Grand Haven never disappoints

August 8:  I am on vacation from work this week--SO GLAD! I've been over-tired lately with a pretty tight schedule, so my main goal this week is to rest up, relax, spent time with the kiddos, etc.

The forecast for a good warm clear day this week was yesterday (Tuesday). So we planned a Grand Haven get-away day, along with Kelly, Shannon (Kelly's youngest sister), Brendan, and baby Aidan.

 We ate a breakfast of TIMBITS (from that place called Tim Horton's), other donuts, and chocolate milk. We met Kelly in the little park right next to the Pere Marquette. After we ate, we drove right over to the state park and plunged into glorious Lake Michigan.

 The waves were just perfect for the children yesterday. I was glad I had wave boards--I had forgotten them at home and was 12 minutes into my drive to pick up the kids and turned around to retrieve them. I'm really glad I did because they got a lot of use out of them.

 We played for 3 hours in the water. Brendan hardly got out of the water--just for a brief snack and he did play a tiny bit in the sand. But that boy is a true FISH, loves the waves and has zero fear. All of the children enjoyed the water yesterday. Kaity was probably the least aggressive, but she too had fun up to her knees at least. She played with most of the sand/beach toys that I brought with us and had a great time.

 Kelly told me about a great deal over at Culver's: $1.00 for a combined shake and fries! Yes! So Kelly picked up shakes and fries for all of us and I brought chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers, along with watermelon and grapes that I had in my cooler. We had a feast and decided to return to that little park by the Pere Marquette and enjoy our "dinner" there.

 Look at these boys!

 This is Shannon. Kelly was 14 when she was born. Shannon is the youngest of five. She is THE sweetest and nicest girl. You can talk to her for five minutes and feel you know her already! She is super kind and easy to become acquainted with. It was so great to have her with us.

 Kaity wasn't at all in the mood for eating yesterday ... so we made do with what we could. She WAS, however, very into playing at this little playground. All of the kids had so much fun here.

 These three ...

 And these TWO!

 Matthew is a favorite of Brendan's. He is always super happy to see Matthew and to play with him. Matthew is a very gentle person with a truly kind heart. I was glad to see him play and be so happy yesterday.

 This of Brendan! He kills me.

 And THIS of dear Kaity!

 And our chunky baby is almost FIVE months!!!! Look at his adorableness! And Kelly is such a wonderful, kind, loving mama. I'm so thankful for her.

 Matthew discovered this robin's nest in the tree next to our picnic table. She was not happy that we found her! 

It was a wonderful day at the lake. Thanks, Lord, for giving this day to us. P.S. I think this might possibly be the first time I have been to Grand Haven without taking a picture of the lighthouse. !! Too many people blocking the view! The catwalk is down! There are barges working on the pier! Yuck.