"Being a family means you are part of something wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life. No matter what." ~Author Unknown



Saturday, October 14, 2017

Back Up North

The kids worked a lot at the shop this summer.  This means there was a lot time spent chatting with Abbie and Nolan.  Quite early on in the summer they decided they wanted to create a “cottage” weekend in Traverse.  It isn’t easy to make something like that happen.  You’re talking about 14 people’s schedules that have to match up.  Everyone was very motivated though, and we made it work.  

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We went a day early and Abbie joined us.  Nothing better than a Traverse City sunset.

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Mike and Alison had just gotten a new dog.  She’s not Zeke, but we love her anyway!  The kids have missed having a dog when we go there!

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We woke up to a rainy morning.  We weren’t too bothered by that, we enjoyed moving slow, me on my computer and the kids playing cards.

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By lunchtime we decided wet or not, we needed to go do something!  We killed some time eating lunch out, and then headed to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  It cleared up just in time for us to hike. 

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We started at a huge dune with a sign at the top that said, “Do not go all the way down.  Can take up to two hours to get back up.  Hefty charges for rescue fees.”  That was confusing because there were tons of people doing it!   The big girls decided to do it, and I kept Sof within the first half of the hill. 

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Lexi was up way before the other two, and she was struggling a little.  Lexi is in amazing physical condition, so if she was struggling it didn’t look good for the rest of the crowd.  When the other two came up they declared it was the worst decision of their life to go all the way down!  LOL.  I’m happy to report that they made it up without incidence and no rescues were necessary!

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We left that dune and the girls all said they were NOT doing any more climbing!  That was short lived though.  When we pulled up to a smaller dune they were all in to do it again!

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Brian showed up with the rest of the crew that night, and Ami got there shortly after.  Brian asked one of Ami’s boys to grab his swimsuit and bring it.  It was pretty clear that it wasn’t the right one.  We laughed so hard at this!

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The next day we went tubing down the Platte River.  Such a fun day.  It’s a perfect activity for a big group of all ages! 

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Sof just looked at this picture and said, “I loved that place”!  It really was an awesome activity for all ages and stages!

Who knew floating in a tube was so exhausting?? 

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We had a relaxing night at the house. 

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We had a mean game of spoons going.  Adrienne fought hard for a spoon and ended up with an overextended elbow that required physical therapy and laser treatments before shipping her off to college.  That’s okay though, she committed to that spoon and Culley’s do not give in! 

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Sunday was too beautiful to just head home.  We took the boat out for a little tubing and anchored at Power Island. 

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Our cottage days are in the past, but some of our happiest memories will always be of them.  There is something very intimate about spending a whole weekend with friends.  There is such beauty in the late night and early morning.  We loved every minute of rainy morning cards and late night spoons. 

Let’s do it again soon people.  

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