The Pederpods: Michigan Fun (Days 29-37)

Day 29

Friday, August 9^th 2013

We made it to Michigan! A lot of Caleb's family lives here and we made our first stop in a little town called Maple Rapids.

Uncle Alex, Aunt Kari, and Cousin Jonathan live here in the original house Caleb's mom grew up in. Maple Rapids was a cute, quaint little town and reminded me a lot of Washington.

It was great catching up with the Alex and Kari, and we even got to see Grandma Viv again who had flown up here for little Jonathan's 2^nd birthday.

The girls had a blast playing with their cousin Jonathan. He was quite the cutie and super sweet.

We had dinner and dessert before we had to take off, but even in those few hours, the kids were giving hugs and acting like they had been friends forever.

As we left, Jonathan plastered himself against the glass door crying and trying to wave us back. =(

Goodbye dear Jonathan! Farewell Alex, Kari & Grandma Viv! It was a pleasure catching up with you all! Thanks again for letting us stop by and feeding us a good home cooked meal! =)

We made the last leg of our journey to the tip of Michigan in Harbor Springs where Grandpa Lloyd and Grandma Joyce, Caleb's grandparents lived. It was late so we just exchanged hugs and headed off to bed with plans to have a better reunion in the morning.

Day 30

Saturday, August 10^th 2013

It was wonderful getting to wake up to an air-conditioned RV and an extra hour under our belt as we had gone back a time zone. Feeling refreshed we had our lovely reunion with Grandma Joyce & Grandpa Lloyd.

We had a big breakfast together and just enjoyed a relaxing day together. The girls are loving having a whole day to play and not drive and Grandma & Grandpa's house is awesome!

They call it Narnia and I'd say it does have that enchanted feeling with the towering trees, swaying hammocks and swings on a swing set.

There's a cute tree fort, a bubbling fountain, beautiful flower gardens all around with wrought iron pieces set tastefully about and a wonderful view in the back of green forests and Lake Michigan.

You can see Lake Michigan in the distance from the backyard.

Lucy & Juliet

There's even a Lucy in their Narnia - she is Grandma & Grandpa's fun black Labradoodle.

What a wonderful place to stay for a few days to get our trailer back in order and spend time with great family.

I finally have time to conquer Mt. Neverrest again! Its caught up to its original size and undies are a scarce commodity once more.

This means more time to catch up on the blog too. Hooray! We've had no wifi for the last few days. =( It's been a challenge to get a reliable connection so my idea of posting every day is a bit unrealistic.

So I will have just post when the internet is good and as time allows. =) Thanks for following and keeping up with us. Always feel free to leave me a note! Would love to hear from you!

Day 31

Sunday, August 11^th 2013

We got up early today and headed to church with Grandma & Grandpa. Caleb played piano while Grandma led on vocals and guitar and Grandpa played along on the harmonica. A very neat time of worship.

During the sermon, the pastor spoke about God's love in giving us the ten commandments and instructions in the Bible. These rules are not just a bunch of do's and dont's but a symbol of Christ's love by giving us guidelines so we know what pleases God in our lives.

This was so cool because I just had this conversation with Caleb a few days ago. We were discussing how we as parents give our children rules to protect them and in return if they follow those, they will have better, happier lives (and how nice it would be if the little ones realized "no, don't jump on the couch" is meant to keep them safe vs. take away all their fun).

The same is true for the laws God set down for us. Many people fight against such rules thinking life would be dreary to live for Christ, but it actually is freeing and filled with greater happiness. When we love one another and choose not to steal, or call names, or be jealous and seek revenge (etc.), it gives all of us better lives.

How good and wise God is to know the laws we need to be better people, not only for ourselves, but for those we come into contact with as well.

After visiting with some of the sweet members of the church, we headed out to the Original Pancake house. This place is always packed so we walked through town and checked out the bay as we waited for a table to open up.

Then it was time to feast! Chocolate chip pancakes, German apple pancakes, potato pancakes, eggs, bacon & sausage, so much good food! The breakfast here is superb and definitely worth the wait. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the treat!

Afterwards, we drove through a gorgeous neighborhood sitting next to Lake Michigan. Caleb and I both agreed this is one of the prettiest places we've seen (rivaling even Victoria in Canada).

A beautiful drive and sleeping kiddos! Ahh, so peaceful.

Grandma & Juliet hanging out

We took it easy the rest of the day back at home with Grandma and Grandpa.

Ellie and me

And for an extra bonus, Aunt Becky stopped by for a few moments to meet the girls and I!

Tomorrow we get to meet the rest of her family!

One of the girls favorite pastimes

Day 32

Monday, August 12^th 2013

Grandma & Grandpa left for work and the girls and I took over the house while Caleb dealt with some trailer issues. Turns out that we had a trailer tire that had begun to crack with another having some serious balding issues.

God was really watching out for us and we are so thankful that the tire didn't explode while driving along a freeway somewhere.

That evening we had a big dinner reunion! There was Aunt Becky & Uncle Daniel with their children Ian, Fiona & Claire. Then Uncle Nathan & his girlfriend Marian and of course Grandma, Grandpa and us Pederpods.

Claire, Fiona & Ellie

Such a fun evening filled with food and laughter. My heart has been full spending time with all this wonderful family I had married into.

Admiring a beautiful sunset together

Lord, thank you so much for the gift of family!

Day 33

Tuesday, August 13^th 2013

More tolls....

Caleb and I took the girls to check out the Mackinac Bridge in the Upper Peninsula. We drove to the other side and made a stop to walk along the beach.

Funny thing is, it's super cold! We were all in long sleeve shirts, pants and jackets in the middle of August!

Juliet quite proud of filling Daddy's shoes with sand

We could only handle the biting wind and “freezing” temperature (ok so the 60's isn't freezing, but it did feel super cold!) for so long before we piled back into the car. But it was a gorgeous view and the girls had time to scoop up a few handfuls of sand.

It's windy!

We headed over to Becky & Daniel's house for a yummy dinner of hamburgers. The girls had a blast playing with the kids and we enjoyed chatting with Becky and Daniel. Grandma & Grandpa came too and we had another fun evening with family!

Ian has an awesome bearded dragon named Ginger. She was such a cool pet! Let's just say we might have a good idea of what we might get for a future pet someday. =D

We were able to round everyone up for a group picture that turned out perfect! Then it was time for goodbyes.

Daniel, Becky, Ian, Fiona & Claire - It was wonderful catching up with all of you! Thanks again for having us over. We love and miss you all!

Day 34

Wednesday, August 14^th 2013

We were going to take off today but Grandma & Grandpa convinced us to stay another day. We were having such a great time anyways it wasn't hard to decide to stay longer.

The girls have taken such a liking to Grandma, it's so sweet! This morning while Grandma was getting ready for work, Ellie asked where she was. “She's going to go to work.” I told her. “NOOO!” Ellie cried in distress. “I will MISS her!” Ellie has also taken to calling the room she sleeps in “her” room so it'll be rough leaving.

Juliet, Great Uncle Nathan & Ellie

Later that day we met Uncle Nathan at a yummy Mexican place for dinner. We enjoyed our quesadillas and tacos and burritos. Oh, and let's not forget the guacamole!

Thank you Uncle Nathan for dinner!!!! It was so wonderful catching up with you. =) Hopefully we won't have to wait long till we can get together again!

Afterwards, Grandma and I took the girls downtown through a few neat little shops while the guys went off to deal with good ole phone stuff at Verizon.

The girls had fun playing at a park we found next to the water.

We watched a beautiful sun setting over the waterfront. It reminds me so much of Washington here. Makes me miss home.

We've been having an amazing adventure and I wouldn't miss this opportunity to spend time with family, but there's really no place like home.

Day 35

Thursday, August 15^th 2013

We were just about ready to go. Last load of laundry, done. Stuff packed up and trailer ready to roll on its snazzy new tires.

Grandma & Grandpa's office was inside this cool building!

Start the car.... or more like.... try to start the car. Battery is dead... again.

Caleb was suspicious of a bad battery with how much trouble we've been having with the car starting up (this wasn't the first time since we've been here). So another trip to fix another problem.

We left much later than we had intended, but, we were off. Well, after one last stop to Grandma & Grandpa's office where they worked. With many hugs and well wishes and a prayer to send us off, we said our final goodbyes.

Farewell Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Lloyd. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with you. Thank you very much for opening your home to us and for sharing so much with us! We love you guys and are so thankful for the Christ-like legacy you have made for all us Pedersens. =) We miss you already!

Juliet, Grandma & Ellie

It was on to Ypsilanti, Michigan where Ben & April Pedersen (yup, there's two of us April Pedersens) lived.

They have such a neat home with 12 acres of land. We got there late but still in time to have a delicious dinner with yet another wonderful Pedersen family!

I got to meet Ben & April and their children Daniel (yup, another Daniel too), Snow, Hannah & Emmili Pedersen for the first time. Oh and let's not forget their giant Great Danes Owen and Sage. Owen was so big his head reached almost to my shoulders!

Ben & April's neat house

We spent some time looking through pictures, laughing and reminiscing till it was time to head off to bed.

Day 36

Friday, August 16^th 2013

Today is Uncle Ben's birthday! Perfect timing. That means cake! ;D

Ellie & Emmeli

April took us to a neat strip of shops in Ann Harbor. We were on the hunt for some good birthday presents. Shh, don't tell Ben! There were lots of cool stores from baby boutiques to toy stores and antique shops.

Our girls started getting fussy on us so we headed back early to put them down for naps.

The girls headed back home after picking veggies from the garden

I couldn't help but check out a garage sale near the Pedersens house. It was an awesome sale, with tons of stuff for 25 cents. I got a few books and things to help distract the girls while driving the next long stretch of our trip. Books are the best thing to keep the girls occupied in the car, but a few other favorites are some lacing cards, dry erase & magnet fun, and littlest pet shops.

We loved Ben & April's dining table.

Why not pick blackberries with a lizard on your shoulder?

Then it was party time. Yummy hamburgers, chocolate cake and cherry & apple pies and birthday gifts to open.

Afterwards we watched home videos and argued for just a few hours about what movie we should watch, lol.

We finally decided upon Nacho Libre sometime after 11 pm.

Yup, we stayed up till 1 am watching that goofy movie. Reminds me of home and my family. =P

Day 37

Saturday, August 17^th 2013

With Nacho stealing some of our sleep, we all slept in and took our time getting ready to go.

It was great having the few extra hours to spend with the family as we enjoyed breakfast together, took a spin out on some roller blades, and even managed to take some group pictures.

It was sad leaving yet another wonderful Pedersen family behind knowing we might not see them again for awhile.

Ben, April, Daniel, Snow, Hannah and Emmeli, it was wonderful meeting you all and spending time with you guys. You're an awesome family that reminds me much of my own. =) Love you guys and hope we can catch up again sooner than later! Thanks again for letting us drop by!

We set off towards Chicago, Illinois, prepared for a long drive.

We stopped for dinner at a place called Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. Supposedly one of the top best pizza joints.

My impression? I miss Papa Murphys, lol. Sorry Chicago Pizza. Not that fond of what tasted like a can of spaghetti sauce having been dumped all over my pizza.