Oh, vacation. I love you.

This year we headed back over and up to the cottage we've rented the last couple years.  It's such a great cottage on Ford Lake between Manistee and Ludington.  We love it there.  I was so worried about the weather not being good.  It started out a little rocky (cold) but it turned out amazing.

I should mention we got a pop-up camper.  I can't believe it!  We thought about it for a month and decided we liked the idea of becoming campers.  Kirk grew up camping but I didn't.  Unless you count the times my friends and I went in high school.  Does it count that we would drive home to shower and then go back up? (oh, Lis...keep your comments to yourself!)  Every summer when I hear my friends talk about camping with their kids or see their pictures or see my nephew and nieces' faces light up talking about camping, I get excited for them! So, we've joined the club.

Anyway, we had the camper for exactly three days when we left for vacation.  We had an issue before we even got to the cottage.  Long story, but we had no brakes on the camper or brake lights!  It was a long drive to the cottage and we were totally stressed out.  Kirk and I were so happy to get to the cottage all in one piece.

We laid low the first day and just hung out.  Lincoln is a future professional fisherman (no, seriously) so Kirk and Lincoln fished and Isa and laid around.  The Sizemores came over and hung out for a little bit.  We all went out for dinner to House of Flavors (where else?) where the kids enjoyed dessert.  We were happy to get home and have Uncle Nate waiting for us!  My kids can't get enough of him.  And Lincoln (and Kirk) were happy to have another fishing partner. 

Tuesday we went to out favorite beach in Manistee.  It was cold but not too cold for us to make it a beach day!  I asked the kids to turn around hoping to get another picture of them like last year gazing peacefully at the water.  This is the shot they gave me.  Gee, kiddos, thanks...I guess?  Lincoln was excited to be buried in sand for the first time.  The water was cold  SO STINKING COLD!  Like Lake Superior cold.

Another of our favorite beaches is Buttersville in Ludington.  It's a great beach!  We all go every year. Actually, it was my mom who introduced us to it.  Such a great beach! 

We didn't want to leave, but we left Saturday to begin the second leg of our vacation.  

We went to the UP to camp.  Krk's parents rent a cabin about 5 minutes from the campground so we saw them which helped to break us in slowly to this whole camping thing.

The campground was beautiful.  Kirk grew up camping there and so did his dad, actually.  We spent some time at the lake where the campground is.  That water was warm.  There was a trail that went all the way around the lake so I did that one day.  Another day we went to Munising; one of my fave cities in the UP.  Love it there.

Our site at Colwell Lake Campground

that's a baby frog!

Wagner Falls

The kids were able to spend some time with their cousins when we went to the cabin and we were able to enjoy some adult conversation.  Lincoln caught some fish at the cabin but I wasn't there to witness it.  No pictures, but he did catch a perch, which was one of the fish he wanted to catch.  He was never able to catch the pike he wanted to catch.

After our 10 day vacation, we headed home.  On the way home, we stopped on Route 2.  It was too nice of a day not to!  The only problem was, it added on to our already long car ride.  It took us 8 hours to get home (with a long stop). 

We have another camping adventure scheduled for next week.  We can't say good-bye to summer only having camped once!  I'll post pics when we get home.

Here's to another great vacation!