Saturday, August 28, 2010

Michigan Lady Style

My Mom and I are back from an almost relaxing vacation! As parents of young children may know, vacations are usually needed after vacations. But my kids are getting to the age of self-sufficiency and it is nice.
We were able to stay at Great Gramma's house and the kids reveled in their explorations of the crawl space. I remember feeling the same way. They even dressed up in the same old and colorful clothes. I remember that too.
We went to the beach, specifically 7 different beaches.
After a day of South Haven swimming, we were able to wave at Cousin Sarah on the Friends Good Will Tall Ship as she sailed out of town.
She was leaving for Chicago's Tall Ship Festival. Sarah is 16 and home schooled and it allows her the opportunity to do this. Amazing.
We were also able to see Cousin Charli after she was released from the hospital. She has endured a long month of ICU, skin grafts, blood transfusions...
It was so wonderful to see her running around with the kids and doing well.
On our way back home, we hoped to swim one last time. But the riptide warnings were in effect all the way down. We thought we would head south until we found a calm and gentle place to swim...nope. And Indiana's beaches were closed for swimming altogether.
We ended up at New Buffalo City. The red flag was up, but we were able to get in the water and let the waves beat us around a bit.
We made some pretty sweet sand castles at all our beaches. We also had some beautiful beach collections which included: driftwood, sea glass, bones, butts, straws, a Christmas tree cookie cutter, spoon, shells, plastic cow, fossil rocks, regular rocks, string, feathers...
We listened to Where the Red Fern Grows a couple times (much to my Mom's dismay). It is an incredible story and a wonderful way to while away the day.


Weko Beach

Boardwalk Walk

Cousin Sarah's Ship

South Haven Sunset

A Boy And His Driftwood

Warren Dune Climb

Great Gramma

They Made It

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Sappington Market

My favorite place to shop. This is a small, but not too small store that is farmer owned and carries all the best local products.
www.sappingtonfarmersmkt.com
On Thursdays spend $50 get $10 off.
Some of our favorite local staples:
  • Good Earth Eggs $1.39 dozen
  • Heartland Milk $3.19 gallon
  • Legacy Cheese
  • Mangia Pasta $3.20
  • San Luis Chips $1.99 16 ounces
  • San Luis Tortillas .89 12 pack

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Forgotten Cucumber

Cucumbers are my favorite thing to grow. Everyone in the family loves them, they are refreshing, easy to care for, and scrumptious.
Today the kids found a straggler. The one on the right must have been hidden from sight in previous pickings.

Hot Day Hike


One of my favorite places in Forest Park. We collected some more pond water and will take a look today.

Elephant Rocks









We stopped by Elephant Rocks on our way back home.
We scurried around on large rocks and shimmied through small passageways.
The trail also winds around an old quarry site. The red granite was used as building material and paving blocks on St Louis city streets and the levee.
I hope to go back again in Fall. The rock will be cooler. It was hot hot.
On our way home, we stopped in Caledonia at the Caledonia BBQ Company.
It was delicious and we enjoyed getting to know the couple who run the place. If you are heading back to Stl on Highway 21 stop in and explore this tiny town.

Johnson's Shut-Ins

I didn't want to take my camera down into the water, so my pictures don't really do this natural water park justice.
http://www.mostateparks.com/jshutins.htm
We left St Louis early, but not early enough. We arrived at the Park around 11 AM, but the line was already long. The lot has a 100 car capacity and the line wasn't moving unless a car drove out.
We decided to park and hike in. The walk was a mile or two and hot but worth it.
Food and drinks are not allowed at the river, but thankfully we saw our friends' van in the parking lot, and stuck our cooler underneath it. We were also able to snag a ride back to our van when the time was right. You really can fit 6 children and 4 adults in a minivan.
A lovely day.