Hello dear family and friends!
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we had a 13 day trip planned this summer, and sadly, we have returned! It was amazing, and I wish every summer day could be lived that way! It was honestly a dream. I am going to write about it, hopefully with a good amount of detail, since I want us to remember it clearly years down the road. So take that as your warning that this will be lengthy-feel free to just skip to the pictures at the end!
We woke up in the incredibly early hours of the morning on Sunday, June 12th. Richard was not coming on the first half of the trip with us, but he was great to get up with me, wake kids up, and drop us off at the airport. Our flight was at 6:00 am, so I got up at 3:00, we woke the kids up about 3:30, and were out the door at 3:45. We said our good-byes to Richard at the airport, and thankfully, no tears were shed, though we all wish he could have been with us. Despite the early wake up call, the kids were completely alert, chipper, and so excited. We got all our bags checked, made it through security, and walked 20 minutes to our gate in the B terminal. I didn't bring a stroller for Gretchen for this leg of the trip, and she was just content to hold my finger and walk along. Bless her little soul! We were extremely lucky to have all our flights go so well for our entire trip. We didn't have one cancellation, or even delay...which nowadays, I feel is a miracle! We flew Southwest, so we got to pick our seats once on the plane. The three older kids all wanted to sit together and rotate who sat by the window. Gretchen sat with me, but also wanted the window, so our plan was to have the three older take a row and Gretchen and I would sit right behind them with Gretchen by the window. This worked out perfectly for all our flights, and I am so grateful! If they ever needed something from me, we just passed it through the seats. They did a great job ordering their drinks from the flight attendants all by themselves and I think they felt so grown up. We had two flights that day. First stop was Denver, where we were able to grab a quick breakfast, and then we flew on to Chicago O'Hare. I was able to sleep on both flights and Gretchen slept during the second one. The big kids were too excited to watch something that they didn't sleep until our drive to Wisconsin! But, they all traveled great. The big kids would get off the plane before me and Gretchen, who were always a few people behind, but they would just find a place to wait for the two of us once getting into the airport. Marshall was so helpful at finding the screens to double check our departure time and gate. The kids are all old enough now that using the airport bathrooms is not a fiasco! It was just a few years ago that I was shoving all of us and a stroller into airport bathroom stalls! Once we landed in Chicago, we had a long and maze-like walk to baggage claim, it was so nuts! Bridget led us the whole way there by just following the signs and arrows. On that long walk, I got compliments from a handful of people about how well behaved my little traveling crew was, and it was completely accurate-the kids were great! After we got our bags, Marshall led us through another maze to catch the train to get to the rental cars. I successfully rented a car for the first time in my life, all by myself, at age 38. :) This was something I was quite nervous about, so I was very happy to get it behind me! Marshall sat up front with me and he was shocked with Chicago traffic and roads. Traffic wasn't bad, just lots of cars, and lots of circular on-ramps and off-ramps and changing lanes this way and that. It was hilarious to listen to him, while I was trying to calmly navigate it all! We made a quick stop for lunch close to the Chicago Temple and then got back in the car and drove to the Hassell's! The kids all slept on that drive, and it was very much needed for them. The Hassells still live in Wauwatosa, but in March they moved to a different home...a Victorian built in the 1890s! When we got off the freeway and started making our way through the neighborhoods, the kids could not stop talking about how green it was and all the trees. It is a site to behold. People think Utah is green in the spring...it is not. :) The upper Midwest green in my opinion, cannot be surpassed! Anyway, we were so happy to finally pull up to the Hassell's house at 3:30. They gave us the warmest greetings and after hugs and hellos, we got a tour of their house. It is a work in progress for them, but it is beautiful. I cannot wait to see what they transform it into! They were so kind to let us stay with them in their construction zone. We enjoyed time on their big wrap around porch that afternoon while the kids played and then we went on a walk through their new neighborhood. It is a charming place, no other way to describe it. At 6:00 pm, Nile came over! It was SO great to see him! It has been too long since we have seen him and it was so wonderful to catch up with him. He could not believe how big all the kids were getting, and he especially loved that Marshall's current career plan is to become a pilot. :) That evening, we all walked to Greek Fest. I took my kids there in 2015, and it was fun to go back. It is such a fun atmosphere. They have a band playing fun Greek music and the smells of all the food is mouth-watering. We got gyros, pork kabobs, roasted corn, and donut holes. It was all just delicious! When we got back to the Hassell's, we said good-bye to Nile, and then figured out our sleeping arrangements and put the kids to bed! The only negative of that day, is that Marshall had his usual vacation throw up that night and did not make it to the bathroom in time. Gag. That was real fun for me to clean up that night just as I was falling asleep myself! But, I was also very grateful that was our only bad health related thing of our entire trip!
Monday morning we let ourselves sleep in and have a bit of a lazy morning. We finally all made it out of the Hassell's house with packed lunches and drove to Glacier Hills for hiking. The kids and I drove to our old neighborhood and picked up Caleb, one of Marshall's great friends and next door neighbor. We haven't seen Caleb since 2020 and it was so great seeing him! He is still as nice and kind as ever and it was a real treat to have him with us. Glacier Hills was a new hiking spot for us, and only the Hassell's second time there. We got lost on our hike and ended up hiking on the highway for a bit! The kids were all troopers though, zero complaints! We eventually made our way back to the trail and I am so glad we did. This trail took us through forests, a bog, the tallest skinniest pine trees I have ever seen, to the top of a huge hill, and a lake. It was beautiful and ever-changing scenery and despite getting lost and forgetting bug spray, we all had a great time. We ate our lunch at the top of the hill, made a quick stop at the small lake, and then headed home to beat a storm that was just approaching. Every time I visit WI, I never want rain to ruin our plans, but I always long for a good summer Midwest thunderstorm. Being WI in the summer, I have gotten a good thunderstorm every summer visit, but this storm took the cake. It was amazing! So much thunder and lightning, a dark sky, windy and pouring rain! We went out on the Hassell's porch and it was just so cool. The rain was coming down at an angle because of the wind, the Hassell's old gutters weren't handling the rain super well and water was just pouring off their roof. Each clap of thunder gave the kids shrieks of probably both excitement and terror. It was so fun, and went on for almost two hours! I took so many videos! Once the rain let up, Anna and I took the kids to Kopp's for dinner. Those onion rings, the best ever. Marshall and I did the usual and split the burger, also delicious. And of course, we ended our meal with custard. Perfection. When we got back, the kids played for a while before hitting the sack.
On Tuesday we set out for another hike, this time at a location we are very familiar with, Lion's Den Gorge. Caleb wanted to come with us again, so his mom dropped him off at the house and while we were still finishing getting ready, all the boys played basketball outside. It was a hot, hot summer day, with temperatures in the 90s, but Lion's Den is right on the lake, and it was so refreshing to get out of the car and feel a good 20-30 degree difference in the air. It was crazy how much cooler it was! This hike is right on a bluff above Lake Michigan and it offers the most beautiful views. This morning though was a cloudy/foggy one. When we got to the first overlook, you could not see the lake at all, it was just one big fog cloud! It was a little bit trippy, even the kids were a little weirded out standing on a cliff and not being able to see anything! The trail eventually winds you down to the beach, and as we hiked, the fog eventually cleared. Once we were down at the beach, the kids took their shoes off, waded in the water a bit, and threw/skipped rocks. Throwing rocks into water never gets old! Eventually we packed up and headed back up to the top. We were so happy to reach the top because the fog had completely cleared and Lake Michigan looked absolutely stunning, beautiful blue water. We snagged some picnic tables at the top of the bluff and ate our lunch there and then took about 100 pictures before leaving. :) We got back to the Hassell's house about 2:00, and when we got out of the car, the air was stifling! It was SO hot and humid. My weather app said it felt like it was 105! That did not stop the kids from playing outside though. The boys renewed their basketball game while the girls played games inside. Once the boys had had enough, they came in for games too. Terri came and picked up Caleb about 3:30 and then the boys successfully convinced Bridget and Rachel to go play soccer with them on the turf field at the local high school. It took some convincing, but the girls eventually agreed and off they went. Marshall thinks it is the coolest thing that the Hassells live just a couple of blocks from the high school and can use the turf field. Those crazy kids played soccer for about an hour and came home bright red and dripping with sweat! That evening Jan Fritz came over before Anna, Jan, and I went out to dinner. We haven't seen Jan since 2020 either and it was so fun for her to see the kids. They are all growing up too fast! Marshall is almost as tall as her! Once we got the kids situated with dinner, the three of us left for our own dinner in Tosa Village. I adore the charm of the Village. It is seriously straight out of a movie. Bridges, a river, old, but well preserved buildings, cute shops, so many restaurants, white lights strung over the street, people walking everywhere. I love it. We ate at a restaurant that only Anna had been to, and it was delicious. All they serve is poke' bowls, and all three of ours were fantastic. It was so wonderful catching up with Jan, and Anna. Those were our best hours of uninterrupted conversation! It was a great, great evening.
Wednesday was my favorite day because it brought us a brand new activity. We were up early and beach ready, lunches packed and on the road at 9:15 am. We drove an hour north to Sheboygan and went to the Sheboygan Quarry. I am not sure if this is a man made lake, or a natural one, but regardless, it was a decent sized lake, surrounded by woods, and limestone. On this lake is a massive inflatable and we booked a 90 minute time slot and played our hearts out for 90 minutes straight. It was so, so much fun. They had a big beach area, as well as a small inflatable slide and a big floating pillow for the little kids. You had to be at least six to be on the big inflatable. Everyone, regardless of age and swimming ability, had to wear life jackets. Gretchen and Georgie spent some time on the floating pillow with either Anna or I, but they spent most of their time wading in the water and playing with sand toys on the beach. All the rest of the kids spent all 90 minutes out on the inflatable and Anna and I spent a good chunk of time out there too. It was massive, and so, so fun. To get on the inflatable, you had to climb a ramp with handles, which was not steep, but because you couldn't reach the bottom of the lake, it was all upper body strength and it just cracked me up every time I had to pull myself up there, I am sure it was a sight to behold! Once up, there were different pathways you could take with different obstacles, some of which would just knock you right back into the water! On the other side of the inflatable there were a couple of slides, which were so fun. They also had this big pillow where someone could jump down on it and then move to the end. A second person would then jump down and the person on the end would get boosted up and then fly into the water. I never did this, but Anna did this for a few kids. The last one was Fitz and he FLEW! Unattached, and required a bit of a swim to get to it, was a giant inflatable see-saw. Marshall spent some time over there with the Hassell boys. The whole experience was so fun and honestly went so fast. I laughed more on that inflatable than I have in a long time, and it felt so good! We all loved it! Once our 90 minute time slot was finished we ate our lunch on some picnic tables and then drove 15 minutes south to Kohler Andre State Park. This was a new place for us as well, but the Hassell's current favorite beach spot on Lake Michigan. It was so beautiful, a short and easy walk from the parking lot, and not crowded at all! The kids all braved the water some, with it being early June, it was still very chilly! But most of their time was spent playing in the sand and Marshall played football with the boys. Gretchen actually found lots of seashells, or at least pieces of them and made several sandcastles all adorned with seashells. We could only stay for about two hours, because Fitz had to get to soccer tryouts, but we loved every single minute of it. That evening was spent playing games, eating dinner, and I made one more run to Kopp's and brought back custard. :)
On Thursday morning Anna had a few things to take care of, so I was home with the kids. The Hassells live close to a beautiful neighborhood called the Washington Highlands which I would frequently run and walk through when we lived in the cul-de-sac. That morning I convinced Marshall, Gretchen, and Georgie to come on a walk with me and we took Teddy. One funny side note, Teddy is also a goldendoodle, but he is a mini, so he is bigger than Ziggy, and a few years older. But the kids and I could not get over how similar Teddy and Ziggy are to each other! We haven't been around another goldendoodle since getting Ziggy, and it was just so fun for us to see the similarities and it helped us not miss Ziggy quite so much! Anyway, I loved our walk through the Highlands! The houses are so large and old, but in pristine condition and the yards are gorgeous. Hostas galore! I loved it. And it was so fun watching Marshall walk Teddy. :) Anna got home soon after we got home and we packed up for the pool. We spent the entire afternoon at Hoyt Pool and had a great time. Gretchen LOVED the little slides and went up the stairs and down the slides countless times. Gretchen has turned into a little fish this summer, and our afternoon at Hoyt Pool is what kicked it all off for her. The big kids all had fun too and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. That evening I went out to dinner with Nina and Lori from To The Pointe. It was so wonderful to see them and catch up with them. The Hassells were so nice to feed my kids dinner and give them a movie night. Gretchen and Georige were sound asleep when I got home, all worn out from swimming!
Our time in Wisconsin came to a close on Friday morning. We packed up that morning and loaded up the car and said our good-byes to the Hassell family. I had zero intention of crying, until Anna asked the kids on a scale of 1-10 how sad they were. Marshall immediately chimed in with 9, and everyone else said 9 or 10, until Georgie or Gretchen (I can't remember which one!) said 5! Ha! That gave all of us a good laugh. We gave hugs to everyone, and I cried, and then we were off. Our first stop was actually the cul-de-sac on 75th and Burleigh where our Wisconsin adventures began. I really don't think I have ever driven the kids here since we left WI. Those apartments are not owned by the same woman anymore, and I am certain the demographic of the tenants has changed, but the buildings still look nice and the yards are well cared for. At first, we just parked on the street and stayed in the car while I showed them where our two apartments were and where the Hassells lived. Marshall still has clear memories of playing in the front yards. When he was two and three Richard and I would take him out to play and he would pretend that each section of grass was a different football field. I love that he still remembers it! I then forced all the kids out of the car so we could take a picture in front of our first apartment. So crazy to think back to those days and all that has happened since then. Richard and I moved to that two bedroom apartment in 2007, when we had been married just over two years, and there I was, bringing our four kids back and we have been married 17 years! After all of that, we were finally on the road! We made a quick stop just as we crossed over into Illinois for a bathroom break and to grab some snacks. We hit Chicago right at noon, which is what I was trying to avoid, but it was what it was! We were actually able to talk to Richard on the phone for a good chunk of our drive through Illinois, and that was great. He had a later work shift that day, so he was able to talk and we loved catching up with him. It was fun for the kids to see the Chicago skyline, I just love it. We stopped in Portage, Indiana for a late lunch and we were able to eat outside at a picnic table in a shaded, grassy area. It felt great to get out of the car and move around some during lunch. After lunch, we climbed back in the car for the last stretch of our drive into Michigan. The kids did great during such a long travel day and we made it to my Grandma's about 3:30 in the afternoon. We got a wonderful greeting from my Grandma and my cousin Brice and it was just so great to see them both! We spent the rest of the afternoon at my Grandma's talking, relaxing, and the kids played inside and outside. We got pizza for dinner that night and Gregg, Michelle, Mark and Lori all came over. It was so great to see all of them! All the Toneys loved talking to Bridget about her farm life. Brice even tried to get Bridget to tell my Uncle Mark that she wants my Grandpa's 1957 John Deere tractor. :) That evening, after my aunts and uncles left, I told Brice that I really wanted to see the sunset over Lake Michigan some time that weekend. Years ago, in 2015, Anna and I saw the sunrise over the lake, and now, being on the Michigan side, I wanted to see the sunset. Brice is always up for anything, and within minutes we were all loaded in my van, with chairs and jackets and my Grandma, and we were off! Brice was so good to navigate me around all weekend long, and I surely appreciated it! We got a perfect parking spot up on the bluff, and found a bench, and my girls ran and played for the 30 minutes before the sunset. It was the perfect summer evening. A bit of a chill in the air, the beautiful lake, green trees, and a painted sky of color. I loved talking to my Grandma and Brice and even though we had only been in Michigan for a few hours, I was so happy we were there. :) The sunset was lovely and I am so grateful to have seen it. We took a little tour through South Haven on our drive home, and then the kids and I stayed outside with Brice to look for fireflies! We realized we never saw them in WI, probably because we never went outside at night, so we wanted to use our time in MI to try and see them. It took awhile, but a few eventually made an appearance. While we were waiting and looking, the girls were running and playing in my Grandma's yard and Brice was pointing out planets, stars, and satellites to me and Marshall. While we were outside, my cousin Todd, from Indiana, arrived. It was so wonderful seeing him! After seeing only a few fireflies, we decided to walk to a field at the entrance to my Grandma's street in hopes we could see more. We only saw a couple more, but we did see a frog and two deer! Bridget tried to talk to the deer in her goat voice, but they promptly turned and lept away! After all of that, and our long day of travel, the kids and I finally climbed into bed, shortly before midnight I think! It had been a wonderful day.
Saturday morning we slept in and had a bit of a lazy morning. My girls were in heaven with my Grandma's Barbies. :) We had pancakes for breakfast, complete with Michigan blueberries, and Marshall LOVED it. We have already made blueberry pancakes again since getting home! Brice came over later that morning, we finished getting ready and then we were off for our morning adventures. Our first stop was driving by my grandparents' home, the one they lived in all my growing up years. It has just been turned into a vacation rental and I have dreams of staying there one summer, but for this trip, a drive by had to suffice. I have not driven by it since I was in high school. Some of my greatest summer childhood memories took place in that home and in the pool. Sad to say, the pool has seen much better days, but it was still so great sitting in front of the house and taking it all in. After the house, we drove to a very rocky beach in search of beach glass. We found zero beach glass, but we did find some beautiful and amazing rocks. And once again, the kids proved it never gets old throwing rocks into the water! After giving up with beach glass, we drove more into town and went to Harbor Fest. We saw mermaids in tanks. Gretchen was thoroughly impressed, and Rachel was not impressed at all! We watched boat races and all got something to eat and then walked the pier to the lighthouse. It was chilly down on the water and my girls were freezing, especially Rachel and Gretchen who were eating ice cream! Ha! But, they all appeased me by making it all the way to the lighthouse and hanging out there for a bit to take pictures. Water has my heart. It really, really does. Once we were done there, we made the long walk back to the beach, and up into the neighborhoods where the car was parked and drove back to my Grandma's house for some lunch and a little recharge. After a rest, we headed back out again and went to Kal Haven State Park to go on a hike to a covered bridge. The trail followed the Black River and it was gorgeous. Gorgeous. For almost the entire hike we were in a forest with beautiful, tall, deep green trees. It was so shady, and just so pretty. The bridge was cool! It was long and the kids loved running through it, back and forth. It was a great afternoon activity. It was great talking with Brice and catching up on each other's lives. When we got back to my Grandma's, dinner was ready: homemade corn dogs, taco salad, mac and cheese, chips and cheetos, soda, and of course, my Grandma's delicious chocolate cake. Brice said it's not made right if it doesn't give him heartburn...and that night, Marshall got heartburn! He says the cake was worth it though! Ha! After dinner, the kids got back to playing inside and outside and then it was showers and bed for all. I had the best time talking to my Grandma that night and then we watched the first episode of her most favorite show, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered". :) It was a perfect way to end the day and I fell right asleep that night, as did all of my kids!
Sunday was Father's Day and we were able to Facetime with Richard before leaving for church. At this point, we hadn't seen him in a week and we could not wait to see him the next day. We loved Facetiming with him for a few minutes that morning. Marshall and Bridget have been to church in South Haven before, but not since they were little little, so they have zero memory of it. The South Haven Branch is tiny, and the church building is the same. They were shocked to walk into the chapel and see only eight rows total with no center aisle. A young woman led the music, and my guess is she was only 12 or 13-Bridget could not believe it! We were in the center of the Toney row with Mark, Lori, Kyla, my Grandma, Todd, Gregg and MIchelle, and Al and Joy were a couple of rows behind us. I loved introducing my kids to their great great aunt and uncle! I think that is pretty darn cool! Anyway, church was great. All the kids were a bit hesitant to go to second hour, but my Aunt Lori introduced Marshall to a young man and young woman and they took him off to Sunday School. I can't remember how many many kids were in there with him, but not many! My girls were all able to go to primary together, and they were three of ten kids, five of which were visitors! I am so glad they had that little church experience, they will always remember it! I was also able to go to Sunday School and my Grandma was the teacher! It was so great to hear her lesson. She was so nervous, and was up at 5:00 am that morning stewing about it, but she did a great job! After church, we went back to my Grandma's long enough to change, and then we drove to Mark and Lori's and my kids experienced a Sunday Toney dinner. I have the BEST memories of these Sunday dinners when I was growing up, and I am over the moon that my kids got the same experience. We all gathered at Mark and Lori's, and by all I mean all in-town Toneys, the missionaries, and roughly half of the South Haven Branch. There were tables set up inside and tables set up outside. We had two different kinds of meat, two different kinds of potatoes, beans, rolls, fruit, veggies, a Snickers salad, two different desserts, and ice cream-a Toney feast! We spent our afternoon eating, relaxing, talking and playing games. Marshall and Bridget heard great stories from Al and Joy, and the Toneys continued to love hearing about Bridget's farm life. Uncle Dale and Uncle Mark took Bridget out to the garage and told her they would get Grandpa's tractor up and running. Brice actually took us to see the tractor on Saturday, so the kids had all been able to climb up on it, but this was the real deal. Sure enough, they got it up and running and Mark drove it out, with Bridget and Dale following behind. Uncle Mark had Bridget climb up on his lap and he took her for a ride down the long driveway and back again. After Bridget, Mark gave rides to the rest of the kids who wanted a turn, and then Dale drove it around for a few minutes. My youngest cousin, Kyla, was in town from Arizona and Brice started working real hard on Dale and Mark to let Kyla have a chance to drive it. It took a good 10-15 minutes of convincing, but Brice finally won out and Kyla was up on the tractor. After Kyla's turn, Brice told me to climb up there! I was so nervous! My Grandpa flipped that tractor on himself when I was in high school and I just had visions of me doing that same, with my four kids present! I asked Brice about three times how that happened to Grandpa and if there was any chance that I would do the same thing. He assured me I would be just fine, so up I went. Brice gave me a great quick tutorial, and he stayed right behind me on the tractor, just like he did with everyone else. Mark and Lori have a long driveway, so we were doing turns with the tractor at each end of the driveway and then just driving straight in between. Brice was a great teacher and I did it! After my turn, Bridget and Marshall each took a turn. Bridget, bless her, I don't think has ever really steered anything realistic in her life, so her first turn turned into two donuts. :) Her second turn almost took out seven parked cars, one of which was our rental car! I might not have taken a breath the entire time she was up there! Marshall took some convincing, but he did get up there, and he drove it great! After the tractor rides, we made the rounds and said good-bye to the Toneys before heading back to my Grandma's house to pack up. Our Sunday afternoon was a complete delight. It brought back some wonderful memories for me, and created new memories for my kids. At my Grandma's house, the kids were great to help pack and clean up, and they even loaded the van completely by themselves! Before leaving, we took pictures with my Grandma and gave lots of hugs. My Grandma is a gem of a woman, and I am so grateful to still have her in my life. I will be forever grateful that the kids and I took this weekend visit to Michigan. On our one hour drive to Grand Rapids that evening we spent a good chunk of time talking to Richard. Richard was also driving that evening, on his way to Las Vegas. My side of the Toney family was getting ready to gather in Newport Beach the next day and on Sunday it was fun for me to think about all of us coming from different parts of the country throughout that weekend. Anyway, the kids and I had an uneventful drive to Grand Rapids that evening. After I checked us into the hotel, we drove to Denny's for dinner. The kids all ordered their own dinner, and while we were waiting for our food, I asked each of them to tell me their two favorite things from Wisconsin and their two favorite things from Michigan. Here are their favorites:
Marshall: Kopps and the water inflatable in Wisconsin. Harbor Fest and Toney Family dinner for Michigan.
Bridget: Lion's Den Gorge hike and water inflatable in Wisconsin. Harbor Fest/seeing the lighthouse and Toney Family dinner for Michigan.
Rachel: Kopps (she LOVES their grilled cheese) and Hoyt Pool. Harbor Fest and the hike to the covered bridge for Michigan.
Gretchen: playing with Georige in Wisconsin and playing with Barbies in Michigan! Bottom line, Gretchen loves to play. :)
After dinner, we filled up the van with gas and drove back to the hotel. The kids unloaded the van all by themselves (bless them) and then we wheeled our suitcases into the hotel. I was behind all of them, and as I looked at these four little travelers in front of me my heart just burst. They were carrying their backpacks and blankets and wheeling their suitcases around, and I was just so incredibly thankful for the eight wonderful days we had shared together. In our hotel room, we all took some time to relax and the girls watched Studio C on YouTube and then we got ready for bed and hit the sack with another early wake up call in the morning. It had been a wonderful weekend.
On Monday morning I woke up at 4:15, woke the kids up at 4:45 and we were out of our room by 5:00 am. We had a very short drive to the small Grand Rapids airport, returned the rental car, made it through security and were by our gate before 6:00 am. We had a lovely, and I do mean lovely flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago-Midway that morning. We flew diagonally across Lake Michigan, and my eyes were riveted on the window almost that entire one hour flight. I loved flying over the forests of Michigan and seeing the shoreline. I am pretty sure I spotted the South Haven lighthouse and it was just such a pretty time of day to fly with the morning light. It was also so fun to see Chicago come into view, at first it was buildings in the distance and then within a couple of minutes it was right in front of us! We had a two hour layover at Midway, which was perfect. It gave us time to stand in a long line at Einstein's Bagels for breakfast, eat, walk around, and use the bathroom before boarding the plane for California! We could not wait to get to California! Once again, the kids all traveled so, so well. Gretchen slept on the flight, and I took a couple of naps. We landed at Ontario early, and once again made our way through the airport to collect our bags. I was so happy to be seeing Richard, but I was also so incredibly grateful for my four little travelers. We had made fantastic memories together and my heart was so full. The kids had done great, so great. In those eight days we had been in four different time zones, slept in three different locations, two of which were other people's houses, put over 700 miles on the rental van, and seen and done so much. This whole trip, the entire 13 days, will surely be the highlight of my entire summer.
Richard picked us up outside the airport and we were all so happy to be reunited! All the girls fell asleep soon after getting in the van, so we opted to just drive straight to Newport Beach and eat lunch there at Ruby's Diner. We had a delicious lunch at Ruby's and loved catching up with each other in person! When we were done with lunch, we did our grocery shopping for the week at Trader Joe's and Target. :) Our drives took us right along the ocean and it was so fun to see. Water! We met up with most of my family probably about 4:30 at the resort and took the next while unloading the van and settling in. At 6:00 we gathered on the grass and patio area right behind our building for dinner. It was heaven. We had beautiful views of the ocean, it was the perfect temperature, my Mom provided all of us with a delicious dinner, the adults talked, all the grandkids ran and played and it was just perfect. The last time we were in Newport was four years ago and Marshall was only nine. It was so much fun this time around, because even though there are still babies and toddlers, there is a whole group of older kids who can make their own fun together and that is exactly what they did. The cousins all had so much fun together and it was great to see existing relationships grow and new relationships begin. Kevin and Audrey were the last to arrive and got there just before we went in to go to bed, finally everyone was in Newport! It had been another wonderful day!
Tuesday morning we were up early and out the door at about 8:15 am to drive one hour to Legoland! Bridget and Rachel rode with Ben's family and we took Benson with us. Marshall and Benson sat in the back of the van and it was fun to catch bits of their conversations. It took a bit for all of us to arrive, but once we all made it through security and tickets, we all gathered to take a picture in our matching t-shirts, all 28 of us! With the varying ages of all the grandkids, we did a lot of splitting up throughout the day, with grandkids of similar ages sticking together. I think Legoland exceeded all of our expectations! There were a handful of roller coasters, none of which were real thrilling, but they were perfect for Bridget and so many of the other cousins. The first roller coaster many of us did is similar to Wild Mouse but starts you out with quite the hill! I got some great pictures of my Mom riding that one! They also had some great rides for younger kids, including these darling Lego horses that took you along a track through a little forest. It took a bit of convincing to get Gretchen on there because everyone has to ride alone, but she finally decided to do it and loved it! There was also a submarine ride that was so cool. That was a ride that many of us frequented several times! My Dad rented a scooter and with the scooter he got 12 passes to move us to the front of the line. That afternoon my parents texted us that they had arranged for 12 of us to go on Emmet's Flying Adventure, which had had a long line the entire day. I went, along with Marshall and Bridget, my parents, and some of Ben's family. It was like Soarin' Over the World at California Adventure times ten. It was wild! You really felt like you were in a video game. It was hilarious, terrifying, made me slightly motion sick, but also so fun! The whole premise of the ride is that you are sitting on a couch flying through this video game. When the ride was all done, one of Ben's twins, age four, yelled out, "Best couch ever!" It was hilarious. About an hour later my Dad got 12 more people on, and with peer pressure from cousins, Rachel went with them. I was shocked! I was on a different ride when she decided to go, and when I got back I could not believe that Rachel had agreed to go! In all honesty, I was a bit worried she would throw up, so I was so relieved when she came bouncing off the ride so happy that she went! We were able to do one ride, all 28 of us together. We took a boat ride that took us around to see so many amazing Lego creations. It was fairly long, and it was so fun to have us all in the boat together, plus two people we didn't know in the back of the boat! After that boat ride, families slowly started to leave and head back to the resort. Our family stuck with Ben and Lisa's for a while and did Miniland USA and the submarine ride. Marshall had visited Miniland USA that morning with cousins and took our family to see it after lunch. It was really amazing, so amazing! Marshall was completely enamored with it. It is a handful of U.S. cities built out of Legos and the attention to detail is so impressive. In front of the United States Capitol, they had a marching band that moved! New York City was amazing. San Francisco had the painted lady houses and the Golden Gate Bridge. There was the SoFi Stadium, which is currently the largest Lego stadium in the world. Marshall is still talking to about Miniland-his dream for Lego City! After the submarine ride, we said good-bye to Ben and Lisa's family and went and got dinner at a BBQ place in Legoland. After dinner we had a little over an hour before the park closed. We were able to do a couple more rides, did a bit of souvenir shopping, and of course, one more visit to Miniland. :) We rolled back into Newport just after 9:00. All three of our girls were asleep, and just walked into our room and fell right back asleep. Another wonderful and exhausting day!
Wednesday morning we all slept in a bit and then most of us gathered at the resort's recreation area. We played mini golf, basketball, tether ball, played in a huge sandbox and on the playground, and blew bubbles. The kids had a great time, and adults talked and even though it rained off and on, we had a great time together. At 11:00, we went back to our rooms to play games with each other before lunch. Jordan had been feeling like he had a bit of a cold since Monday night, but on the walk back to our rooms he felt quite winded, so he took a Covid test my Mom had brought and he tested positive for Covid! It was a huge shock! It took about an hour for all of us to get our bearings and decide how to proceed for the rest of our vacation. Fortunately, my parents had just gotten their second Covid boosters two weeks prior, which I do think gave both of them peace of mind. In the end we decided that we would just try to stick outside as much as possible, and that those who had had direct indoor contact with Jordan would wear masks when we were together inside. We definitely missed Jordan who was so good about quarantining himself for the rest of the trip. He made an appearance for a few minutes on our last night together, and I am so glad he did. Meredith ended up testing positive for Covid Saturday evening, but by then the trip was over and everyone but them had left. And at the writing of this email, I have not heard of anyone else in my family catching it! Anyway, enough of Covid, that afternoon, after lunch, we all met at the pool closest to our villas. Almost everyone swam and we all had so much fun. There were great games of keep-away going, handstand contests, tag, and little ones jumping in the pool to their parents. Aside from the Toney family, not many other people were there and it was a big pool that we mostly had to ourselves. We spent all afternoon there until it was time to get dinner ready-it was so much fun. After dinner we played Family Jeopardy, a game Richard and I had prepared in the weeks leading up to the trip. We played in three teams, and all but the youngest grandkids played, we let those littles watch a movie. Our categories were about my Toney grandparents, Yancey grandparents, my parents, the five siblings, the five in-laws and the grandkids. It was a hit! Richard and I loved prepping it, and everyone else loved playing it! Meredith Facetimed with Jordan so he could participate too, and that worked out really well. We ended our evening outside with root beer floats and then the chairs around the huge fire pit opened up, so we snagged those for a while before heading back to our rooms. That night, we had Benson, Anna and Cadence playing games in our room and then when it was time for bed, Benson and Cadence slept in our room and Bridget had a sleepover with Anna. Another great day in the books!
On Thursday morning we left the resort about 9:30 and drove just a few miles down the road to Laguna Beach for our beach day at the Pacific Ocean. Because it was early, there was plenty of room and we set up a nice big area for all of us. We had the BEST day there. The ocean waves always provide such a thrill. Within minutes of arriving, my three older kids were all in the water. Gretchen played in the waves for awhile with me, but then she got too cold, so she took quite a long rest wrapped in a towel with Richard under our sun shade. After that, she played in the sand for a long time. After lunch though, she was back in the ocean with one of the twins and those two girls were having the time of their lives. At first, they stuck very close to me, I had one on each side, holding their hands. But after a while, they wanted me to stop holding on. They got more and more brave and moved further out, and I had to keep calling them back. Gretchen kept telling me she was almost six, so not to worry. At one point, they each got taken out by a bigger wave. Bridget is the one who ran to Gretchen's rescue and helped her get up. When I got to her she told me that was "Not good!". Ha! Danny and Stacie brought boogie boards which were a huge hit. I took my turn on one, and had some successes mixed in with some failures. My biggest failure involved the wave kicking my legs up and over my head and I did a full circle in the water with my head scraping the sand as I made the rotation! I ended the trip with a lovely scab on my forehead! I did not let that wipeout deter me though and I had some more successes later that afternoon. Marshall also tried it a few times. My kids had a blast in the ocean and also so much fun in the sand. Around lunch time, Bridget was freezing, so we buried her up to her waist and she warmed up very nicely and we brought all her lunch food to her. :) What a life! We also buried Marshall toward the end of the day, a great way to warm up! It was such a fun way to spend the day, at the ocean with cousins! Eventually we all said our good-byes to the beach to head back and clean up for dinner. After dinner, everyone came back to our room and we played Name That Baby game. Everyone had sent us baby pictures and we loved going through them and guessing who was who. We all went to bed very tired that night-the ocean wears you out!
Friday morning most of us left at 9:00 am to go see Bunnyhenge. This is something that Marshall found out about in his Atlas Obscura book, and it is located in Newport Beach! It is a play off on Stonehenge. It is 14 white bunnies, almost as tall as Rachel, in a circle! It is nuts. All the grandkids were there and they actually loved it. They were all over those bunnies. We didn't have a lot of time to walk around the entire park, but it is full of crazy art. We did stop to see a huge bald eagle sculpture that is made of coins! It was a fun little excursion, but we were also all dragging-none of us had completely recovered from the ocean! When we got back to the resort, we had FHE outside under a cabana. My parents prepared a great lesson all about family and sticking together and staying close to Christ and we made a family tree, it was great. After that, we had lunch, and then most of us went on an adventure to some tide pools. Some of the group stayed back to try and re-coop some energy. I took Bridget and Rachel. We saw so many crabs, so many crabs! They varied in size and it was pretty neat to watch them walking around. We stayed for quite a while, and over time, the tide got higher. One of my favorite parts of that afternoon was we found an alcove of rocks and it was so fun to watch the waves come in and out from that alcove. Before we left, the waves got stronger and higher and some of them crashed over the rocks and sprayed us, and I caught it on camera, so cool! I could listen to and watch waves all day. I am meant for the water! Even though many of us were dragging throughout the day, we also knew it was our last day, so we kept pushing through! After the tide pools, many of us went swimming again and had a great time. My parents brought snacks and games to the pool, and while I don't think we cracked open a single game, we sure had a lot of fun talking, playing, swimming, and eating. We had our last dinner all together that night and Jordan made his appearance, which was so great. After dinner, we played two games that Stacie and I had prepped. They both brought much laughter and it was a great time! The first game involved putting pantyhouse over your head and trying to blow out a candle while your partner was pulling the pantyhouse back to try and prevent you from blowing it out. We were too nice to each other in this game and it was too easy to blow out the candle! We still got a kick out of each other's faces though smashed into pantyhose! The second game we hung a plastic water bottle from the light over the kitchen table and we blindfolded people at the table and they had to dodge the flying water bottle. That one was hilarious! Ah, it was a great night. The grandkids also played pantyhose tag outside and then played games inside. Adults were able to sit around and talk and it was just a great way to end an amazing vacation. All the older grandkids ended up in our room that night and when we finally put an end to their game playing, they were all talking about when they would see each other next. It was so heartwarming to listen to them talk. I reminded them they all live in Utah within less than an hour of each other, so that it wouldn't be too long before they were reunited. :)
Saturday morning our family got an early start on the road. The kids and I had not seen Ziggy in 13 days, and we felt a very strong pull to get back to him! He was at doggy day care, which closes at 6:00 pm on Saturdays, and we were desperate to make it back to him! We were hoping to get on the road at 6:00, but didn't start driving until about 6:20 am. We hit some traffic that slowed us down a bit, but we pulled up to doggy day care at 5:57! Haha! The kids did amazing. We have never, ever made that drive so quickly. We stopped in Primm to get gas, which was a terrible idea because it was $7.00/gallon! But we made everyone take a bathroom break and that is the only time Gretchen got out of the car! We stopped in Cedar City for a late lunch and I took Marshall and Bridget into McDonald's with me to order our food while Richard took the younger girls with him to the gas station to fill up the van. He came back to pick us up and we were back on the road and ate in the van! It was quite the marathon, but the kids did so, so well. We were elated to pick Ziggy up that night, and he was so happy to see us, though I do think it took him two days to forgive me for leaving him for so long! We had an amazing trip, but we were so happy to be home and sleep in our own beds that night. During our very late dinner that night, I asked everyone to tell me their favorite things from California, here's the report...
Gretchen: playing with cousins, the pool, and to quote "the waves pulling me into the ocean and into the shore". I love how she described that! I am sure she felt every bit of the pull and push with her 35 pound body!
Rachel: the resort pool, the ocean, cousins, and Legoland.
Bridget: cousins, the pool, ocean, Legoland, and Ruby's Diner
Marshall: cousins, ocean, pool, and Legoland
Richard: games, spending time with family, playing with Gretchen in the pool. :) I told him that ten years ago he never would have believed me if I told him he would have fun with his kids in the pool, now I am just holding out hope for the ocean!
Jenny: eating breakfast on our balcony with the kids every morning, the ocean, games with family.
For me, this was the best 13 days of our summer. These kids were amazing. We did so much and spent so much time outside. We came home with tanned skin, tan lines, and for some of us, sun bleached hair, and scrapes on our forehead! It was the best.
This has taken me two weeks to write...signing off!
Love,
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)
