I thought that since we had so much fun in MI, I would reflect on all the cool things we did while we were there. We stayed at my in-laws this time. They have a beautiful house with a pool, big barn with 2 horses and a pony, and lots of land that backs up to a beautiful lake.
The first few days we were there, the weather was nice and warm. We spent the days in the pool swimming with cousins. We also spent time playing with side walk chalk, jump ropes, and riding bikes. We grilled out a bunch and did a lot of work around the house and yard.
Westin and Corey- some cousins
One of the main reasons we went up to MI at this time was because my brother-in-law, Todd, graduated from high school and we wanted to make it to his "Open House". Many people, especially those that live down here in NC, don't know what an open house is. An open house is pretty much a big celebration party that the parents of the graduate hold, usually outside at their home. You invite everyone you know, have food of some sort, and people come during a specified time period to congratulate the grad and eat. It's super nice to see everyone you might not have seen in a long time, but the real reason to have one is to get money!!! Everyone that comes usually brings a card filled with money!!! I'm sure most parents spend WAY more hosting the huge party than what the graduate gets in cards, but it still super nice. The DeLanges did something a little different this year from most other people. They had Todd's open house in the evening and only had ice cream. They actually had an ice cream trailer come and park in their driveway and serve 15 different kinds of hard serve ice cream, floats, and sundaes. The company made their own waffle cones right there and boy did it smell wonderful!!! The Lord was good because it was supposed to storm that evening, but the sun ended up coming out and the clouds cleared. It was a beautiful night! Todd had a great turn out and we got to chat with a lot of old friends. Here's a few pics of that night!!
I worked on quite a few pages of that scrapbook.
My sister-in-law, Jessica, and me. We will be doing this all again next year for her!!
The kids made a bunch of colorful signs on the driveway with side-walk chalk!
We also went riding on the horses. Halle loves to ride and actually got Oreo (the horse) to walk and trot all by herself. Usually, Brad leads the horse around the arena, but Halle did it all alone this year. Parker also went riding for the first time!! He absolutely LOVED the horses and kept pointing at the barn to go out and see them. He couldn't get enough of them.
We made it down to the lake a couple times. We went out on the paddle boat and I actually fell asleep while on it because it was so relaxing. Halle paddled and steered the boat all by herself. One time we piled everyone-8 of us- into the truck and went down to the lake (you have to drive there because they don't have a clear pathway through the woods). My parents were actually over at the time and went along too. Halle, Brad, my brother, and I all had to sit in the bed of the truck on the way there and back because our parents filled up the seats inside the truck. After being there for about 5 minutes, it started to storm. My parents were out on the paddle boat with Halle and my brother was fishing off the shore. We all scurried to get everything back in the truck and trailer, but on the way home, it started hailing and we were all in the back of the truck getting pelted with hail and rain. What a memory!!!
We had LOTS and LOTS of fun in Michigan and we really didn't want to leave. We miss all our family so much. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!!
1 comment:
Wow!!! That sounds like SOOO much fun!!! I love all your great pics! I know your kids had the best time.
That ice cream truck was a great idea. Your in-laws have such a beautiful home and land. I know Halle and Parker must have loved riding those horses!
We have missed you though! Glad you're back! :)
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