We had our first ever Hardie family reunion this month From July 17th through the 20th in St. Ignace Michigan. Mom and Dad reserved us all hotel rooms at the Harbor Pointe Best Western. It was a fun place to stay. They accomadated our large group well and even let us use the breakfast room for family meals. We spent a lot of time playing games and swimming in the pools at the hotel, but also did some touring around. BTW - if I ever get a copy of the group photos taken I'll post them (MOM!!!).
On Friday I drove (alone ... tadj was working) the kids up north to St. Ignace. We left at 9am and somewhere around Flint our DVD player stopped working. I entertained the kids as much as I could for a couple of hours, but by the time we got to Gaylord, I'd had enough. We stopped at Walmart to get a new DVD player, go potty and get lunch and got back on the road. By around 3pm, Mom and Dad, the Prices, and the Hardies were there too. We all swam in the pool for a bit and got pizza for dinner. Once the kids were asleep in bed, we all met in Mom and Dad's room for a meeting and games. We did this every night and it was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.
On Saturday morning we got up early to try and catch the 10am boat to Mackinac Island. We didn't make it. Once we got there, Mom didn't have her coupon and had to send Dad back to get it. He just BARELY made it back in time for us all to get on the 10:30am boat. YAY! Once on the island we walked around a little and then climbed the hill up to the Fort. We saw a fun court marshall demonstration and played in the kids area for a while. Then we walked back down the hill and got lunch at a pizza buffet at some hotel where Scarlett jumped out of her high chair and banged her head. Fun. After lunch we walked back up the hill and back into the Fort. Did I mention the hill? Very steep and long. We all had sore legs the next few days. Chris and Rachel even climbed it a 3rd time later in the day. We toured some more historical buildings in the fort, played some lawn games and the babies took naps in their strollers. Afterward, we left the Fort and played at a playground, did some shopping, and watched a fudge making demonstration at Murdick's... the OLDEST fudge shop on the Island. It was really cool to watch. And the fudge was DELICIOUS. We took the boat back, swam at the pool at the hotel, Tadj arrived (YAY!), had dinner together (made by me) and watched fireworks over the lake that night.
Sunday morning we got up and decided to take the kids to the beach after lunch. Rachel and Justin packed a yummy lundh for everyone and we head to a state park beach on Lake Michigan. It was another chilly day, but the kids were dying to play in the sand. We had fun anyway and even got a little sun. Only Tadj and a couple of the kids were brave enough to actually go in the frigid Northern Lake Michigan water. Afterwards, the babies fell asleep in the cars and slept in their hotel cribs while the rest of us went swimming in the hotel pool. Chris and Rachel made a yummy bbq chicken sandwich dinner that night and then we all went down to the hotel's bonfire and made s'mores.
On Monday we traveled home. We had Brooklyn in my van and Grayson drove with Tadj in his car. Brooke and Sofia got along famously and Scarlett slept (it was a tiring weekend). We got to keep Brooklyn until later that evening since her parents stopped at all the outlet malls on the way home. She was fun to have around.
We had SUCH a fun trip. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for putting it together and paying for it. And thank you Rachel for digging on the web for stuff to do. It was wonderful to spend time all together as a family for days instead of hours here and there. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
btw : scroll below for all the pictures.
After our weekend in St. Ignace, my Sister and her family, my family, and my brother Chris all went to Cedar Point for the day. It was a BLAST! We've discovered the greatness of the child swap pass. One parent waits in line and then rides the roller coaster while the other stays with the kids and gets to go up the exit and get right on the ride when the other parent gets off. Rachel, Justin, Tadj and I both used BOTH our passes well and got to ride just about everything we wanted to. Meanwhile, we took turns having a blast with the kids in camp snoopy, the Gemini children's area, and planet snoopy. Here is a CUTE picture of Sofia on the riverboat ride.
Sofia in the first red car of the Junior Gemini. She was also tall enough to go on the Iron Dragon (twice!) and LOVED it. We can't wait until she's a bit taller and can go on the really big ones.
Grayson and Brook in a rocket ship ride. Thank goodness they were tall enough to ride alone. These rides started making Tadj and I sick.
Bumper boats
hot air baloon ride
