My dad's side of the family all live in Michigan, and my dad has fond memories of summers on Lake Michigan as a kid. So, he and my mom rented a cottage for a week that is right on the lake, and we leave tomorrow for a week long vacation at the beach! Katie, Reed and Micah are driving out from Virginia, and we're trying to talk my Grandma and Uncle Dave into staying at the cottage with us! It is going to be a great time of relaxing, maybe some sailing, and hanging out with family! Be looking for some cute pictures of Sophie and her cousin, Micah!
Sophie and I started packing yesterday. She got some new Beauty and Beast sunglasses for the trip and couldn't wait to start wearing them (Mike isn't too sure about them....he thinks she looks like Elton John. That can't be a good thing!)
Sophie also got to try some finger food for the first time. She is sampling some Gerber Graduates Sweet Potato Puffs. As you can see from the picture below, she wasn't too sure about it at first.
If you zoom in on this picture (above), you can see the little treat in the corner of her mouth!
The water in Lake Michigan was pretty cold...as you can see from Sophie's reaction. She was much more content to just lie on the beach!
The Doughty's
Outside Grandma's place
Great-Grandma and Sophie sitting on one of the decks outside the cottage.
Sophie got to try out the pool "floaty" that her aunt Katie and Uncle Reed bought for her. She wasn't sure about it at first (which means she cried like crazy, but it didn't help that the water was pretty cool!), but she quickly started having fun!
We went walking around a cute town called Grand Haven, and Mike and Uncle Dave bought really cool kites!
Doesn't Sophie look like a movie star? (One lady who saw us walk by actually called her that!)
Uncle Rick's friend took us on a ride on his speedboat to a cute town called Saugatuk. He dropped the girls off for some shopping while the guys stopped at a restaurant on the channel and ate huge hotdogs!
The beach on Lake Michigan was 40 steps down from our cottage. The girls did some laying out (notice the sunburn on Susanne's legs...she forgot to put sunscreen on her legs before going sailing. Now that's a lovely tan line!)
The sunset from the deck outside our cottage.
Aunt Laurie and Sophie
Sophie and Micah loved Captain Sundae because they got to taste the whip cream from our sundaes!!
Here are just a couple of pictures from over hundreds to choose from! We had so much fun! We'll get some more pictures up here in the next couple of days.
If you zoom in on this picture (above), you can see the little treat in the corner of her mouth!
Mike went backpacking in the Ouachita Mountains (south east Oklahoma) with a friend from work. They had a great time, even with the torrential downpour, lightning strikes, and ticks!!!
Genesis, Liz, and me
Mike and I got dressed up for a "change of command" dinner with people from Mike's work. We left Sophie with babysitters for the first time! I checked my phone every 15 minutes or so, but Sophie seemed to have a great time!
Sasha loved all of the airplanes! Maybe he'll be a pilot when he grows up like his Uncle Mike!!
Walking around downtown Holland.
