Catching Up

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. As it turned out, Charlie was sick on the day of the rescheduled birthday party so I ended up canceling it. It was questionable whether he was contagious at that point but my conscience told me I'd feel bad if anyone else's child caught the cold from him. We did have some fun decorations and many guests were kind enough to drop off the gifts. I was glad to be able to hand out the party favor bags and give away all the cupcakes we had. Charlie took the whole situation in stride and enjoyed seeing guests at the door. He loved his presents and had a great time making little pompom worms with me.

The next day was spent doing laundry and getting ready to leave for our trip to visit Dan's family in Michigan.

We had a blast during our vacation! Charlie loved being with his cousins and seeing Grandma & Grandpa Schmidt along with Uncle Dale, Aunt Julie, Uncle Andrew, and Aunt Cindy. The first few days, we were all able to get away to the coast of Lake Michigan. The whole crew, except the grandparents, got to stay in a beautiful house in the woods. It was just a joy to spend time together doing simple things like cooking, chatting, playing, and going on walks.


One funny story we'll be able to remember years from now is how Ellie got scared of one of her cousins. They're both about a year old and he's very loving so he was always coming up to her trying to give her hugs. She wasn't used to that kind of attention from someone her size so she would cry every time he got close or if she saw him. Near the end I think she kind of decided it wasn't that bad.

Later in the week, we were able to visit a children's museum I'd heard rave reviews about. The kids loved it so much, it was hard to tear them away after a couple of hours.

We also got to visit our favorite gardens in Midland. It's always on our list of places to see when we're there. It is beautifully landscaped with flowers, bushes, and trees. There are many hills, paths, ponds, and streams to explore and a children's garden where the kids love to play.

Before we knew it, we were on our way home to Wyoming. It was sad to leave but we're looking forward to seeing everyone again on our next trip. I'm so glad we were able to make more fun memories and strengthening bonds with our extended family.