Vacation week 1

For the very first Taller family vacation, we visited Pentwater,MI and surrounding areas. We rented a small cottage and settled in for a week of fun.the first very windy morning, we went to Mears State Park in Pentwater. It was also a little cold. We decided to chekc out the shore and the crashing waves. No swimming that day for us--too rough.
Evie was so happy to be at the beach again.
We climbed a nature trail and at the top was a giant exposed dune to run down. Evie and Mom run as fast as they can.
Evie ran up and fell down the dune several times.
Annalise prefered the quiet of the hot beach playground. The weather warmed up and it wasn't so windy.
The next day, we went to Silver Lake Sand dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan. Mom remembers being dragged there as a child and wanted her kids to experience it. Evie was in heaven running the entire time.

Mom and Annalise, best friends forever. We had a tough time being apart on this vacation. So we held hands while we ate and slept together at night. We are currently deciding where we want to go to preschool together.
Evie the sand angel
Evie and Annalise play in a hole in the dunes.
The women take a break from hikng around to soak up some sun.
Eive running down Mount Sand in the Underpants.

We also visited another part of the Silver Lake park where there is a big lighthouse. We didn't go in it because there was beach to play on and lunch to eat.

Nothing better than digging in the sand
All that running in the sand works up an appetite. We stopped at the orginial Wippy Dip to share a cone.

You could even be a dip yourself.

Then we visited the "free" petting zoo on the advice of our Lake neighbors. You could pet the animals for free, but if you wanted to feed them, it would cost $5.

Annalise's brain was about to explode because she was in animal heaven. She ran around pointing out and naming each animal. Goat! Sheep! Cow! Bunny! When she got to the Alpacas, she didn't know what to call them so she said Tiger! She wasn't afraid to feed any of the animals.
Here we are visiting the bunnies.
Annalise force feeds the sheep. She didn't get the concept of holding her hand out flat.
Our favorite to feed were the mini goats. they had such little tounges.

Of course, this place caters to kids so there was a lot of other things to do. Mom and the girls check the fields from the tractor.
they made some new friends on the teeter totters. I didn't think that they made these anymore.
Evie was starving for some other kids to play with so she just joined another group of kids playing.
Before we left, we had a race of who could get the food to the goat on the platform first.

Oh, and they got more of our money by having this giant pillow for kids to jump on. all that jumping and still no nap from Evie.

Finally the weather agreeed with us to go to the beach.

They had a lot of fun digging in the sand
I don't remember exactly what was happening here, but I do remember that my best friend was removed from my leg for a while.

Annalise was fearless in the water.
Dad and Evie play in the cold cold water.



Annalise decided that this was the time she would like to be potty trained. She spent a ton of time on the potty because she always had MORE.

The one good thing that came out of this is that she doesn't like to dirty her diapers anymore and would prefer to sit on the potty. That's great because no more stinky ones to change, but also difficult when she decides to go at a State park a half mile away from the nearest pit toliet. Yuck.
annalise also decided that it was time to ditch the pack and play and sleep in a regular bed. All the milestones. She took naps in there, but we forced her in the pack and play for bedtimes. Looks like we get to buy a new bed soon.
Of course, she does have some cute redeeming qualities every now and then.

We concluded our vacation with a round of mini golf.

Annalise scored many hole in ones with her place the ball directly in the hole method.
Dad assisted Evie on her stroke. Her method was more like hockey than golf because she just kept pushing the ball down the green.
Annalise also gets assitance from the pro
Mom plays with her best friend forever. Playing this way should have knocked a couple of strokes off my total score.
Finally, we ended and Dad won with a score of 60, mom-67, Evie 145, and Annalise's unorthodox way of playing ended with a score of 18.

Annalise also said her first sentence on this trip:

"I see McDonald's right there Mommy"

We are so proud.

Vacation Week 2

The second week of vacation started with a long drive to Madison to visit the Turners one last time in Wisconsin. While we were there, we went to the Dane County fair. It was a pretty rough fair complete with a tatoo and piercing booth. Evie declared that she wasn't leaving the fair until she got a tatoo. Aunt Becky obligied and bought a whole round of 4-H tatoos.

Look closely and you will see all the kiddos sporting their 4-H ink.

Next, it was on to Prescott, WI to visit our friends, the Rohl Family. We had a great time and spent the night at their deluxe accomidations. It was a kid wonderland because they had a pool, a giant playset and a 300 foot zip line. Evie didn't want to leave.

At one point in the morning, it started to rain, so the kids dug into the playdough.

Then on to White Bear Lake to visit the old neighborhood.

First, we stopped by our old house. Not much to report except that the bushes need trimming and the flower beds need weeding.

We stopped to see our old neighbor, Pat. She was surprised how much the girls have grown, but not by how much they talk. It was nice to see her and her dog Misty.

Here's Evie and Misty. They are old friends.

Then it was over to the Grilz's house to visit Ethan and Mary Kate
While the little girls took naps and the moms chatted, Ethan and Evie watched a little TV
Later, the Wells family joined us for dinner. Here are the three buddies. Evie was in heaven with Laura and Ethan.
The kids attempted a Gator ride, but the battery was dead. Good thing that Laura's dad was there to get them to the charger.
Here's all the kids except Nate enjoying some dinner.


Next day, we visited the Larsons. They had a new baby, Peder, on Leap Day this year. We had to visit to admire him.

Peder's older brother, Erik, is a little camera shy.

Finally, we made it to the Cup and Cone!!!!
It was exactly like it was when we left right down to the yellow light bulbs and the red bug juice to catch bees.
Evie and Laura enjoy an after dinner treat.
Annalise partakes in her first Cup and Cone. I'm not just saying this because I'm nostalgic, but it's the best soft serve ice cream EVER!!
Evie and Laura, buds forever.



The next night was our last in White Bear. We attended Marketfest with the Wells family

Evie and Laura strike a pose before heading to the festival.
Evie and Laura decided that the one inflateable that they wanted to do was the giant slide. They had a great time.
Annalise also wanted to try it out. She couldn't climb the steps by herself, so Mom had to help her up. She really enjoyed the ride and was pretty upset when she had to get out. She then proceded to throw and enormous tantrum (along the lines of going to church tantrum) and we had to leave Marketfest before we were ready.

Thanks to all our MN and WI friends who hosted us for meals and playtimes. It was great to see all of you and we can't wait until next summer when we come back!