that didn’t stop the Bigs from asking every five minutes if we were “there yet?” Thankfully the Littles slept most of the trip and I did go back and read a chapter of Prince Caspian to the Bigs which helped a bit. Somehow we managed to avoid showing a movie the entire trip. I don’t know if we’ll be so lucky on the return trip. Once here I realized that I didn’t have swim diapers and suits for the Littles so I was off to K-mart. Unfortunately, the main road is under construction which was quite frustrating and was the reason it took me MUCH longer than I had thought it would.

The Bigs were all dressed and ready when I got home and Z was ready to drop trow and put on his new suit. We were at the pool moments later and the Big 3 didn’t waste any time getting into the water. Sean, on the other hand, was not as excited. He cried and didn’t want to go in~ so being the nice parents we are... we forced him. Once in his little inflatable boat for a while he calmed down and then he actually liked it. We spent a long time in the water and Al swam really well without her wings. When it was time to go, Sean was furious and screamed the whole way back. We all got dressed and were going to walk to town for dinner but after a quarter mile Joe started to complain and so Jeff walked back to get the van while the rest of us made our way into town. Z tripped but thankfully there wasn’t any blood so he stayed tough. Jeff met us near the harbor and then we got into the van and drove into town.

We ate at a restaurant called Siren Hall. Jeff and I got beer, a salad for me and pizza for the table. We chose the restaurant because we wanted to eat outside. The kids were amazing which was wonderful because one of the pizzas (they were small) was burnt so we had to wait longer. An older couple came up to our table as they were leaving and told us our family was just beautiful and that our kids were so very well behaved. We thanked them and hoped that the kind words didn’t jinx us. They didn’t, and after dinner we went to get ice cream at a shop further down the strip. We got cones for all (and a spoon so Seany and I could share). Ali’s superman cone fell to the floor at her first lick (faulty cone) and she was in tears, but since it wasn’t her fault she got a new one right away and so we enjoyed our cones and watched as people walked by.

When we got home we walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. Sean was upset at first that we weren’t going back to the pool, but once he got his toes in the sandy water he was fine again. The sunset was beautiful and it was wonderful taking it in together.

Getting them home was easier than I thought it would be- but then again the Big 3 were excited to get into the giant tub. They had fun and talked and squealed while I got their bed ready (a pull-out) and they got dressed for bed. They called my folks and told them about their day and thanked them again for the “fun field trip” (Joe).

And so as I type this they are all in bed- looking at pictures from their cameras while Jeff and I sip some Oberon and take in a Tiger’s Game. The bases are loaded which is my cue to say goodnight to this journal... Until tomorrow...