Michigan Trip 2011

We took Friday off to get ready for our trip to Michigan. That night we were very excited!!!! We bought a new camera because we knew this trip would be a memorable one. Saturday afternoon we met my mom in Sandy. She was in Utah with my brothers to drop us all off at the airport.

We arrived at the airport two hours early...it was very entertaining having my brothers with us and great parenting practice for James and I!

We got on our plane safe and arrived in St. Paul to switch planes . We'd be getting on another flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan (which is 30 min. from my dad's house) While we were waiting in the airport we ate, James drew a picture, and my brothers played their video games.

Our plane arrived on time and next thing  we knew we were on our way!!!!!

Reaching Michigan was such a relief we were all excited to get off the plane and see dad and my sister Sarabeth! 

Good thing the Grand Rapids airport is small...it didn't take us  long to get to the the baggage claim  where my dad and sister were standing...it was so nice to see them and big hugs were given all around.

James and I drove in the car with my dad while Sara was following us in her car with my brothers. We enjoyed the car ride to my dad's house even though we were exhausted.  

When we arrived to my dad's house we went to bed right away. James and I slept in my dad's bed which is soooo comfortable we loved it!

Sunday morning we went to church... (to fill you in...there are not a lot of LDS members in the area I lived in. Our family use to travel 45 minutes just to get to church every Sunday and if we went to the Temple it was a three hour drive to Detroit Temple.) Our ward building moved a lot closer to my dad's house so it only took us about 15 minutes to get to church. When we arrived I was use to the small ward and I saw a lot of familiar faces. It was a fun site to see. James met  one of my favorite young woman's leaders growing up. After sacrament we went home and took a nice nap. We woke up to the smell of my dad's yummy cooking, he made roast yum! Later that evening we walked downtown Grand Haven...which I was very excited about because growing up I spent most of my time downtown. There was a lot of tourist in town while we were there. Coast Guard festival was going on and it's a big attraction.

Coast Guard-Is a huge celebration honoring the woman and men who served in the United States Coast Guard.

We didn't walk a very long way because it was so hot outside... the humidity in the air was insane.

They had cool lego setups that my brothers loved and we also took some pictures for my sister in law Amy who is a fan of legos. 

James was very impressed with how many boats were on the water. There were a lot...it gets really crowded on the lake during Coast Guard week. 

My brothers love James especially Matthew. While James was walking Matthew walked up to James and put a sticker on his back without him even knowing so James walked downtown most of the time with a huge lego sticker on his back. Matthew thought he was such a funny kid for doing that.

This is a bed and breakfast downtown that I absolutely love. I think it's so adorable with the pink shutters. 

Monday morning we all decided to go to the beach...we went to the Spring Lake beach because the Grand Haven state park would be too crowded. We had a lot of fun playing in the water and sand! James got a good feel of the beach life in Michigan. I love the sand there it is so nice. When you walk on it it squeaks and people call it singing sand. 

In the evening time on Monday we planned on going to Craig's Cruisers with the fam. We decided to go later so it wouldn't be so hot. While we were waiting to go we went swimming! We had a lot of fun. My brothers had fun playing with James in the water!!!!

Craig's cruisers was a blast we did the bumper boats James and my dad got in trouble by the worker because they went outside of the space we were suppose to stay in haha. We drove go karts and I won. We played mini. golf and I won as well...even though my siblings think I cheated... I just have skills!

That night we rented movies and had fun watching them together.

Tuesday James and I woke up and went to the mall. We had fun looking around, eating at the food court , and people watching. That day was very rainy so we stayed in! My best friend Jessica came over to meet James and see me. It was so fun to see her I wish we got a picture together though.

Wednesday my dad had work so James, Sarabeth, Mason,Matthew and myself went downtown to the carnival. James and I aren't fans of carnival rides so we ate and James had his first funnel cake yum! Sarabeth took my brothers around to the rides they wanted to go on so James and I could look around. We went into most of the shops downtown and I ran into my friend Sam...I went to middle school and high school with her. It was so fun to see her. That night we went to the musical fountain which is a big attraction to see in Grand Haven. It is a fountain across the lake! For more information go here it is a fun show! After about four songs James and I were bored.... haha so we got the family together and walked on the boardwalk to the pier. It was such a good walk. I love the pier. For fun people will jump off the pier so many people have died so before you walk onto the pier they had this stone remembering the people who died and the people who tried to save them. Very sad...

Thursday James and I slept in!! My grandpa Collard and grandma Collard both died of lung cancer and their grave stones are located in Grand Haven Michigan so we went to look at their graves. My aunt Teresa died as well at a very young age. I forget what illness she had. Her name was put on my grandma Collard's grave stone...even though her ashes were spread on a beach in South Carolina. Seeing the graves was good to see and I miss them very much, but know they are in a better place. I am very proud of my high school in Michigan and wanted James to see it. Also they built a new football field so  I wanted to see that as well. It was great to see the changes. We planned on going to my aunt Andrea's house. She recently got married and is pregnant. She's due in September. My grandma was there as well she drove to Andrea's house from Florida. I was so happy to see them. I love them so much. My grandma is my dad's step mom. He is very close with her and his half sister Andrea. James and I loved watching their dogs play and roam around. When we were done with dinner we stayed and talked for a bit and then we took off to see my dad's good friends. He calls them ma and pa Green. We went to their house and had fun talking to them they are a older couple and have been married for a long time. Mrs. Green is a spit fire and a huge Michigan Football fan. She takes good care of my dad and sister and treats them like family. I love her for that. It must be nice to have them around. My dad doesn't have a lot of family around.

Friday morning James, dad, and me drove to Grand Rapids to the shopping mall we looked around and got so Michigan clothing. We had fun there with my dad and took him out to eat. We enjoyed lunch and the alone time we got to spend with dad! He seemed happy and it made me happy. We went boating with a family friend who was so nice to take us out on the lake. It was so great to be out on the water. That night we had a family movie night James and I bought dinner for the fam and lots of candy. We had a blast spending time together.

Saturday my dad had work. Sara stayed home with the boys and James and I went back to Grand Rapids and looked around. When we got home Sara and the boys left to get ice cream and James and I took a nap. We spent sometime with Sara that night and took her out to eat at a place called Buffalo Wild Wings! That night we packed up and went to bed early. James and I were ready to go home and see Bob!

Sunday was a long day of flying...we made it home safe and we are so very grateful for the time we spent with my dad and siblings.