First Summer Vacation

We took Norah on her very first summer vacation last week to the Upper Peninsula of MI.  Mark, Tryn, Liam, Matt, Norah and I, plus 2 dogs and a boatload of gear made the trek up over the bridge and into a teeny town east of St. Ignace called Hessel.  We had a small 2 bedroom cabin on a bay in Lake Huron, and although the accommodations were somewhat meager, it ended up being a great place to stay for the week.  We played lots of family games, took a few day trips to surrounding area attractions (Mackinac Island and Tahquamenon Falls) and all of us enjoyed relaxing, swimming, reading and spending time together.  The photos do a better job of recapping the week, so without further ado, here you go! 

Bonzer and Lainey loving the lake - both dogs were pretty much wet all week long!

Norah's first Great Lake dip - just the toes, as it was a little chilly the first day

Tiny toes!

With Daddy in the cabin

Sleepin - check out the sweet sofa! 

Hessel Marina at sunset

Mark, Liam and Tryn on the Mackinac Ferry

Norah's first ferry ride - clearly thrilled

Beautiful view at Arch Rock

Arch Rock

Hanging with Grandpa

With a butterfly on her leg in the Butterfly House

On the ferry to leave the island, overlooking the beautiful marina

Tahquamenon Falls - Upper Falls.  She was mesmerized by the sound of the falls! 

Upper Falls

Swimming with Daddy

Lainey's in heaven! 

Beach babe

The pier

Our first road trip was mostly a success - with the exception being Norah is no longer a fan of riding in the car and has taken to sharing her honest opinion about it with us as long as she's buckled in her seat.  And Lainey is distressed about rumble strips in construction zones (that's putting it mildly) and at one point catapulted herself from the front seat into the backseat and would.not.budge.  So I spent a fair portion of the drive home either with Lainey on my lap in the backseat, or hunched over Norah's carseat to nurse her so we didn't have to stop and prolong the trip, or pumping while speeding down the highway so that I could give her a bottle and remain safely seatbelted myself - now there's a picture I spared you!  All in all, we did pretty well though, and amazingly packed everything we needed to survive for a week with a dog, a baby, and ourselves into the CR-V (no one really needs to see out the rear window, right?).    It was a trial run for our much longer road trip to upstate NY this fall for my dear friend Aidan's wedding...minus the dog. I hope by the time Norah is 6 months old she will be doing better in the carseat...or we're in for a lovely ride.