Weekend Getaway in Michigan!

For the past three summers, we have headed to Michigan to visit my dear friend Abby and her family! This year was the most exciting, as we both have children!! Sophia thought Abby's little boy Matthew was cute to look at, however, she seemed way more interested in the dog-dog! :)

When we arrived on Saturday, we headed out for a nice lunch at a WONDERFUL restaurant called Marie Catribs. They have a killer menu that is mighty healthy and tasty!! Marie specializes in GF foods as well, so Nate and Sophia were in hog-heaven. Here is a description of my sandwich from their menu ...

Sweet Potato & Quinoa Burger

Our darling of the restaurant! This is made with sweet potatoes, quinoa, onions, cilantro, almonds and spices. Served with fresh greens, ginger-tomato chutney and curried veganaise on your choice of bread.

Every bite was as tasty as the bite before!! After a tasty lunch we headed back to the Sturm's house so Sophia could catch a late afternoon nap! After we all rested, we headed to Pickerel Lake and did a 2.5 mile hike/walk around this beautiful lake. We saw 3 swans in the lake along with tons of lilly pads! It was beautiful!

Sophia with a sleepy Matthew (awaiting our table at lunch)

Getting ready to start our walk ... Sturm family vacation style!

Me and my baby girl! :)

Family picture although Sophia was less than thrilled to be in our arms, she wanted to be walking around the bridge!

Beautiful brown eyed Matthew! Isn't he the cutest thing?

Check out my sweaty-spikes! Thanks Mommy for making me look crazy!

Another family shot by the Lilly pads!

We grilled out Saturday evening and had a tasty supper! Sunday morning we headed over to Grand Haven for a lighthouse and pier tour. After our almost 3 mile walk, we had some awesome chicken and lamb gyros!!

Gotta get a stroller shot!!

Sophia and Mommy before we head down to the lighthouse at the end of the pier!

By 1pm Sunday evening, it was time to say goodbye to our dear friends and head to our next destination: Warren Dunes but not without a stop at the famous Dutch's Farm Market where we purchase our 5 lb box of fresh picked MI blueberries. You can't leave western MI without getting some fresh blueberries. They taste 100x better than any store pints!!

When we arrived at Warren Dunes State Park, we checked in at our campsite and set up our tent! Sophia had a blast "helping" us get the tent up! We put her pack 'n play at the back of the tent, changed clothes, and headed to the Dunes to take a dip in Lake Michigan!! Sophia had a blast playing in the sand and digging holes! She was initially scared of the water, so she would make Nate go fill up her watering can multiple times! She would say, "Wa-wa peeeease da-da!" It was so adorable!! The beach was PACKED on Sunday evening while we were there! Thousands of people were playing in the sand, water, and laying out ....

Sunday evening we cooked a nice dinner on our camp stove, took showers, and put Sophia to bed. Nate and I stayed up and read books and played games. We forgot our bug spray so we got eaten alive -- ok, well I DID b/c I am so sweet!! Must have had 15 bites or more!

Setting up camp!

Yummy GF hot cereal with peaches!!

Monday morning Nate was up for a long run, while Sophia and I slept in (till 7am)! I cooked us both a batch of hot GF cereal with peaches! It was tasty and Sophia LOVED it (as you can see in the picture below!) After Nate returned, we packed up the campsite and headed back to the beach! This time, we were the only people on the beach! (Well, it was 9:20am too). We played hard in the sand and water. Sophia and I took a nice long walk down the beach! I kept trying to teach her that those birds were actually called "sea rats" but she just kept saying "ucky bird!"

Sophia wasn't thrilled with smiling ... she was obviously busy working in the sand!

By 12:30pm we thought it would be best to pack up all our stuff and head home .... Whew, what a vacation! Not much time, but so many fun and awesome family memories!

Since our first night camping in a tent with Sophia went so well, we are planning a 2 night, 3 day camping trip to the Indiana Dunes at the end of this month!! Wish us luck! Anyone wanna join us??

Allyson