Baby Nowell: Michigan

Two weeks ago Josh and I, and the bump embarked to Michigan for a family reunion and memorial services for Josh's Grandpa. The trip started with a drive to Baltimore, arriving at 12:45 AM at Kyle DS's house, in which he had to go to work by 5AM, and we had to be up and gone by 6:30AM. Needless to say being only 30 minutes from the airport was the smartest thing we could have done. We were able to park at a hotel for the week for only $5 a day, had a shuttle take us to the airport, got through check-in with ease, had breakfast, and then almost missed our flight. Whoops. We forgot that normal boarding begins 20 to 30 mins earlier than the actual flight, so we were coming in right before the plane was about to take off.

The flight to Grand Rapids was a quick hour and a half but we still had a visit to my Aunt and Uncles in Holland and a 4 hour rental car ride to the farm.
By the time we arrived in Holland my feet had swollen up more than ever before, I attributed this to the flight, but figured they would go down with the car ride to the farm.
We arrived at Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Nate's house where we received a quick tour of the house, a welcome sign, a bottle of water, and a Sophie Baby teether! Presents are always fun especially when they are most unexpected. Josh and I were given a car tour of the beautiful city of Holland, followed by a delicious lunch on the water, and a trip into downtown Holland. Aunt Marilyn and I went into Tip Toes, a baby boutique, while Josh and Uncle Nate went to the Brewery next store. Tip Toes was where Marilyn purchased Sophie for us so she wanted me to see more of the store and possibly pick out an item or two. We left with A&A swaddle blankets and a teething bracelet. All very cute and practical. By the end our of short shopping trip my feet were more swollen than ever, for real this time. They were cutting into my flip flops like nobodies business. It was about that time to go and with my feet the way they were it was even more appropriate to get on the road, so I could put them up.
I felt very spoiled by my Aunt and Uncle and wished we could have stayed longer to repay them in some way. Never get to see family enough, its pretty sad.

We made the treck up to East Jordan, with my feet still swollen and slightly budging, and arrived by 7PM. It was so wonderful to see Mum and Dad Nowell, hugs every chance we got, and lots of talk of baby and their soon-to-be Grandparenthood.

Our week in Michigan had officially begun.

The week flew by, like most vacations do, but we were able to spend a lot of quality time with family and extended family. Ping-pong tournaments, ATV rides, target practice (no picture was taken of this but there totally should have been), 4th of July Fireworks, AMAZING food daily, lots of laughs, lots of canines, old old old home videos of the 5 Sanderson's and cousin Sandy growing up (I watched it twice), and so much more!!

There was many days spent on the lake and just lounging around but there were a few days where Josh and I were able to go into both Boyne City and Charlevoix for some quality time with each other. In Boyne City we were able to go to a Craft Fair where Josh bought me a Ammonite necklace, we stuck our feet in a creek, well river, and we went Antique shopping. That day both my feet and hands decided to swell. That made me sad because my rings had to come off, for the first time, and apparently not the last. In Charlevoix, we rode the ferry over and back, walked the strip and did some window shopping, had a delightful meal on the water, and went to the light house and ended our day with a rhubarb pie a la mode.

We ended the week with a Memorial services for Grandpa Sanderson which was beautiful in more ways than one. So many wonderful stories were shared by Dean, Mike, Lisa, Jason, Heidi, and Grandpa's cousin Parker. The Sanderson clan is an amazing, loving and caring family who I am so very very blessed to be apart of.

Monday morning, bright and early at 530AM, Josh, Aunt Jan and I embarked to Traverse City where Aunt Jan was to catch her flight home. This was a lovely drive! We had non-stop conversation which not only made the ride go by quickly but we were able to spend some extra quality time with an Aunt we rarely see. It was truly a blessing and a wonderful way to begin our long travel home.
We arrived in Grand Rapids and actually had to wait to board the plane for a while. Had another quick hour and a half flight, and before we knew it we were back in the car homeward bound. The trip from Baltimore to Norfolk was a lot longer this time, and we made the mistake of stopping to eat lunch in NOVA so we didn't arrive home until 7PM instead of 530PM. That wasn't too bad considering we did stop to eat for almost an hour. Oh, and this trip, my feet were only slightly swollen...maybe it was that Michigan air?!

All in all the week was a perfect vacation and just what we needed...before Little Bean arrives.

Below is a recap of pictures from the week! Enjoy!