color run

several weeks ago, michael and i ran the color run.  we'd heard about it from our sarah, and the website video sold us.  it looked like such a fun thing to do, so we signed up.  we put no pressure on ourselves, and just went out to have fun.  and that we did.  and boy, were we messy at the finish.



my friend, carrie, and i made tutus to run in.  harper made one, too, and the first night, she slept in hers. sweet dreams, color runner.

culminations

it is so hard to believe that 2 years has gone by so fast.  i'm certain not for michael, who was in the thick of studying and reading and lectures and group projects and having to miss out on loads of family activities since august 2010, but when i think back to the phone call we had when he proposed this idea of going back for his mba, i was just barely pregnant with crosby.  and now she's 17 months, and he is finished.  he has 3 more letters behind his name.  and we have nothing but pride for his accomplishments.

we celebrated with dinner, a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles (harper's idea), and presents.  m = massage.  b = biggby gift card (where he spent so many study hours).  a  = art.



congratulations, daddy.  we are so proud and happy.  we can't wait to have you home more.
love, e, h & c

4, 5 and 6

so we started out our 4th day with some more rain.



there went that balance again. but by mid-day, it started to clear up, so we headed to saugatuck, a local town, for some meandering and perusing. oh and more ice cream. there's just something about vacation that equals ice cream tastes from all the local shops.
 

and then it was back to the beach for a quick visit, because by the time we got down there just for some sand play and to watch the white capped waves, it started to rain pretty hard and whip up those rip tides.
 

friday, day 5, was all about blue skies, sun, sand and play. mixed in with long naps, finishing one book and immediately starting another, meals at home and bike rides. we brought along our bike trailer that we got over a year ago from a neighbor friend and didn't use until this week. it was great, as it not only carted along the girls, but all of our beach gear as well- umbrella, chairs, sand toys, towels, kite.
 
(side note: harper pretty much dressed herself all week.  coordinated her outfits with hair accessories and jewelry.  she's been doing that more and more lately.  and she has really only wanted to wear 5 dresses all summer, rotating through them until they were then laundered and hung up and it started all over again. i totally could have saved money and not bought any shorts or capris or t-shirts all season.)



during our beach day, i managed to snag a favorite picture. totally copied from my favorite mom blogger, and i'm not ashamed to admit it. boom.
 

that evening and the next morning, we snapped some family photos. expect to see some of these on holiday cards this year.
 

this next one tells such a story.  i wanted some individual shots of harper, but she was on her last nerve. i bribed her {gasp!} with a peppermint patty, her favorite candy.  she reached out for it, although i didn't actually have it down at the beach with me.  but lo and behold, we turned to head back to the house after we were done and there in the sand was a wrapper.  it wasn't ours, but we did pick it up and throw it away appropriately.  give a hoot.  don't pollute.



saturday, day 6 and our last day, we spent with a morning on the beach.  some last minute relaxation and soaking up the sandy summer before we headed back home.



our 2nd annual lake michigan beachy summer trip and we had a great time.  we did just the right amounts of nothing and something, and came back ready to start thinking about school.  looking forward to next summer's adventures already.

days 2 & 3: sun & sand

thursday morning.  i sit on the back screened in patio, sipping my third cup of coffee, lounging on the padded bench, feet propped up on the table where harper is coloring with mad skills.  the storm clouds are rolling in and the sky is darkening.  but i look back at the photos and memories of the last 2 days here, and all i can see is sun.







since michael and i have been together, we've shared many vacations.  we've also had a long streak of bad weather.  two examples...

myrtle beach with friends, where the only sunny day was the day we arrived and chose not to go to the beach because we would have a week to do just that, and where we also chose not to upgrade to the 2 bedroom suite to be all together because we wouldn't be sitting in the hotel room much anyway, right? wrong.  rained every. single. day.

up north with michael's family, right after my first miscarriage, where all i was looking for was some relaxing on a sunny, sandy michigan beach to grieve and release, and where instead we found the only sunny day was the day we left early to head back in town for a wedding.

it started to become a joke, where family didn't want us to vacation with them for fear we'd bring the bad weather along.  we finally broke our streak a couple years ago, when we vacationed in the outer banks in north carolina with nothing but good weather.

but more recently i've come to realize that with every ray of sun, some rain must fall.  and with every rain storm, a rainbow.  it's balance.  and it's ok.  so we balanced our rainy first day with 2 days of sunshine and sand.



we made castles.  buried bodies in the sand and created turtles and mermaids.  and cros-zilla made her own appearance, stumbling around to stomp down everyone's hard work.
 
{photography by griffin}



wednesday night we made certain we got to the beach for sunset. we extended bedtime a bit, made a fire and settled in for a pure michigan light show.
 

and boy oh boy, was i loving the silhouettes the sun provided for me. took way too many photos.
 

until tomorrow...good night.