Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Michigan Vacation Part 2...

On the 3rd day of our vacation, we left Holland the Grandparents K. and went to Big Rapids and out to Grandma R's cottage on Pretty Lake. Grandma R's cottage was built by Grandpa R. and Hubby's dad in the 70's. It's filled with cute memories and has Grandpa R's touches everywhere. While the weather had been great in Holland, the winter somehow found us at Pretty Lake. Temperatures were in the 60s and it rained every single day we were there. (Which made all the kids staying there, very claustrophobic.) Mia got to meet aunts, uncles, and second cousins for the first time. She also got to see Grandma R for the second time. (She met her the first time when she was one month old...Mia has obviously grown and become much more vocal!)
Whenever I think of Grandma R, I think of smells...smells of baking pies, casseroles and other northern delicacies. She did not disappoint. As you can tell from the above picture, Miss Mia got to try new and exiting things as well. She is drinking all of Hubby's Squirt..a drink from his youth that we can't get in Oklahoma..
The best part for me in our time at rainy Pretty Lake was getting to see Aunt Violet again. I adore her! (Obviously, I named Mia after her.) I wanted a picture of Mia with her namesake. This picture was taken after nap time...check out Mia cutting eyes at Aunt Violet. Later she warmed up and even let Aunt Violet have a few blocks.
With all the rain the kids were stuck inside for 3 solid days, even the big kids. We watched many of Mia's movies, the other cousins got addicted to the Backyardigans. Hubby built this pastel Lego house, complete with tree, car, and a guarding Dinosaur pet for Mia to play with. He was so proud of his creation that he made me take a picture of it.
On our last night in Pretty Lake, after raining all day, it stopped for 2.5 hours from 8:30 to 10 pm. Mia had gone down for the night and so Hubby begged me to go fishing with him. It had been all he wanted to do the entire time we were there. So we took the 2-person kayak out and paddled into the water. I barely had my hook in the water before I was reeling in fish. Most were very small, but then I caught this guy! He was 3 lbs and 13 inches and a bass. I am NOT a fisherwoman. I usually sit on the banks and read or go for a walk b/c I'm not quite enough. Poor hubby didn't catch anything, or even get a bite. He says, however, that watching me get all the bites and the biggest fish he's ever seen come out of Pretty Lake to be very exciting. Grandma R was also impressed with my catch. Hubby cleaned it up and grilled it the next day. He says it was fantastic!

No comments: