4th of July weekend in lower Michigan

Aaron and I had some vacation time at the beginning of July and had planned to take a tour of lower Michigan. That got cut short due to the fact that Aaron had been sick for about 3 weeks, and we decided to stay at home and rest, rather than share whatever germs he had with our friends. We were able to get to Grand Rapids to visit my college roommate for one night, and then we spent the rest of the weekend in Coldwater at Aaron's brother-in-law's family's cottage. Even though our vacation turned out different than we'd planned, we had a great week off, and were amazingly well rested to head back to work that Monday. Usually we find ourselves needing a vacation to recover from our vacation... not this time. :) There is definitely something to be said for these "stay-cations" that are becoming so popular these days. :)

Here we are in Grand Rapids with Kellie

And Kellie's cousin, Jennie

At Arby's for lunch... Micah is taking a page out of his Uncle Eric's book by chewing on the straw :)

Thankfully, the car ride from Grand Rapids to Coldwater was very uneventful. Micah slept most of the way and we made it there without too much trouble. :)

Relaxing at the cottage

Micah's first experience with sand ~ he wasn't too sure about it at first, but quickly got excited about putting it in his mouth. :) (Don't worry... we put a stop to that REAL fast)

Chillin' with daddy

"HGB" ... or, Honorary Grandpa Bob :)

"HGV" ... or, Honorary Grandma Vicki :)

Micah's first boat ride! He loved it! The life jacket we got for him was a little on the large size, but it was the smallest one we could find. He'll grow into it quickly, I'd imagine. :)

Family picture on the boat ~

Eric was holding Micah up on the dashboard of the boat, and all I could think of was that scene in "What About Bob?" when Bill Murray's character is tied to the mast of the boat and is yelling, "I'm sailing!" Micah was a little braver than Bill Murray on his first boat ride. :)

Laughing at Uncle Eric

Enjoying the boat ride with Aunt Tracy

Relaxing is what being at the cottage is all about!

Micah took a nap in Aunt Tracy's arms on Sunday, and I think I might be in trouble... if you listen closely, you can hear Micah snoring in this video! Like father, like son, I guess. Thank God for earplugs! :)

Snuggle time ~

One of the favorite places at the cottage ~ the hammock!

You can see the whole world from up here!

Micah's first swimming experience! How fun!!

The life jacket didn't last too long, but we had fun floating on the water

Relaxing with daddy and chewing on an ice cube

Anyone who's ever seen "Home Alone 2" will appreciate this picture... unfortunately, Micah has those ears that can catch the sunlight and cause them to glow. Good thing he's so cute! :)

Micah's first 4th of July means... new bib! :)

This picture was taken the first summer Aaron and I were dating... over the 4th of July weekend too, incidentally. :) We couldn't get enough of relaxing in the hammock, so we took a picture of us in our favorite place at the cottage.

This one was taken this last time at the cottage... amazing what 5 years can do! We think family pictures in the hammock might have to become a tradition. :)

Uncle Eric made Micah his own fishing pole... he seemed to get a kick out of fishing, which will make Pops happy. He's already been talking to Micah about going fishing! :)

Micah's first encounter with a fish ~ (not one he caught himself... Uncle Eric caught this one and showed it to Micah. Emma was pretty interested too)

Later that night, Uncle Eric was entertaining both Micah and Emma... at the same time! Pretty impressive, if you ask me. Micah was very amused by Emma trying to get her toy from Eric and was laughing up a storm! :)

We had a great time at the cottage for the 4th. Micah even did pretty well with the loud fireworks. We stayed in the house, rather than go out on the boat with everyone else, so it was a little quieter, and actually, Micah slept through the entire show. Once it was over, he decided it was party time, but he eventually settled down for the night. :) So thank you, Migrins, for inviting us to enjoy your cottage for the weekend. We look forward to many more fun times together! :)