Mackinac and the Soo

This was our weekend:

Mackinac \ˈma-kə-ˌnȯ\ Island: Mackinac is an island located in Lake Huron just east of the Mackinaw Bridge (yes, they are spelled differently). It is a quaint step back in time - no cars - just bikes, horse drawn carriages, shops, bed and breakfasts and history. We bypassed the bikes and just walked part (fraction) of the 8 mile perimeter. We loved it! The kids enjoyed playing in the water. Abby thought we were great for buying her ice cream and Mike and I enjoyed the scenery and cool weather.

About the pictures: 1-2 UPS deliveries on Mackinac - the boat in the second picture is carrying the UPS truck; 3 Proof we were there (with kiddos who have chosen not to be seen); 4 Arch Rock; 5 Bikes, cute houses, etc.; 6 Abby posing in front of horse carriages; 7 Kids and I with the bridge in the background; 8 Cheesy face in another fun street shot; 9 Hotel from Somewhere in Time (good movie) - the picture was taken from the ferry - they charge to walk on the grounds; 10 - back on the mainland our first crossing of the Bridge

Sault Ste. Marie \ˈsü-(ˌ)sānt-mə-ˈrē\ (and surrounding): Friday and Saturday nights we camped at a state park outside Sault Ste. Marie in the UP. It is a pretty area and we hope to go back and see more of the UP. There was a lot of rain and misty weather that slowed us down a bit. We didn't get to play on the beach. (I did touch Lake Superior though.) Today we attended the branch in Sault Ste. Marie. We love visiting wards and branches on vacation. It was a small branch. As usual, the members were very kind and welcoming. I believe this was the first time I have attended church in a rented building.

Highlights: 1 Abby's tree house - She asked us many times to put her into her "tree house" and she'd just sit there for several minutes - She loved it - Mike and I thought it looked slightly uncomfortable; 2-3 Point Iroquois Lighthouse; 4 The Soo Locks - These locks allow great big ships to travel between Lake Huron and Lake Superior - I believe it is a 21ish foot difference - It was pretty fascinating to watch the ships pull through and be raised and lowered; 5 Briton and Mike making dinner

Miscellania

Two pictures worth remembering:

This was taken last Sunday which happened to be Briton's first day in the nursery at church. It was a great day! He did very well and the teachers only had to bring him to me once (nothing that a binkie and a few minutes of cuddling couldn't solve). Today we attending church in one of the farthest reaches of MI. No nursery. It was fine though. Mike has a talent with putting Briton to sleep at church. The little car pictures might become a family tradition.
Abby is becoming quite the artist. (I told her that the other day and she adamantly said, "No, I am not, mom....Mom, what is an artist?") Here is a sample. This is an aerial shot of eggs in a frying pan. The jagged lines around the outside of the pan are the flames on the stove. I thought she did a pretty good job. Most of her artwork is of her family and letters of the alphabet. This one is quite unique.

Briton's antics

Briton is into a lot and growing up too quickly lately. He doesn't talk a ton (clarification: he talks close to non stop, but we aren't quite understanding it yet), but it is so much fun to see him responding to instructions and showing how much he understands. He is very observant and always tries to find out how things work. Sometimes he just plain gets into mischief.

I cannot leave doors to the bathrooms open for any amount of time because I underestimate how quickly he can be on a bathroom counter and in the sink.

He loves to pull keys off my computer. (I am currently working without the caps lock, function, control, alt and X key.)

Lately he has been taking vent covers off - not all of them - just this one in the living room and one in the dining room. When these pictures were taken I had just caught him very deliberately pulling the little flowers off the stems in this arrangement and then dropping them down the vent. I looked in the vent and pulled out 2 or 3 dozen of these flowers! He must have been up to this for a while. (The flowers have been removed from the vent and the arrangement has found a new home.)

The Zoo

This year we got a pass to our local zoo. It is small, but a good size for our kiddos. I like being able to go whenever we like and stay for as long or as short a time as our schedule allows. It is about 15ish minutes from our house. Tonight was members only night. We ate hot dogs and got to see lots of animals up close. I loved that Abby was interested to go up to the various tables to see what they would talk to us about. Briton just gets excited to see any animal in any setting.

Tonight was Mike's first time accompanying us.

The kids always love to feed the llamas. (Even if I don't have a quarter to buy the food, Abby will find pellets on the ground to feed them. I love her resourcefulness!)

Here we are on the brass giraffes. (These are the only giraffes you will find at our zoo.)

Both kids enjoyed petting a few different animals. This turtle was a good sport letting them get up close.