Crystal Lake (Part 1)

We just returned from an awesome week of vacation with the Wiers side of the family in Fremont, MI!  It was heavenly!  And honestly, none of us are too excited to be back at home and back to reality.  We got back this afternoon (and since J is such a horrible car sleeper) we put him down for a little nap.  He cried because he wanted to take a nap at "our hotel" and not at home. :(  Sigh.

Anyway, I have TONS of pics and it was a week-long vacation, so this will have to be done in 2 (or maybe 3) installments!

Since the drive from our house to the cottage on Crystal Lake in Fremont, MI would have been like 10 hours, we decided that our 2.5 year old would probably rather break the trip up a bit.  So, last Thursday we drove as far as my absolute favorite city in the whole entire world.  CHICAGO!  My sister Abby lives there and was nice enough to let us crash at her apartment for the night!

Jeremiah was thrilled to see Auntie Abby AND her roommate's puppy! :)

Thursday evening we went downtown for dinner with Abby and Neil.  And Jeremiah and Adam had their first EL rides!  They were both pretty excited! :)

Jeremiah was in awe of all the big, tall buildings!

 Dinner was at Portillo's-- yummy!  And Jeremiah thought Neil was being hilarious!

Friday we walked to Toast with Abby for breakfast (now doesn't that just sound like a restaurant that I would LOVE????  Abe knows me well!).

Doesn't that look delish?  I, however, did not have toast at Toast.  I had crepes.
After breakfast, we packed up and made the trek from Chicago to Michigan.  We made a stop at Uncle Tony and Aunt Jeane's house in Grand Haven to see them, and also some of my cousins who were in town from various states.  We couldn't be there without hiking down the stairs to the lake!

And then, of course, we had to hike ALL the way back up.  And it was a HOT day!!!  But totally worth doing those steps!

And then we loaded up once more for the final hour drive up to Fremont to our cottage!  We made one stop, at Spanky's for pizza.  Who knew that I would fall in love at Spanky's?  But I did.  With their breadsticks.  Mmmmmmmm.

Jeremiah drove a slice of pizza

And then we finally made it to our destination-- the cottage on Crystal Lake!!!  We basically got unpacked and got Jeremiah to bed-- it had been a looooong day (did I mention before that he is a horrible car sleeper????  He is.). 

Saturday was another hot day-- we spent our time on the lake!!!!  We got some good use out of the kayaks, and J had a great time playing in the sand!

Even though it may not look like it, I DO have my swimming suit on.

Safety first!

Looks like this guy is getting used to retirement!

Jeremiah was thrilled when his cousin Josie arrived (along with Uncle Matt, Aunt Cheryl, and baby Evan)!  These 2 had SO much fun together!!!!

A cottage with a toy room AND a basement full of farm and tractor toys?!?!?!?  Perfect!

Story time with Grandma!

On Sunday we all went in to Fremont and had brunch at the Koffee Kuppe (no link, sorry!).  The heat finally went away and left us with a more comfortable day-- we ate outside!

And after brunch we drove out to New Era to Lewis' Farm Market and Petting Farm.  Jeremiah and Josie loved this place!

He looks like a five year old in this pic. :(

Driving Miss Josie

First experience on a Teeter Totter!

Talking about bunnies with Auntie Abby.

Frolicking on the big pillow!

Cousins!

Evan wants to play with the big kids!

Uncle Matt helped J rope a cow!

Pretty good, huh? :)

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids!

Sunday afternoon was gorgeous, so we spent more time out by the lake!

Warning: You will be seeing more of that sweatshirt-- it's the only one I brought!

The Old Man and the Sea

And that evening we had a campfire and S'mores!

Jeremiah's first S'mores!  He approved.

YUM

We awoke on Monday to yet another beautiful day!  We hung out on the lake for most of the day.  My friend and college roommate Lynne and her son Jordan drove up from GR to see us!  You would think with all the pics I took, I would have remembered to take one with her!  But no.  Too much chatting, I guess.  But it was so good to see you, Lynne! :)

Josie is playing in the water... where's Jeremiah?

Oh, right.  He's across the street with daddy watching a farmer harvest alfalfa.

How cute is my nephew?!?!?

Uncle Ben took the kayak for a spin!

Ice cream at Lakeside Swirl!

Abby and I were delighted to learn that there were Amish people in our area!  We even met an Amish family when we stopped at their farm stand for sweet corn (seriously, even though I live in Iowa, it was THE BEST corn I have ever had!).

Look closely.  There's a horse and buggy!

Okay, I think that's about it for now.  Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon!!! :)