Moments 08 23 :: Week 02

Last weekend was full of family reunions. On Saturday we got together with the Pettits. This is only some of them. Brian's dad was one of five. Brian has 16 cousins, I believe, from this group. Of course, they all have kids now too, so it's quite the group. 

Love the canoe filled with ice and drinks.

We got a ride around the lake on the pontoon boat. 

Oh hey, it's us and a pretty sunset. Brian's aunt used to live on this lake, and now three of the siblings do. It was such a beautiful day.

The boys loved being in the water. Hudson and a few of them swam across to an island. Hudson was the only one who attempted to make it back. The rest, wisely, hopped on a pontoon boat to come back. We brought our paddleboards which was really fun. I think I'm the only one that didn't get in the water. I was too busy catching up with everyone. 

On Sunday, we went to my parents for dinner with the Stark/Tosons. Our family is much smaller, but we are pretty spread out. This group came from Oregon to South Carolina and in between. I hadn't seen my cousin from Portland for at least a decade.  

Bentley chilling in the plants. He's so cute. 

Family photo. We have hardly made it out to my parents this year. Summer has just flown by. I don't like it. 

A yummy Cobb Salad courtesy of Alison Roman. Her recipes are always a win to me.

Moments 08 23 :: Week 01

I tried my best but couldn't keep these babies safe. Unfortunately, German Shorthaired Pointers and bunnies don't mix and when they decided to leave the nest, the dogs were playing outside. Only one survived. Heartbreaking. 

While I was tending to bunnies, Brian and Hudson were at the EAA for Airventure. They had a great couple of days. Hudson would be there all week long if he could. [Photo credit: Hudson]

Pretty lighting during the sunseet. 

An easy dinner with some goodies we've picked up during some of our travels this summer. 

Finally finished this book. Not my favorite. It was hard for me to get into, and I kind of couldn't wait to be finished. 

Was hoping to pick up cherries when we were in Door County last week, but I guess we were late for the season. I even premade pie crust. Fortunately, we have access to frozen sour cherries in our awesome grocery store, so I was able to see my plan through. Sour cherry crumble pie from Sweet Enough. It was pretty amazing.

Washington Island 23 :: Day 03

Time to leave the island. First stop was Red Cup Coffee before hitting the road. They were running all five ferries that day, so we didn't have to wait long. Our van made it into a smaller ferry with less than an inch to spare on the top. Fortunately, the captain was an expert, and they were able to have us drive out a bit when exited, then raised the platform a bit so we could get out. Crazy. We were one of four cars on that boat. It was such a peaceful ride. Once on the mainland, we traveled through some of the more touristy areas of Door County. We stopped in Gills Rock to pick up smoked whitefish from Charlie's, and discovered an adorable little shop called Hill House. Then we went to Ephraim to stop at Island Orchard Cider. In Sister Bay, we got wild ramp chevre from Door County Creamery. Our favorite taco place in Fish Creek closed a few years ago, so we ended up at the Fish Creek Market and grabbed sandwiches to go before driving back. We are so lucky to have this place less than three hours away from our house. It's absolutely amazing. 

Washington Island 23 :: Day 02

What a jam packed, fun day. We caught the first ferry over to Rock Island and spent most of the day exploring. It was originally settled by Native Americans. The lighthouse that still stands was constructed in 1836, and is the oldest lighthouse in Wisconsin. It made the island a stop along the Grand Traverse route. The first settlers came around that time. By 1863 settlers moved to other parts of Door County, and it was deserted until a wealthy investor named Chester Thordarson purchased it for his summer estate. Fortunately, most of the land was left untouched, and what he did construct is truly remarkable. Just check out the boat house! The inside has board games and is a great space for campers. The hike around the entire island is about 5.3 miles. No vehicles, including bicycles, are allowed on the island so it's basically trails. We walked to the lighthouse then decided to do the entire parameter of the island, ending at the gorgeous beach. It was so fun. On the boat ride over that morning, someone mentioned we had to stop at Jackson Harbor Soup for a sliced of cherry pie. It's right next to the ferry parking, and he was right -- it was delicious. Brian had bumbleberry, which was also fantastic. Then we went to Nelsen's Hall & Bitters Club, the oldest continuously-operating tavern in Wisconsin, thanks to a loophole to serve alcohol during Prohibition, and joined the Bitters Club. A shot of bitters is pretty nasty, but when at Nelson's.... After that we had whitefish caught that morning at K. K. Fiske then went back to The Albatross for ice cream. How cute is that scoop I got? Needless to say, we all crashed pretty early that night and slept like babies. 

Washington Island 23 :: Day 01

What a crazy, fun week. Besides everything else we had going on, Brian & I (Van too) went to Washington Island for a couple of days. Brian's been there on his motorcycle before, but it was my first time. What a special place. On the way up, we stopped in Bailey's Harbor, where there was an art show and farmer's market happening. Loved seeing the cute alpacas. Next week took the ferry over to the island. We lucked out big time, and pulled right in to the last spot before it took off. I love being on a ferry. The short ride over was beautiful. First stop once there was Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm. It was a bit of a racket ($8 a person just to wander the fields) -- but it was really beautiful and I'm glad we got to see it. By then, we were starving so went to The Albatross for a cheeseburger. So good. Then it was time to go to our campsite. There is only one campsite on the island -- Washington Island Campground. It's a private campground, that also has cute little cabins. And horses. After a big day, we enjoyed just staying at our site and cooking there. We had a beautiful spot with forest all around us. And fortunately, not nearly the amount of mosquitoes we had earlier in Michigan. It was a lovely night. 

Moments 07 23 :: Week 05

We were invited to go on the pontoon boat again this year. It's always such a highlight of the summer. 

Stephanie and her sister are amazing hosts. These are Lake Michigan Arnold Palmers -- love the blue spirulina to make it look like lake water. Too funny. 

We cruised all over the river and into the lake area for a bit. It was the Air & Water Show which made it especially fun. Love this little tug boat. 

Us. It did pour on us for a little bit, but for the most part we had great weather. 

The bubble from a different angle, before the crowds arrived. 

The babies seem to be doing ok. I found out the neighbors around us have been trapping and relocating rabbits. I haven't seen a ton of movement with the nest (we did the twig test), but I have to just hope everything is going ok. I actually removed the twigs so I didn't stress out about it too much. Honestly, we don't want these things in yard anyway. They are just so gosh darn cute when they are in their nest though.

Neighbors. The Cherrys (sitting behind me) moved back to Canada this week. They moved in only a few months after we did and my gosh, we are going to miss them. They've watched our crazy lives unfold for over a decade as our kids grew up. Just as we are hopefully going to have more free time, they moved. So yes, I'm a little bummed about that. Fortunately the neighbors all found a night to have a little farewell party for them. We hosted since our house sits central to all of these folks. They are all such great people. Hopefully we won't have to wait for another farewell party to do this again. Also, so glad Hudson made it home for it. He wasn't supposed to get home until the next day, but it worked out perfectly.