June

Mark had two weeks of orientation in June which left him some afternoons/weekends available to see some sights.  We hit up Saugatuk beach which was well worth the hour drive.  It happened to be a Tuesday so we shared the beach with practically no one.  It was hot and windy and the water was actually warm.  Usually getting wet and then having the wind blow is pure torture for me.  I detest swimming and then being cold, but with heat and humidity it was beautiful - the wind didn't even bother me.

We hiked about 3/4 of a mile to get to the beach.

So fun!

The kids loved playing in the rip tide and sand.  

I think they could have stayed forever.

This was on the drive home. We decided to meander.

Michigan is such a beautiful state.  Who knew?

These pictures don't really do it justice - they are just the part that I love the most. :)

Fields!!  

The great part is that you will be driving through thick forest and then it opens up into a beautiful corn field and then you are back into a tree tunnel. 

The other day a semi truck drove in front of our house full of silage.

It made me so happy. :)

We are slowly making friends but I am so grateful my kids have each other.

It makes me so happy when they play together for hours letting their imaginations go wild.

Wilson loves to give Sammy piggy back rides.

I'm never sure who is giggling more - Sam or Wils.

What a fantastic big brother!

I just love the look in Sammy's eyes.

Meet Sacajawea, Iron Man, & Spider Man.

It was quite the game. :)

This picture makes me so happy.  There is nothing better than a lazy summer day with a great book.

Zina is laying in the early morning sunshine reading Harry Potter.  Sometimes I walk in on her reading and giggling.  So SO great.

I love that she is at the age where she can do this. 

I can't wait for Wilson to read so that they can enjoy books together.

This is what Sam likes to do in the early morning sunshine.

I've contemplated putting the puzzles up higher but he just loves them so much and will sit and play with them for hours that I've just decided to tolerate the mess -even when he dumps them all out at once and we all have to work together to figure out where all the pieces go. :)

We toured the Kellog Dairy Farm one afternoon and I was probably the most excited about it all. :)

It is a research farm for MSU and I thought is was really cool that all the cows have gps collars and there are surveillance cameras everywhere to figure out how to make them more comfortable and produce more milk.  The milking robots and free delicious raspberry sorbet was pretty awesome also.

Sammy was really excited about the baby cows. :)

Can you tell I am loving rural Michigan?
ok. I think I love rural anywhere. :)