July 25 Pere Marquette Park

Saturday Afternoon:  I was very pleasantly surprised that Matthew joined us this afternoon for time at the beach. We had such a nice time out there. I was so glad to see him again so soon after last week. It was a super nice treat for me!

 It was a truly dog-day of summer ... HOT ... but Lake Michigan was perfect. The waves were just the right size and a lot of fun.

 It was super crowded ... like every square inch of the beach was covered with people ... but you have to take what you can, and once we were IN the water, it wasn't nearly so crowded.

 Kaity got to try her new face mask (the one that isn't allowed over at Versluis). She did very well with it. Kaity loves the water. She is learning to swim, and she loves to be UNDER the water.

 While we were IN the water, I mainly stayed with Kaity. Matt and Emma went further out and just hung out together. I was glad the older kiddos could do that without being cumbered with Kaity.

 Look how much fun Kaity is having though!

 It is SO wonderful to listen to the waves crash in and to be IN the water ... to feel the sun and just the joy of being alive.

We ended up staying in the water for nearly two hours! There were so many boats out there. I love sailboats ... 

 It was a little bit difficult to make sure I had my eye on Kaity and still take photos ... I wished I had taken more of Matt ... but these ones are nice anyway. Emma took some very nice pictures of Matthew when they were walking the breakwater later in the afternoon.

 While Matt and Emma were walking the beach, Kaity played on the playground ...

 The playground is brand new and really nice. It was crowded too, and Kaity was pretty worn out from all of her swimming ...

 But still, she tried all of the fun stuff there ...

 We ate our dinner at MacD's. Their "dining room" and bathrooms still are not open to the public due to COVID. I brought a cooler with water melon, fresh strawberries and grapes, to add some kind of healthy something to our meal.

 After our burgers and nuggets, we drove to an ice cream place for the kiddos to have a treat. The line was L-O-N-G and the workers were S  L  O  W ... so it was quite a wait.

 However, I think everyone DID enjoy the afternoon and the time together. I know that I DID.

I want to thank you again, Lord, for Your kindness to us in safe travel, good weather at the beach, and Your obvious love for us. You, Lord, are awesome.