Still Mackinac:)

After we went on the horse and buggy ride we visited the Butterfly Museum and had lunch in the park!

My beautiful daughter....:)

Brooke, Grandma, and Emma

It was so hot in there and it was getting close to lunch - we were lucky to get this picture of Emma!

Brooke, Great Grams, and Emma

Emma and Daddy feeding the seagulls, while the rest of us ate lunch! She is so lucky to have such the perfect playmate. They are like dear friends together...

It had finally warmed up a bit (the pool was freezing cold though, and luckily I had left my suit in MN!!!!) so before dinner we decided to head down to the pool. How cute is little Broole?

And it was so fun to watch Emma's determination as she swam with her Dad. She so desperately wanted to swim all by herself!! Again and again she'd realize once she went under that it just wasn't going to work quite yet:) Those swimming lessons are starting to help though!

Notice her mouth - she is "holding" her breath!!!!

Love to all...

Mackinac Island, MI Day #5

On our last full day on Mackinac we decided to rent our own tour buggy! The driver picked us up, with Billy and Jo, at 11am and took us on an hour tour of the island. This was SO worth the money and something we would do again and recommend to anyone! Here we are pulling away from our condo.

This is one of the machines they use to clean the poop from the streets - seems to just spread it in a watery mess in many places!!!

Jason, Holly and smiley Brooke

The tour took us through some of the stunning houses on the island, and our driver knew just about everything about every family! This pink house here is the children's PLAY HOUSE!!!! Could you imagine?????

One of the beautiful houses overlooking the water, just up from the Grand Hotel. Holly and I were so impressed with the beautiful beds of annuals all along the back yard! Our driver said that the Grand Hotel spends $30,000 a MONTH on flowers and yard care....

We did not go on this horse "carriage" but they are a staple of the island and think they are interesting to take a peak at. The poor horses!

Emma was so bedazzled by all of the horses that
I wanted to get a nice pic that I can put in her room. I think I'll probably use this one, in black and white.

MORE TO COME!

Day 4 - Mackinac!

There is an 8 mile bike trail that circles around Mackinac, and we decided to ride it with the girls. It was SO cold most of the time we were there, we had Emma covered with a blanket most of the ride. It was such a beautiful view, with the waves literally crashing on shore and blue water just about as far as one could see. It felt like we were riding along the ocean. In the background here you can see the Mackinac Bridge and one of the Hydro-Ferry's that you take over from the mainland.

Little Brooke is such an easy going baby! WE had to come down a huge off road hill, a "short cut"! Brooke just patiently sat and waited

El, Em, Me, Brooke, Jason, and Holly

The very best part about Mackinac was all the horses - and the fact that Em got to ride one!!! The whole time she kept asking and of course we said yes. But when we called the stables they usually suggest kids being about 10 to ride themselves. However the man said if we stopped by and they weren't busy then maybe she could go for a ride in the stable yard. We did just that after our bike ride and the stable owner was so kind and generous.... Emma got to ride a sweet OLD (30 years!) horse for a good 10 minutes! Elliott and I both got tears in our eyes, she was so excited and brave and seemed to know that it was special...

Look at that grin! Such a big girl!

More to come.....

Day 3 in Mich - on the way to Mackinac Island!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get these up!!!! We got back from Michigan and began packing to move immediately, then we did move, and it seems things haven't slowed down since! We went camping last weekend and had a lovely time... Now I finally have a minute to get a few things done:)

Emma - enamoured with Cousin Brooke, just HAD to bring her her bottle! Poor Auntie Holly couldn't find a minute of peace...
We stopped at the Mystery Spot, and were "mystified" by the angled building. I did however get dizzy from the trick it played on my equilibrium!

We took the ferry over to Mackinac, and us "kids" rode our bike us to the condo, while the Grandmas and our luggage were pulled up by a horse drawn carriage. Both Emma and Brooke were so exhausted that they fell asleep on the 1+ mile ride up!

The stunning view from our Condo - Good work Grandma Patterson!

Boyne Falls Day 2

Emma enjoying some morning time with Daddy. His golf game got rained out, so we got him for the morning! They enjoyed reading the paper together - Emma our little mimicker loves to do what she sees us, or big girls, do! She is quite the little actress.

Grandma enjoying some time with her two granddaughters! Look at the scowl on Brooke's face!

Is this not the sweetest picture ever?

It was about all Emma could do not to maul Brooke with love! Here she is "helping" her with something or other - it was a constant on the trip.

Many more pictures to follow - and Happy 4th of July to all!