Going back to visit Michigan again 2021/06/12

We were just in Michigan for Austin's Graduation, but it was really hectic while we were there with everything and everyone being there. Two weeks later Theresa had flights for us to head right back there for some more quality "hang out" time. 

Alli loves hanging out with her cousins, and when that cousin can drive it means that they get to go get treats! A family friend recently opened a Steak & Shake franchise and milkshakes were on the menu. Yum! 

And pretty much every time I get asked if I want one too. 

The kids like to play Fortnight with their cousins too, and they've got a good system worked out. When they're running around, chopping wood, looking for weapons, whatever, Ian and Alli will play. If someone appears and there's a fight, the controller quickly gets passed to Austin or Ethan to take over. 

Practicing a little bit of baseball. 

Alli likes spinning and doing gymnastics.

More frozen treats? I'm detecting a recurring theme here with these two. 

We celebrated Richard's birthday and Rita baked a Jewish Coffee Cake. It's a favorite. 

Alli drew him a picture for a present. Love it. 

Most nights we got out and went on a walk around the neighborhood. Good thing because of all this tasty food we're having all the time. 

The kids wanted to make sure they're getting their exercise in too! 

They set out with Austin to make sure they're staying active. 

And when we're not outside exercising, the kids are taking turns indoors on the stationary bike. 

The kids don't typically eat fish, but they love it when Uncle Ty's has a fish fry. Uncle Ty catches and cleans walleye, then cooks them in a giant turkey fryer. After lots of heckling, I did even try a piece. It tastes like cornmeal breading with the fish flavor being very subtle.  

And speaking of fishing, Ian and Alli loved going out with Ethan and Austin. There's a nearby pond where the fish must be starving. Seconds after putting the hook into the water, the bobber would go down and they'd pull in a fish. It was all catch and release, so the fish went right back into the pond afterwards. 

Wow kids!

There were some tiny perch. 

But then also some decent size bass. 

And not always the same bass biting it. This is a small little guy. 

In an hour I think Ethan said they caught something like 15 fish. Ian's going to be spoiled any time he goes out after this. Fishing is supposed to be slow, requiring a lot of patience. 

Ian wanted to do something special for everybody and decided that everyone would enjoy some ice cream from Baskin Robbins. 

Baskin Robbins is normally pretty expensive, but we were able to find a few coupons for buy-one-get-one free. To make everything the most cost effective, we ordered triple scoops and brought our own bowls to split things up afterwards. 

Thank you Ian for being so generous!

I wish that BR's ice cream was a little more hard frozen though. Mine was dripping all over my hands and the ground as soon as I got it. 

After the ice cream we went to another nearby pond with a pier. 

And fed the fish. 

Amy and Donald made up a tasty ham dinner. 

And we celebrated Chi's birthday. Chi enjoys bread more than cake, so in lieu of a cake, I made her a big loaf of homemade french bread and stuck a candle in it. The bread was so hot and fresh from the oven that it started melting the candle from the bottom!

Happy birthday Grammy!

We all watched the new Pixar movie Luca together. It was cute, and we'd end up watching it a second time not long after. 

Aubrey made everyone chocolate dipped strawberries to enjoy with the movie. 

The weather here was really crazy. There was so much lightning and rain one night. In this 30 second video clip, I counted 20 different lightning flashes. At times the thunder was shaking the walls of the house. The kids slept through the whole thing. 

Slurpees again? Why not. 

Aubrey took Alli out to get her nails done. 

They look beautiful Alli. It's great to have bigger cousins, isn't it. 

The board games came out and Alli and Ian got really really into the Disney version of Apples to Apples. You draw from a pile of cards that consists of People, Places, or Things. The dealer picks a card with an adjective on it, and everyone submits the best card in their hand to match that adjective. So for example, if the dealer's card says "Charming" players might submit cards like "Prince Charming, Aladdin, Fireworks, and The Jungle Cruise". It's up to the dealer to pick the card that best signifies that trait. If your card is picked 5 times, you win!

Ian and Alli had some secret sibling language and always ended up picking each others cards to win, no matter how off-topic or obscure they were. 

Any time they could, the kids wanted to go out fishing. 

Whoa Alli, that's a big one!

It's ridiculous how many fish they are catching. 

Sharing a set of headphones and listening to music together. 

The day would come soon when it was time to leave and head back to Colorado. They're all smiles now. 

But it would soon turn to tears as we had to tell everyone goodbye. 

It was really good to see everyone and get to spend so much more time with them this summer. 

They love you Aubrey. 

And we're going to miss you Aunt Rita. 

After an uneventful plane flight, we're back in Denver Colorado and ready to start the next part of our adventure.