Wyss Vacation

The vacation the kids couldn't wait for... 'are we going to Rita's tomorrow?' 😆
We avoided the interstate and large towns on our way from Michigan to Leo, and stopped at a small town park for a picnic lunch.

We were some of the first arrivals, and Perrin wasted no time finding toys.

And he looooovvved the play room.

 

The girls were dying to swim, though they were really wishing the other kids would show up. 

Rita and Loren have eBikes, and Bob kind of really wants an eBike.  I... remain unconvinced.  I like riding bikes that are slow, and I'm kind of lily-livered and don't really like speed, and it was just a bit too fast for me. 😜

 

 We stayed at Loren's sister's house along with Matt's and Michelle's.  They were in the middle of remodeling their kitchen so it was a bit topsy-turvy, but we were really only there to sleep.  The kids took over the living room and loved all the toys in the basement. I remember being there years ago and seeing the buggy Bill K. had made, and the airplane that he built in the walk-out basement. He had to take out part of the wall to get it out...

Perrin was glad for pancakes in the morning. :)

We spent the 4th playing ball.

And riding bikes.

And building train tracks.

And swimming in the rain.  There was a rainbow that was really pretty tho!

The skies were clear for fireworks in the evening.  There were a lot of fireworks, provided by multiple parties.  Mr. grouchy pants didn't want to go outside, he wanted food.

 

 

So we watched the show with the other little kids from the house.

 

 

 So fun! 

 

 The toy room got progressively messier.  😋

 

 Pretty sure Fred was fixing this door last year too.... 😂

The kids spent another rainy afternoon swimming.... I was out watching them and got soaked just sitting by the pool.  They didn't care. 

There was also some Mario Kart played, of course.

I went and got a tour of Abby and Tyler's cool old farmhouse... and immediately texted my dad.  They used old hog slats for part of their patio and I might need to copy them someday.  😁

More swimming. 

This train of cousins cracked me up. 

Reppin Wyss Farms and eating as little healthy food as he can get away with...

Gator rides and wiffle ball.

Cadence and Parker disappeared and we found them looking up Minibrands on Rita's computer. 😋

Ok. This kid cracks me up.  He is soooo Austin's kid.  His mom Brittany had her back to the snack table talking to some of us and I could see him peeking around the corner. He never took his eyes off her back, just slowly reached out, grabbed the peanut m&m's and backed down the hallway.  Since I'm a spoilsport, I followed him and snapped this- hiding in the dining room, stuffing his face with m&m's.   😂  He was also the reason the whole family had to fan out and search the premises one evening- they found him, and his response was "that was a good hiding spot!"  Poor Brittany, he leads them on a merry chase.

Cecily and Emmy got to go Mini-golfing with all the big kids and Emmarie and Boden and Kebe and they had so much fun.  They got back really late though, so they actually slept in the next morning. 

Sometimes we can not figure out what Perrin wants and he's crying and we're frustrated.... this time he just wanted to sit on the porch and eat lunch by Sully.  *sigh* 

The kids finally got someone to take them tubing.  They were waiting very impatiently.  :)

And they played on the lily pad for quite a while.  I'm not sure I would want to swim in the mighty St. Joe, but whatever. 

Pretty sure one of my kids put this on the chalk board: swimming, eating, lots of fun.  😂

We do eat well. haha.  One night we had bbq from a food truck.  We all got to order what we wanted, and there were even leftovers! 

Thalia climbed in the little wagon and Perrin pulled her around for quite a while. 

There were a whole bunch of blond little boys climbing around in the landscaping. 

So Bob wasn't planning on participating in the pickleball tournament this year, but he ended up subbing for Emmy.  They didn't win, but they had a champs vs champs round at the end, and Bob and Kray won.  Again.  haha.  He hasn't played pickleball since last Wyss vacation. 

Kacie mentioned that she thought it would be fun to do Wyss Vacation superlatives.  Michelle and I came up with a list, and sent out a survey... the results were hilarious.  SO many classic Wyss Vaca things.  Most likely to be discussing politics: Randy!  Most likely to be kicked out of go-carts: Austin.  Most likely to be looking for a lost camera: Karen. Most likely to get emotional during devotions: FRED.

Kray reading the results.... so funny.

Simultaneous supper cleanup and breakfast prep.  😊

Troy brought his drone and got this really cool sunset shot. 

Good times with the best people.  I love how well my kids know their great-aunts and uncles and my cousins and their second cousins.  Some of the oldest second cousins came without their parents... and my kids wish they all lived closer. 

In theory, Perrin was sleeping in a sleeping bag by our bed, but he was never there in the morning....

And Cadence was sleeping on top of the couch cushions, but we would find her like this in the morning. 😜

We had been gone from home for a week and the thought of getting up early and getting us all to church for a full day, and then having to overcome all of the inertia to pack up and drive 5 hours home when we were exhausted was just... daunting.  We opted to pack up and leave Sunday mid-morning.  Troy and Bonnie live by a pond and we had mostly been there in the dark, so the kids hadn't been in their yard at all.  We were loading the van and I couldn't see Perrin.  "Where's Perrin?" and a little voice pipes up from behind Troy's lawnmower, "here I is!"  😋

We listened to Tremont and Leo's livestreams, as well as an audiobook on the way home.  They traveled pretty well, mostly, and kept their end of the trip sadness to a minimum.  We made a quick stop at the farm before the final push for home, and Perrin was not happy.  'Gramma house!' 'Want gramma house!' 

And then we were home.  It was a good trip.  We timed it right that the green beans were ready right when we got back. Woot.

Blessings.

June, Part the Second and Warren Dunes

Our last big event in June was Cadence's birthday!  She asked for an axolotl ocean cake. Um. Thankfully, you can get axolotl toy figurines... Also, they live in freshwater lakes in Mexico, so I guess it's more of a lake bottom than an ocean. 😜

She liked it. 

It just so happened that her best school friend celebrated her birthday early, on Cadence's birthday! So Cadence got to go to Hanna's party for a bit, and came home with a gift. 😝

Presents!

Eight years old already. Wow.

We packed the van to the top the next day and headed out on an adventure!  First stop was Michigan.

We found a little cottage right next to Warren Dunes.  It was perfectly vintage and just felt like vacation.

There were two bedrooms and a bunk room; but all the kids decided they wanted to sleep in the bunks.

Backyard swing for three.

The girls were so intrigued by the outdoor shower... it was super nice for cleaning off sand after the beach! 

We spent two full days there- the first morning we did a little bit of hiking.

The trail was through the dunes and we were all wearing tennis shoes and got so much sand in our shoes.

I don't understand how they can run up and down the dunes like that.  I'm getting old.    

Cecily spent all of her down time reading.  😋

We went to the beach in the afternoon.  The water was a balmy 52 degrees, so we mostly played in the sand and got our feet wet briefly. 

Mr. Perrin loved the sand.  Bob and the older girls climbed the big dune while we drove construction trucks in the sand.

A little painting...

Emmy started feeling weird that evening and wanted to sleep near the bathroom.  I maybe panicked a little bit (ptsd).... but she was fine after a good nights sleep.  The sleeping bag had cars and a road on it, so of course Perrin loved it. 

Reading books.

Watching the 'garbage can.'  Our vacations are super exciting. 

Day two hiking the girls wanted to wear sandals and we ended up walking through woods.  ha.  Can't win.  It was also a lot more buggy so there was more complaining. 

Just me and my shadows.

We went back to the beach in the afternoon.

And we all climbed the big dune.  Bob carried Perrin the whole way up. 

I made it.  Barely.  I look as hot, sweaty, and winded as I was. 

Perrin just wanted to play in the sand every time we put him down.

And then they all ran straight down the dune.... crazies.  😆

The lake was calmer and water temperature was up to 55 degrees!  Haha. 

They discovered a whole drawer full of coloring supplies at the cottage. 

I let the girls sign the guestbook. :) 

It was a good little vacation and we were all a little sad to leave.  After we packed up, we drove into town to a yarn store in the rain, saw a train, and then headed southeast for our next stop- Rita's!  

Blessings.