The vacation was AMAZING! The six boys got along so well and they had so much fun being together. They were able to have fun doing simple things like playing video games or watching movies at the house, as well as doing big things, such as going to the beach and digging holes, searching for rocks, and swimming. Of course, the adults enjoyed being together too! We had really good weather, which allowed for hiking, fishing, swimming in the pool, going to the zoo, and enjoying the beach. We also ate at some great restaurants. It was a really great vacation and we are already talking about taking a vacation together again! We are so fortunate to have such great friends, who are truly just like family.
Here are some pictures from our vacation. They are not in any special order, but they certainly reflect the fun that we all shared!
We had a short and easy trip to Lake Michigan. The trip took about 5 hours and the boys were really well behaved. We were all so excited to see the beach!
Terri and I went on a long walk one morning and we had some beautiful scenery along the way!
We all went hiking at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We had some beautiful views and had a fun hike.
This spiral staircase led to a cool little play room in the tower. The boys spent a lot of time playing there.
Our first real trip to the beach included lots of time digging in the sand. The boys liked digging large holes and they also liked burying each other. Preston was the first one to get buried in sand!
The beach and lake were so pretty!
Evan and Levi had lots of fun in the pool!
The littlest boys loved the big bath tub and all of of the bubbles.
Several of us walked to the lighthouse one morning. We had never been before and we were excited to find out that you could walk all the way out on the pier to get the light house. We saw some people surfing, as well as fisherman that were catching some really big fish.
We saw lots of seagulls on our way to the lighthouse.
The boys HAD to take their shovels, just in case they needed to dig!
We went to New Buffalo, Michigan to eat lunch at the Stray Dog Bar and Grill. It is one of our favorite places to eat when we go to Lake Michigan. We also went to the beach in New Buffalo. The boys had fun playing in the water and burying Carl in the sand! We also liked getting to climb the dunes.
The harbor in New Buffalo was so pretty. The boys liked seeing the boats and playing in the small park, while we waited for lunch.
Beach time!
The boys had fun burying Carl. They did a great job!
We had fun climbing the dunes. We had beautiful views!
After spending time at the beach, we stopped for ice cream. It was delicious!
We went to the Washington Park Zoo. It is a small zoo, but it is nice and we always have fun there. All of the boys had fun feeding the birds. Evan found a really cool peacock feather and it was a great treasure! Preston really enjoyed seeing the wolves and feeding the goats!
Off to the zoo!
We tried to take a picture of the boys looking at the otter and the otter popped up for a picture!
The observation tube for the otter exhibit was so cool!
Milking the "cow" at the petting zoo is always a favorite activity.
Preston loves goats, so he was super happy to get to feed the goats and pet them.
Preston got a good look at the wolves, thanks to help from Daddy.
We had fun climbing the tower at the zoo.
We all took turns taking pictures together at the zoo. It was so funny!
Everyone liked feeding the birds.
We went to lunch and Preston was happy to discover that he could order a pretzel. It was HUGE!
It's Mario!
While the boys napped, Terri and I enjoyed the beach.
The boys had fun, once nap time was over.
The boys were always tired at night. Having fun on vacation is hard work!
We went to the botanical gardens. The flowers were beautiful and the boys had fun playing and hiking.
Preston loved ringing the bell!
The logs provided a perfect place to play and have fun!
On our last trip, Preston accidentally fell into this pond. Thankfully, we all stayed dry on this trip!
We had fun fishing in the little lake.
The boys always had a great time at the "sandcastle" playground.
Our last days were spent mostly on the beach. The weather was beautiful. Despite the fact that it was supposed to rain for most of our last two days, we only had one storm.
We went shopping one afternoon and Evan was so excited to get a Cubs hat!
We walked out to see the sunset on our last night at the lake. It was so pretty!
We went to dinner one night and we had the kids take pictures. We had so many pictures of the kids, but we barely had any pictures of the adults! I think the kids did a pretty good job with the pictures.
