We bought admission into Fort Mackinac while we were on the Island. It was quite fun... and educational. Here us Tadj at a lookout and Sofia tugging on the cannon.
Scarlett and Grayson trying on some dress-ups. We have a picture of Sofia in this same dress up from our trip in 2005. Funny! 
The kids liked the lawn demonstration in the main area, but Scarlett was very scared and even cried when the musket fired. Sofia though it was cool.
All the kids posing with our War of 1812 Soldier.
It was less than an hour drive from harbor Springs over to Mackinac, so we decided to take a day and spend it on the Island.Here we are waiting for the Ferry to take us to Mackinac Island. It was a rather chilly morning. Good thing we packed jackets. Even little Bella was still warmest in her PJ's.
Mom on the Ferry with the kids. SHOULD have gone down below. That wind was COLD!
Sofia and her little buddy, Bella.
The Talented Mr. Joe did some beautiful carpentry work around the house we stayed at back in the Spring. Instead of paying him outright, the client offered him a week in the rental for free. Because the house was so big and because they love us so much, they invited us to go too. The house was actually in a country club/ golf resort that had a pool just a short drive away. We cooked many meals together - BBQ, spaghetti, salads, sandwiches, and lots of bacon -, swam, watched movies, built campfires, and played the entire week. The house had 2 floors. the Aminis stayed in the upper/main floor and used the 2 bedroom there. We stayed in the lower level that also had two bedrooms and the laundry room, plus another living area that never got used since we all hung out upstairs.
Light sabers and swords were the toy of the week... of course... there were 3 little boys around. Joe took his beating well out on the deck.
David looking quite scary
Cutie Bella and Cutie Scarlett making silly faces. Bella LOVED pushing these bright chairs around on the deck like her own personal little walkers. Too cute!
The Amini's little Traverse was packed so tightly with stuff, I'm surprised they had room to breathe.
The first beach we went to in Harbor Springs was more of a nature center. The nature guide/ ranger- type looked at us funny as we walked down the LONG trail to the water with our beach gear and sand toys in tow. We found out why when we got there an there was no "beach". Only rocks. We braved it for a while, but it was pretty hard on the feet.
Later in the week we went to a beach in the harbor. It was still not for than 70 degrees, but the kids really wanted to play in the sand. They did a good job burying Joe (with Angie's help).
Sofia's swimming skills really took off here. She didn't use a floatie at all and was SO close to making it out to the raft to do some dives... but it WAS a bit too far away and they wouldn't allow floats.
Scarlett and Bella chose a spot in the sand right near the water.
We couldn't possibly spend the entire week with the Aminis and NOT find a McDonalds. This was a fun one in Petoskey. Too bad it was a good 25 minutes from our rental.
Slide Smash - Andrew, Sofia, Scarlett, Grayson, and David
So Harbor Springs turned out to be... just that... a harbor. Not exactly unending sunshine and beaches, but the kids loved watching the boats. 
funny water fountain in the town.
On the docks
During our Stay in Harbor Springs, we had the opportunity to build some campfires next to our rental home. Obviously we had great fun with S'mores. We even had security come since the lady next door complained. Sheesh! We weren't in trouble. She was just cranky.
We loved these adirondack chairs so much, we even bought them there and came home with them.
Joe and Tadj trying to look like manly fire builders.
Sofia, Grayson, David, Scarlett, and Andrew.
