Last Monday in Michigan

Ok, so here's another weekly update. Oh, first of all this is my 1,301st post! Crazy!

Tuesday: I had a great time seeing my friend, Kim and catching up. Our children all got along great. I had another great time seeing my cousin, Sherry & her crew. Once again my kiddos played so well with my cousin Darci's kids. It was nice to sit outside and visit. Sherry sells Scentsy products so I bought a wonderful smelling warmer I can't wait to get home and try out!

Wednesday: I think we stayed home that day. Oh, that evening Zach's mom stopped by to visit. I thought he'd said she'd come Friday but she showed up then. She and I took the kids down to Second Sands. I thought the water would be freezing but it wasn't too bad. The kids were in the water and here I wasn't even prepared for that! Their clothes were soaked and once they got out they were freezing, but they sure had a good time!

Thursday: I headed to Houghton once again and visited with Kathy & Shannon. Kathy was my baby-sitter growing up (in the summers). Shannon is her daughter and was my best friend during those years. I also got to see Shannon's two girls. It was so cool to see them and catch up with them! Then I headed to my friend Jen's, a friend I met in college. She's got 4 kiddos all about the same ages as mine and they all had a great time playing and I had a wonderful time of fellowship with Jen. She offered for us to stay for dinner but I hadn't yet made it to my Aunt Gloria's so I thought I better go and see her. We also had a real nice visit over there. Chatterbox loved her house and wanted to sleep there! lol

Friday: My mom and Kim were both off of work. We hung out outside a lot and its a good thing we did because since then the weather hasn't been as great. That evening Alan stopped by (Kim, my stepdad's brother). The kids had fun getting to talk to Uncle Alan! CB talked his ear off and he was quite enamored with Booty Shaker! He said he really enjoyed my kids:)

Saturday: My mom, the kids and I headed to Marquette, the town I went to college. I was hoping we'd get to go hiking but it began raining. We ate at Vango's, a restaurant my friends (Zach too) and I always went to back in the day. Then we drove around Presque Isle, a beautiful park by the lake. I really wished it weren't raining so we could've walked around too. We did see a few deer in the park. We also drove through the campus. It sure has changed! We tried to drive by other parts of the lake but it was blocked off due to a bicycle race. We went to Walmart and I saw an old friend from grade/high school (who is also a facebook friend). That was neat! We checked into our hotel and pretty much just hung out then. My mom has a cold and wasn't feeling well and the kids were fine with hanging out in the hotel (they love hotels). We then went to dinner at the restaurant next door. Afterwards we went in the pool, hot tub and sauna. It was Sweet Pea's first time in a pool and she loved it! She looked so cute in her little swimsuit! I hadn't been in a sauna in probably 10-15 years and it felt wonderful! My children finally got to experience a bit of a sauna too! After that it was time to clean up for bed!

Sunday: Went to the church of our campus minister from college. John and Dorothy have really influenced who I am today and it was so cool to see them and join them for worship! It was so much like a His House meeting and so much what we want/desire a church service to be. I wished Zach could've been there to experience it. After that we met a bunch of old His Houser's at the park. It was windy and chilly but it didn't stop all of our children from playing and us from chatting it up! Boy, was it fun to see them all- almost like old times!

Today: My stepdad, Kim, wanted to take us on a field trip so we went to Hanka Homestead, a Finnish Homestead. Turns out the weather was awful (rainy, cold) and it was closed and the mosquitoes were AWFUL! We got a few pictures, looked around as best we could and then killed a million mosquitoes that got in the car! I have to admit I spent most of the time in the car with SP. Junior Squirrel spotted a little snake. Then we went by my Aunt Diane's. We ate lunch at Taco Bell (my kids were craving it), got my oil changed and went to Walmart again! Once we came home we watched one of my mom's movies. She's got a bunch of Feature Films for Families. We ended up making dinner really late because we got into the movie (well the boys were upstairs making tents). Then Zach's mom came and visited again and here I am.

It is a good visit. I told my mom tonight that it sure would be nice to have an evening home where nobody is here to visit because I think every evening that I've been here somebody else shows up in the evening. I love visiting people but sometimes I just need some quiet, know what I mean? I'm also still ready to get back to Iowa. I'm just ready for my routine and I miss my friends there (and the warmer weather). I'm so glad to feel that way as I never felt quite so fondly of Mississippi! I just need some normalcy back in my life maybe:)

On a side note I recently finished The Road Home by Tommy Tenney. What a great book. It's a modern day retelling of the story of Ruth. I love the book of Ruth. This book was great! You MUST pick it up! On the other hand right now I'm reading The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman and I'm not sure I want to continue reading! I've found spelling mistakes and that just irritates me. Then I realized the author is from England and I know sometimes that English is a bit different than ours. So I'll give it a shot and see if I can finish it!

I also have lots and lots of pictures to share sometime. I wonder what the best way for me to share them will be...