VM Family Photos

For Mom and Dad's Christmas present this year, all of us kids pitched in to hire a photographer to take family pictures during the time we'd all be together.  It's been a while since we've done this and we've grown a lot and added new family members!  An old farm was our backdrop and our photographer was great about taking natural, candid pictures that seemed to capture the kids laughing and acting goofy.  We think they'll turn out really well!  We'll get her images soon, but until then, here's a little taste of some quick pictures taken behind her back on various phones...

U2 Concert

When I was a freshman in high school I got my first U2 CD.  It was Achtung Baby and I listened to it over and over again, making U2 one of my favorite bands.  In college, older albums like War and Joshua Tree played nonstop in our dorm and apartment, making up the soundtrack of my studies and social life.  I have continued to follow this band and learn their big singles by borrowing or occasionally buying their new albums.  I have always said that seeing U2 in concert was at the top of my bucket list.  But, since I am an older fan and they have had SO many great songs, I was holding out for the farewell tour when they'd be sure to play all my favorites.

I happened to notice that U2 was playing in Chicago during the exact dates that we'd be there.  And then I read that this particular tour, their Innocence and Experience Tour, featured a juxtaposition of songs off their new album (which I love as much as any of their older ones!) and a play list of classic songs.  When I told Dave, he checked out ticket prices and found some that were pretty reasonable.  A few mouse clicks and this item was coming off my bucket list!  I can't even put into words how excited I was!  And as high as my 23 year long expectations were for this concert, they were far exceeded!

Mom and Dad took the girls for a sleepover (yay for free babysitting!) while Dave and I went on this oh-so-cool date.  While waiting for the concert to start, we loved just seeing and being in the United Center!

It was especially neat to see all the Blackhawks Stanley Cup banners!

I have never been to a real concert before and everything about it was awesome-- the energy, the volume of my favorite songs being performed, the freedom to dance and sing along at the top of your lungs, seeing BONO IN PERSON and laughing at the jokes he cracked.  Dave and I were saying that this was the perfect concert for us.  We fit right in with this crowd, most everyone seeming to be our same age.

There was a main stage and a long runway to a smaller circle stage.  The band members kept walking back and forth and performed on both stages.  Above the runway was this huge screen that showed some neat effects during various songs.

Favorite songs they did were (off the new album) The Miracle, Every Breaking Wave, Song for Someone, Iris, Raised By Wolves, Cedarwood Road, and (oldies but goodies) Mysterious Ways (!!!), I Will Follow, Bullet the Blue Sky, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Beautiful Day, Pride, With or Without You, I Still Haven't Found, Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights, Sweetest Thing, Even Better Than the Real Thing, Until the End of the World, and The Wanderer.  I didn't even need their farewell tour to hear all my favorites!  Seriously, it was amazing.

My heart still beats a little faster thinking about this experience.  I'm so so so in love with my hubby for making this long-time dream come true and for sharing in the fun of it with me!

Around Auntie's

We loved the big events of Michigan's Adventure, the race and beach, and a trip to Calvin College (which I'll write about a bit later), but plenty of fun was just had around Heather's house and town too.  

One day Heather brought us to one of her favorite restaurants for a lake-side lunch.  The kids could actually play in the sand and walk the pier looking for fish while we waited for the food we ordered to arrive.

Another night we took a walk (a run for Ella and Heather who were practicing for the race) around Heather's downtown area.   I love this area!  Lots of cute shops and restaurants, a couple dams on the river with people turtle watching and fishing...it's the perfect summer hangout.  Heather treated us to ice cream at the custard shop.  Then we got home via convertible!

The girls may have been totally content to just hang out at Heather's home with all her fun pets!  Delia and Turbo the kitty especially bonded.  And Ella slept in Auntie's bed each night, which they shared with Cooper and Bentley, much to her delight!

One morning Heather made a scavenger hunt for the girls.  They had to follow clues that led to all different places in her house and won a prize at the end.  Heather introduced the girls to this game she and I used to play together all the time, and it has quickly become a new favorite for Ella and Delia.

We had to make a stop at Russ' Restaurant for our cheap meal and apple dumpling ala mode.  Can't fully appreciate West Michigan culture without sitting next to the Dutch costumes, ordering your $2.50 meal by booth phone off menus with windmills and prayers printed on them!

As said, this trip to Michigan to spend time with Heather was probably our best.  Huge thanks to my sis for totally spoiling us with such a warm and kind welcome and such thoughtful planning!    

Race and Beach

Heather is a super athlete.  She does triathlons and half marathons.  She and Ella text each other about running and a while ago they came up with the idea to run in a race together while we were in Michigan.  It just so happened that there were 2 nearby races the weekend we were at Heather's-- a "clothing optional" race on the beach, which we did NOT sign up for, and this Furry 5K, which we did enter!  The Furry 5K was not only the perfect distance, its hook was that it invited runners to partner with their dogs as they ran the scenic route along Lake Michigan.  Heather's dogs aren't great racers, so we left them home, but it was fun to see and hang out with all the other dogs!

Since we have not been home much this summer, Ella did not do any training for this race.  It was a slower time for her, but Auntie Heather was patient during parts of the 3 miles Ella needed to walk.  Ella did still manage to place in second for her age group so she was awarded a cool dog tag medal.

The race started early in the morning, so we killed some time strolling around the cute beach town and eating the most amazing breakfast at a small diner.  Then we spent the rest of the day on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan.  Frisbee, reading, people watching, napping, sand molds, and a walk out to the lighthouse were all a part of this beach day.

Delia was brave enough to get into water.  The picture below shows the only body parts I was willing to submerge in the freezing cold lake water! :)

Ella and Heather had to show off their matching race shirts to the furry family members they honored in the Furry 5K, but did not want to run with!  Bentley was more interested in kissing Ella than posing for cute pictures.

Michigan's Adventure

After our day with Nick and Amy and crew, it was off to my sister Heather's for a long weekend.  It's been a while since we've seen Heather, so we were especially excited to spend time with her.  She planned fun and perfect activities for each day, kicking off at the amusement park Michigan's Adventure.  For the girls' summer birthdays she treated our whole family to this outing. 

Michigan's Adventure was the perfect sized park for our family.  They had lots of rides that were just our speed and we had a ball screaming on the roller coasters and watching a good-sport Auntie ride the spinny rides with her enthusiastic nieces.

Dave and Heather even rode on Shivering Timbers, their famous wooden roller coaster that is pretty much just one leave-your-stomach-behind drop after the next! 

(Love this picture of Delia giving Auntie Heather a ride in HER convertible!)

What was great about Michigan's Adventure was that it was also a water park!  Heather couldn't remember the last time she rode on a water slide, so this part of the park took the better part of our day.  It was also where our sides started aching from laughing so hard.

I didn't carry my camera around the water slides, so I don't have pictures of some  of best memories-- Delia shrieking with delight in the wave pool and then crying in anger about how wet she got on the rapids ride, racing down the black tunnel slides while screaming our heads off, a peaceful float around the "lousy river", or having to work for the family raft ride by hauling the 2-ton tube up a million steps ourselves.

The ride that won the day was the Funnel of Fear.  The Funnel of Fear features a huge in-the-dark drop that lets out into this humongous toilet bowl, or funnel, where you fly up the sides until you eventually loose momentum and flush out a hole in the bottom.  We rode it over and over and it was terrifying each time!

I am a big fan of a present that is an experience rather than a thing.  Spending the day laughing and screaming together at Michigan's Adventure was a gift for all of us!  When talking about which one day of vacation we'd relive if we could, we all agreed this day would be it! 

Kicking off an Epic Vacation with Good Friends

I sit at my computer feeling overwhelmed.  A few days ago we returned from 15 bliss and fun filled days with our family in the Midwest and today I look at the "Write a few blog posts" item on my to-do list and feel lost about how to even begin.  I am overwhelmed at the amount of cool stuff we crammed into 15 days, overwhelmed at the generosity and love that was heaped upon us.  Each time we go back home to see our family, our expectations are exceeded.  We go every other year and it seems impossible to say each time was "our favorite" or "the best".  But, this time truly was!  

I have mapped out 14, yes folks, FOURTEEN!, different blog posts that will attempt to share and record the memories of all the awesome times we had.  

I'll begin right where we began the trip-- in Michigan, spending a day with our dear friends Nick and Amy and their kids Ben, Eliza and Calvin.  It is always wonderful to catch up with these old friends.  Both of our churches are in times of transition, so it was good to share and connect about that.  But, we loved just playing with the kids and talking about parenting, family and life too.  

We left their home thanking the Lord for lasting friendships and for the way He puts people into our lives who challenge and make us better.