Christmas at Marlene & Larry's House

When we left the Quad Cities, we were headed East to Josh’s sister’s house for the Christmas weekend. We had such a wonderful time with Larry, Marlene and family. Dylan was completely loved on the entire time we were there.

Setting the table for our Christmas meal

On Christmas Eve, we went to church for the Christmas service and then headed back to the house for a wonderful Christmas meal. Marlene and Larry cooked up an incredible feast.

And we had to have Christmas toasts! There was a Sparkling Cider toast and a Corona Christmas toast. Good stuff!

On Christmas Morning, the younger kids were SO excited to open their presents, so we had an early wake-up call.

However, Marlene and Larry did tell them that they had to wait until at least 6. So, I was woken up at about 6:09 and present unwrapping commenced at about 6:15. I left Dylan in bed, but he heard all the excitement and woke up anyway. He was a little too tired to get into it like the other kids but he tried. As you can imagine, there was an late morning nap in store for him.

Cute Side Story: When we opened an 8x10 photo of the family (taken last summer at Grandpa West’s funeral) sent from Joe & Cindy, Dylan was very interested. He inspected it closely, and found his Grandma Cindy (you can see him pointing at her in this photo). He still likes looking at that photo. I keep it on a shelf low enough for him to reach. He carries it around the house checking everyone out.

We tried taking a family photo, but it was a little early for all of us and Dylan wasn’t really in the mood. Oh well, it works.

Strangely enough, I think Dylan’s favorite Christmas gift was actually Larry’s. He got a massage chair. Dylan saw all of us trying it out and decided that he wanted a go at it. We put it on the lower back setting so it was perfect for him. He sat so still and was so serious the entire time he was getting massaged. I thought it might freak him out, but he loved it. How crazy is that?

We left on Christmas afternoon to start our drive home. I know Dylan enjoyed his time at Aunt Marlene & Uncle Larry’s house just as much as we did. It was so special to be able to spend the holiday with them. We are very blessed to have such incredible people in our family.

Dylan and his cousins 

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!"

Michigan Trip Continued...1 Funeral for a Great Man

I think I was putting off writing about this day because I feel like anything I wrote just wouldn’t seem to be enough. But, I will do my best...

Josh’s Grandpa, Ed West, died while we were in Michigan. He died on August 24 at the age of 91. I had only known him for six years, but I learned very quickly what a kind, gentle, admirable, and honorable man he was. He was nothing but wonderful to me since the day I met him. Even though Dylan will never remember his Great-Grandpa West, he will know his memory and legacy through us.

Cindy, (Josh’s mom) loved her dad very much and I know she inherited much of his compassion. I also know that it meant so much to her that her entire family was there at her father’s funeral. That’s right! 1 husband, 5 children (and 3 additional children in Larry, Eric, and me!), and 8 grandchildren.

It was the first time that all 8 Grandkids have been in the same place at the same time. We did our best to get a good photo of them all!

Listed from oldest to youngest: Dalton, Morgan, Logan, Meredith, Mallory, Lucas, Jessie, and Dylan! What a crew!

Anika with Josh, Logan & Dalton

I, of course, couldn’t pass up an opportunity to have my photo taken with 3 of my favorite young men! How handsome are they all dressed up? I’m a lucky lady to have them in my life!

It was a lovely service, and I am so happy that we were there to be surrounded by our family. Thanks to all of our family and friends who showed us their support. Grandpa West was a great man, and I guarantee you that our little family will do our best to make him proud. We love you, Grandpa!

Michigan Trip Continued...1 Family Cookout Courtesty of the Cadaret’s

On the last Friday that we were in Michigan, The Cadaret Family put together a cookout for our entire family. It was so thoughtful of them. And it was a wonderful chance for all of us to spend some quality time together.

Shauna, Gary & Sally Cadaret

Who are the Cadaret Family? Gary, Sally, and their daughter, Shauna, are Joe and Cindy’s neighbors and close friends. I first met them in 2005, when after an hour of meeting me, Gary (who LOVES to retell this story) told me that even if Josh didn’t know it yet, I was the one. Josh proposed to me the following year. I guess Gary was right!

"Mmmm! Corn on the Cob!"

The Cadaret's put together a huge feast for all of us.  This was no small feat considering there were over 20 of us there! Burgers, dogs, salads, carrot cake, and more! We stuffed ourselves - it was wonderful! And Dylan really liked the corn on the cob that Carson and Marsha brought over!

It was the night before Grandpa West’s funeral so it was really nice for all of us to spend some quality time together at the house. It felt wonderful to be surrounded with so much family and so much love. Josh and I are blessed with such a amazing family.

I think Dylan really liked being spoiled and loved on by so many beautiful ladies! Both Aunt Marlene and Cousin Morgan loved their Dylan-time!

Aunt Marlene even gave Dylan his bath and put him to bed that night so that Dylan’s Mama could enjoy some relaxing time. I was very grateful for the adult time…and I think Aunt Marlene really liked the baby time. It was a win-win!

It was the perfect evening, filled with food, fun, family and friends. A HUGE thank you to the Cadaret Family for throwing together such a nice evening. You are truly wonderful friends.

Michigan Trip Continued...3 Days of Torch Lake

I had never heard of Torch Lake until I started dating Josh. He told me that it was the third most beautiful lake in the world (and the two ahead of it on that list were in Europe). My response was, “According to you?” Apparently it was according to National Geographic. Since then I have seen the quote from NatGeo and I’ve seen the lake…and I would have to say that Torch Lake is the most beautiful lake I have ever seen.

It would be hard for you to picture the Caribbean blues and greens in Northern Michigan, but trust me, they are there. My photos of this trip don’t quite capture the beauty of the lake. But it really is amazing.

Snack time with Grandma Cindy

Torch Day One
Josh’s Grandparents have a house right on the Lake. In just the few years that I’ve been around, that house has been the setting for many family gatherings. On the first full day that we were in Alden, we spent the day at the Lake House enjoying the family and tubing off of Eric’s new boat.

Wearing Cousin Morgan's Sweatshirt

To tell the truth, it was a bit colder than I expected. Coming from Southern Georgia in Mid-August, all I was thinking was hot, hot, hot! So Dylan only got in the water briefly. I think he panicked for a minute because it was nothing like his bathwater or the warm pools in Georgia & Florida! Thank goodness that Cousin Morgan wanted to share her sweatshirt with little chilly Dylan. He looked pretty darn cute in that sweatshirt...even though it went down to his toes!

Torch Day Two
Several days later, Joe, Cindy, Josh, and Michelle went down to the Lake House to clean and get the house fixed up. This was the Higgin’s Ice Cream day I mentioned before when I was doing everything in my power to distract Dylan from undoing all of the great cleaning and organizing that everyone was getting done. So Dylan and I went for a quick swim in the lake that day too. The water was a little chilly so it didn’t last long. But as short as it was, we had fun. And we were watching boats zooming by and we were working on the word "boat." He got as close as pointing and yelling, "BOW!" I'll take it.

Logan, Dalton, Marlene, Josh & Dylan

Torch Day Three
The last Friday that we were there, we headed down to the beach on Torch Lake so Josh could go tubing with the boys one more time. Let me tell you, Josh, Dalton, and Logan were daredevils out on that lake. They were flying all over the place. And Eric really loves throwing them around on that tube. I guess it’s just boys being boys - and they do it so well!

Dylan with Aunt Marlene

When we first got there, Dylan passed out and took a nap in the sand while I relaxed for a bit with Marlene. [Side note: I can’t tell you how nice it is to have such an amazing woman as my sister-in-law. She is always there for me when I need her and she has an amazing heart.] When Dylan finally woke up, Aunt Marlene took him to the shoreline to play.

Playing with Cousin Meredith

We didn’t even have time to get his swim suit on once he was at the water line. He got so excited and just went straight in. He was having SO much fun splashing in the water.

One thing is for sure - my son is a fish! He isn’t afraid of the water at all. He almost seems to like it when he's running so fast in the water that his feet can't keep up and he falls face first into the lake. As a matter of fact, most of the time he thinks it’s hilarious!

Our little family had so much fun splashing, swimming, and tubing in Torch Lake this summer. And being there with our family made it even better.