Day 3 - Sault Ste. Marie and the Lake

They can say they weren't sleeping all they want, but we aren't going to believe them! The kids had fun seeing some big ships come through the Locks, then we went to the beach after a nap for the little ones!

How to nap in a camper by Luke Rottier

That's how!

The Log Run

This "run" was really, really steap...so there was NO way I was going down it! Great Grandpa and ma stayed up as well as Grandpa Rottier, Luke and Calli (phew!) My little petit chou's went down that dirty, sandy hill with their daddy, uncle Danny, Aunt Noelle, Aunt Katie...and sort of Grandma R...she only made it a 1/4 of the way down, don't blame her though! By the time everyone came up, they all looked miserable, tired, wet and dirty! Now, the funny part about this I ended up missing! Jake climbed up on Mike's back, kicked his heels into Mike's ribs and said something along the lines of, "Come on big boy you can do it!" This of course caused great pain as everyone laughed very hard! Another time everyone heard poor Jake, who was trying to walk by himself at this point, say "I just gotta get up this hill! I know I can do it!" AH, the funny things kids say!

Day 2 - Pictured Rocks and the Middle of Nowhere

These are in reverse order, we actually went to Pictured Rocks first, but I was too lazy to organize better (sorry!) After waking up bright and early we left camp around 9am to get over to Munising, where Pictured Rocks are at...2 hours across the middle of nowhere! We did the boat ride (2.5 hours) with 3, make that 4 young children and my advice? Don't do it until everyone can fend for themselves! AUGH! No it was alright, a bit of a struggle to keep them entertained and make sure they didn't jump out the windows of the boat! Just after we got off the boat it started to sprinkle (oh joy!) Then it was off to find all the waterfalls that go along with the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, that was an adventure. It was rainy and should have been fun, but with 3 (4) young children, not so much! We ended up traveling on a dirt trail...not really even a road and lost our "leader" so kindof got stuck...but found our way, as I am here typing this. We made our way to Grand Marais, where Noelle knew someone...what in the world? That girl knows EVERYONE! (hehe) We ate lunch at a beautiful lakeside park (Uncle Danny wants to camp there next year!) After food, we were off to the log run. I will post those next, this was actually used to throw the logs down from the top of the hill to Lake Superior. There was a beautiful rainbow and a light house off in the distance (which is Au Sable Pt.) We met some rustic hikers (more power to them) who hiked all over the place! Yuck, I need running water, bathrooms and electric otherwise no camping for me! This day started around 9 am and ended after 10pm, the kids were DEAD! It was fun, but I think next time we will break it up into a couple days!!!

Day 1 of the UP Vacation 2008

We left our house around 9 am, stopped at the bridge for our traditional photos by Lake Huron and then it was off again. Sadly, Luke is a very poor traveller so I fear this may stop me from driving the distance to Colorado to see our long lost buddies who live there now! (Sorry Nick and Ellie...and William..I guess I had better lose my final pounds in order to get out west to see you!) The big kids did well, loved the bridge, loved the water and of course were off the wall excited once we had the camper all set up!

Luke's Bathtub..camping style!

This was some (or all) of the original Rottier childrens bathtub. I am not sure if it was just Katie's or if some of the boys used it too, but Anna and Jake had several baths in this during our earlier camping adventures and now Luke is enjoying it too!

Whasss up????

Luke put on Jakey's visor that he made at VBS and just chilled out at the table playing with his new cars. I thought it was cute so had to share!

The Free Fair

Friday night we met Grandma and Grandpa Rottier at the Ionia Free Fair. The kids love seeing all the animals and activities that were going on. They especially loved feeding any animals they were allowed to and posing as pigs!!!

Matching Shirts

Grandma G. bought the kids these cute matching shirts and I have been trying to get a cute photo of all 3 kids together in the shirts...well today was the day. (I guess) There was no cooperation from the boys, but at least it was cute photos of the "new do" for Anna. P.S. we have her ponytail of hair in a baggie and are going to send it to a donation center. Anna wants another little girl who is sick to have pretty hair too!

It's a done deal...short hair is in!!

Well, there you have it. Anna has been begging for short hair for 6 months. I don't even know how much we had cut...probably close to 9 inches. It's short! (shorter than I wanted, but you have to make it cute and all). O.K. so I think it is really cute, but I really loved the long hair....sigh. I was told by friends at work that I should pick my battles and this was a small thing to make a fuss over. When she came home she told her daddy and Jake that she is now growing it out because she doesn't want short hair...huh? We shall see, I figured it out and it will take 18 months to grow it to where it was just an hour ago. My little girly, all grown up :)

One of Our Favorite Things....

We like to go on bike rides, so, today I decided to bring the camera to catch the fun in action. Mike likes to make Luke laugh by riding through the weeds (it works!) We usually weave our way through the neighborhood and ride in the church parking lot near by. Well, as you see in the last photo....there is a curb real close to the trailer Luke is in...well in my excitement to get a photo...I missed that fact and crashed! It was an ugly site (good thing I had the camera). Anna's comment was priceless. As she is laughing (and still riding) she says, "Mommy needs baby wheel". That sums it up! Not injuries, just some bruises...sigh....

Luke's Well-Check Update

Luke had his 2 year appointment today. No shots, so that was a relief for Luke!!! He is above the charts on height and weight. He weighed in at a hefty 38 pounds on the button and 37.5 inches tall! Talk about a big and tall man! The doctor wasn't concerned, however...he did say if he gained another 10 pounds between now and his three year check that we should start talking about a diet for him!!! I already have all the kids on skim milk, so now I am forcing myself to feed them only healthy food...by the way...Jake will probably waste away to nothing. So, in short, if you have any healthy, kid friendly food ideas email them my way as Anna and Jake will probably be the ones to lose the weight with this trial!

The Before Photos...

This is the day AnnaJoy has been waiting for...the beginning of our next project (her bathroom). The Rottier clan will be over today and tomorrow to help us get this into full swing, of course it will be a few weeks/months before it is completed from head to toe, Anna did pick out her own decor: purples and pinks butterflies and flowers and we are doing "iced celery" walls...compliments of (or should I say copying) Uncle Stevie. Last night was the final night of swim lessons and I am happy to report that both Anna and Jake jumped off the blocks and the diving board! They both have to repeat the levels that they are in (for endurance reasons) but we are proud of them! Luke has to get a year older so he can move to the next level, that baby class was BORING for him, so he is in limbo until he is older! On another side note, Luke is doing an awesome job in his big boy bed! He naps super well and sleeps all night...o.k. so he is waking up at 6:30 am, but that will change eventually, right?

The Birthday Cake!

When we got home from Lowell it was time for naps...I am, again, happy to report that after a bit of coaxing, Luke did indeed take a 2 1/2 hour nap! When he woke up it was time for dinner then off to swim lessons! When we got home, daddy frosted the cake I made just before lessons and (for probably the 10th time today) we sang happy birthday to Luke. He even blew his candle out!!

A Visit to VBS for Luke!

We went to VBS to drop off somethings for Grandpa R. and Luke decided to ride the dinosaur. (it is a dino themed VBS!) He loved it! Luke and I also went and spent the morning with Grandpa Grover (and danced to some Carlos Santana music...Luke loves it!) By the end of our visit Luke as saying "Dude" pretty well! P.S. Thanks for the bike Grandpa and Grandma G.