I can't believe it's almost been a month since we went on our vacation to New Buffalo to play at the lake! We had the absolute best time ever. It was so much fun having fun as a family.
Zack and I were so lucky to get to take an evening flight with just Zane and Emmy. Smith flew with my mom and Dave and Nell and Ant. Haha!! 4 adults to take care of one toddler on a flight close to bedtime seems like it would be fine - but it was pretty exhausting. Zane and Emmy, on the other hand, were nearly perfect. They were friends and were excited about everything so it was so much fun! I love that they are growing up a little so things like flying that used to be so stressful and hard are getting much more enjoyable and easy. :) They even carried their own backpacks.
We landed in Chicago extra late since we got delayed, and then we had to wait forever to get our rental car. I don't know how these guys even stayed awake. And they were so well behaved - we didn't end up driving to Michigan until almost 3 am eastern time!!
This little guy pulled his own backpack. He was soooo tired but somehow still had some extra bursts of energy.
Some of these pictures are a little out of order, but good enough. :)
Our first night, we made a fire on the beach for s'mores.
Emmy playing with her cousin Fisher...
Eating marshmallows and s'mores!
Here's a couple pictures of our view from the house
These guys had the best time just playing near the water and they were super brave this year going in and swimming. I almost couldn't keep Zane out. He wanted to be swimming every spare second. There were a couple days with extra huge waves, so it was a bummer that we couldn't go in the water those days.
Happy girl
We took a bunch of pictures this night - it was beyond beautiful outside.
One of the big wave days, it was sooo windy and a little cool, so we headed to the sand dunes. It was way more fun that I expected. But HUGE and really hard to get up the hills.
Windy!
These two went to the very top and gave thumbs up.
Then we found an enormous water slide. Even though it was rainy and cold and windy, we couldn't say no to begging kids. I love when they are brave and want to try new things. No holding back! And of course, little Smith had to go to, which means I had to go. :) It was crazy and fast but they loved it. There are more pics of it later on too...
Zack's sister Becca and Chris and their two boys Fisher and Perry stayed with us the first night. It was so fun to have them along! Cousins are so great!
Fisher and Emmy are great buddies...
My three sweet monkeys...
Dave took a lot of pics while we were there! Love it. :)
The five of us took a walk down the beach to the New Buffalo Pier one morning. It was awesome, just walking, chasing birds, throwing rocks, and then playing at the park etc. Smith got tired of walking after about 5 minutes and we had to carry him the rest of the way.
Can you see Z and E way ahead of me?
Here are just some pictures of beach and water fun...
Smith was obsessed with this floatie out in the water. He called it a boat. And as the waves came and it got knocked around, he thought it was a blast. He cracked up the whole time.
Zane and Emerson got to ride on the big tube behind the boat. Zane and I started off slowly, but he was ready to go faster right away. I was the one at the end who wouldn't let us go any faster. He laughed the whole time and loved every second. My arms got tired and we had to stop and he didn't want to at all. I wish we could have gone out a few more times.
Emmy rode with Aunt Nell - and same thing, she loved it!
Here's Molly along for the ride.
She fell asleep at the end.
Here's a rare moment when Smith would agree to wear his life jacket.
Here are some more pics from the sand dunes day...
The Bravest almost-two-year-old you'll ever meet. He wants to do everything the big kids do, including huge scary water slides!
Zane wore the wet suit most the days to keep extra warm since he was in the water so much, and then his floatie over it. I was so proud of his swimming and courage!
Oh I love this little girl
Molly
Cutie
One night, we left the kids at home with Grandma and Grandpa and spent the night in Chicago. The four of us went to a baseball game and a fun pizza dinner. Jord and Ben were on a date night somewhere else. :)
More dunes and then St. Joseph's Pier...
Carousel
We ate hot dogs on the beach
We stopped for a quick lunch at a little brewery nearby.
Then we all walked around St. Joseph's...
ice cream stop of course
We had to spend some time inside, so we took a bunch of pictures of different expressions on our faces...
We always go to "Oinks" for ice-cream. Yum!!
Aunt Nell and Aunt Jord were great at taking the kids with them swimming or jet-skiing or whatever...
Here's Aunt Nell.
Grandma making a sand castle
Jord and Molly and me
Smith and Molly friends
This was on the last day - Zack didn't want to put sunblock on since we weren't going to out for long so he carried his umbrella around. And his coffee. Haha.
Em borrowed the wet suit
This little guy was cautious of the waves
Jord and Dave
And then the kids had to try...
Card games and drinks at night :)
We made awesome meals - here's Zack making pancakes one morning
Drinking their root beers!
The guys cooking in the kitchen...
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