Frankfort

Batts family

Awesome Dad

Canoeing crew

Beach time

Cuteness

The family

Popsicle time

Climbing sand dunes

Look at that smile

Love this picture

At the end of July we drove to Frankfort, MI for vacation with my family.  We were a little nervous about taking Lexi on a vacation right after getting home, but we also didn't want to miss this time with family!  Lexi struggled with the drive, but we learned she only cries inconsolably when her diaper is dirty.  That makes sense.  We stayed in a rental house all together.  It was tight quarters, but that's what makes for good memories! We had fun eating meals together, watching the kids play, good conversations and beautiful weather.  The beach was only a short walk from the house. The kids loved playing at the beach, the adults loved relaxing at the beach.  Lexi loves sand and water.  She has no fear around water.  Stephen however was not a fan of the lake/waves and preferred to play on the sand.  We rented a kayak for an afternoon.  The adults took turns paddling the kids around the bay and no one tipped over!  We also went canoeing/kayaking down a river one morning.  Caleb was in his own kayak.  Steph and I had Stephen and Julia in a canoe.  Then Dad and Isaac were in a double kayak.  The hard part was paddling across the very windy lake.  It was quite challenging for Caleb, but he did it.  And no one tipped over- yay!  Stephen did really well in the canoe, might have been because he found the box of crackers.  Somehow we got off the river earlier than we were supposed to.  We were feeling proud of ourselves for getting done so quickly and wondering why Nate hadn't picked us up yet?  Turns out we weren't done, so back on the river we went.  Nate and Lexi met us at the end with lunch.  We then drove out to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Lexi and I stayed at the bottom and watched everyone else hoof it to the top.  During the week we also took some bike rides and played at a local park.  

At the end of the week, the extended Batts family arrived.  They rented some condos nearby.  We enjoyed visiting with family we do not see very often.  We spent time at the beach, had a barbeque and got some late night ice cream.  On Sunday we packed everything up and headed home.  We are very thankful to my parents for organizing this vacation! It was a good, relaxing week with family.