Michigan Trip Continued...Final Thoughts & Randomness

We’ve been back from Michigan for well over a month now, and I am just finishing up all the posts about it! Needless to say, it was an eventful couple weeks. I already wrote about all the big events, but there were a few things that I didn’t write an entire post about, but I thought that it deserved at least a mention…

Pool Boy!
Gary & Sally brought over Shauna’s old pool for Dylan to use while we were in town. Being that he is such a water baby, we knew that he would love it. We were right. The pool was a HUGE success! We used it several times.

Date Night
There was a night that Josh and I got to go out on a date in Traverse City while Aunt Michelle and Grandma Cindy watched Dylan. Our date started with a walk Downtown Traverse (with a beer from a local brewery and some chocolate from the fudge shop), a nice dinner, a move, a cocktail on the top floor of the Park Place Hotel with live music in the background, and stargazing/watching for shooing stars. It was pretty romantic, if I do say so myself! While we were in Downtown Traverse we walked into Dylan’s Candy Bar and had to take a photo (Even though ‘Dylan’ refers to the owner - Ralph Lauren’s daughter, Dylan…we can just pretend that they meant my Dylan!)

My Boys
This is a photo of Dylan and Josh on the deck behind Joe & Cindy’s house. I just love the photo because they both look so happy. And we spend many afternoons playing around the house and outside. It ended up being a really nice couple of weeks for our little family to spend plenty of time together.

4 Generations
Dylan finally got to spend some time with his Great-Grandma West. We had to take a 4 generation photo the night before we left. There were better photos of the four of them, but Dylan kissing Grandma Cindy’s head made me laugh out-loud…so I picked this one to share.

Larry & Marlene
Marlene (Josh’s oldest sister) and her husband Larry celebrated their 17th Wedding Anniversary on the day we all got in our cars to head back to our homes. They are definitely Josh’s & my inspiration on being a team in their marriage. They make such a great pair and we look up to them so much. We’ve also talked about how much we hope our children turn out as great as Larry & Marlene’s have. They are obviously doing something very, very right.

Speaking of being crazy in love…Even though we went through some sadness and stress while we were there, it was really nice to spend so much quality time with my husband. We are very lucky to have found each other and I don’t take that for granted. I’m so happy to be so included and loved by his family.

I think of how it was luck, or fate, or destiny, or divine intervention that we actually met and fell in love. Two people who never would have crossed paths. Thank goodness we did.

Bye Bye!
When we got in the care to drive home, Dylan waved for about a mile down the road…I think he had a blast at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. Thanks to everyone that made our trip so special. Next time, let’s do it under cheerier circumstances. We love you! "Bye bye!"