A Much Needed Break

I had a few days off over this past weekend and I got some much needed family time. The time started on a sad note, as Thursday morning, my wife’s family gathered at the National Cemetery where there was a small service for her grandma. They chose her grandfather’s birthday to go and have her ashes placed inside the wall with him. After the service, her dad said a prayer and everyone left.

Her grandparents are buried at the same cemetery as my mother, and my daughter asked to go see grandma. Last time we were there, she placed a heart shaped rock on the headstone. It was not there this time and she said, “Grandma must have liked it so much that she took it.” Who am I to argue with my daughter?

Friday afternoon, we loaded up the car, the kids, and the dog and made the two hour drive to my father-in-law’s place up north. I had been there once with him, but it was only a few hours. This time, we were all going to spend a couple days there. We were all looking forward to it.

The Michigan scenery on the drive up was so nice. I love those farm houses on the side of the road, the horses and cows in the fields, and the beauty of tall green trees. I love when you have to go from 55 mph down to 30 mph because you are driving through a small town. It takes me back to those drives up to Caseville with my parents when I was a kid.

We arrived at the cabin around 7pm on Friday night and we just relaxed for a while. It is just the way a cabin should be, cozy and peaceful.

We were all up early Saturday and the view from out the front window was exactly what I needed to see as I stood with a cup of hot coffee.

My mother-in-law made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. They were delicious! After breakfast, my father-in-law and I went to work. He has about 18 acres of property. He doesn’t mow it all, but there is quite a bit to mow. I hopped on the zero turn and he grabbed the weed whacker and we went to work on the yard.

I never saw the family leave while we were out, but after we finished I went inside to get some water and my phone rang. It was my wife. She said, “I need you and dad to bring the truck up to the merchandise outlet to get something.” I said ok and told my father-in-law. His response was, “What did they buy that won’t fit in your car?!” Well, I found out soon enough – and my son couldn’t be happier.

He got a Mustang long before I ever did! These things are like $200-$250 online and she got it (brand new) for $30! Yeah, what a deal!! There was a sale going on and there was also a 50% off sticker on it, so by the time the thing was rung up – $30! He was so mad that it had to charge before he could drive it. (The thing has a working radio in it!!!) Ella wanted to ride, too, so we went to the barn and got them one of the cars that were there.

We had hot dogs for lunch and then the fun began. My father-in-law brought out the four wheeler! To say that the kids were excited was an understatement.

I had never rode on one, so my father-in-law gave me a quick lesson in where the gas and brakes were, he placed Andrew in front of me and I was off on the trails and into the property with him.

Naturally, I went a lot slower than I would have liked, because I didn’t want him to fall off. He was so content to just sit there and ride. I’d ask if he was ok and he’d say he was and ask for more.

When I came back, Ella was raring to go. I really thought that she would be the one who was too scared to ride on it, but I was wrong. She hopped up and off we went. As we drove down the trail to the open area on the property she yelled, “Whoo-hoo! This is amazing!!” This filled my heart more than I can explain. Once we got to where the trail opened into the large open area, I drove her around and made little jumps on hills and such. She kept yelling, “Faster, daddy! Faster!!” She was a true daredevil.

As we were out in the field, we heard another four wheeler. Papa had pulled out the other one and had Andrew in front of him. Then it became a game. The two of us “chasing” each other, “racing” each other, and laughing the entire time! “Daddy, they are chasing us! Don’t let them catch us!” What a hoot!!

Daisy, our dog, was chasing us as we rode around, too. It was so hot and I can’t believe that she kept running after us. As soon as we’d pull away from the house, she’d be right on our tail. Running and chasing and occasionally barking at us. It was ridiculous.

As it got closer to dinner, Sam and I ordered pizzas from a place in town. It was expensive, but worth every cent. It was so cheesy and you could tell it was hand tossed and made fresh. They had these bread sticks, which were more like rolls, that had garlic and cheese on them. Oh, man! They were sinfully good.

It was a day full of fun. So much fun that we called it a night early. The kids were out like a light almost immediately. There was a huge car show in town that night, but there was absolutely no energy to go see it.

We woke up Sunday, Father’s Day, and coffee was already made. My mother-in-law made up some eggs and sausage. I was drinking my coffee on the porch and could smell the sausage from outside. This took me back to those days at my grandma’s place in Caseville. We’d be outside and we could smell the bacon or sausage from outside.

After breakfast, my father-in-law and I went out and finished up the weed whacking we didn’t get to on Saturday. After that we had to take apart some bunk beds that he was bringing home when we left. He had a rototiller that I needed to borrow and we loaded that up on the trailer, too.

While we were doing that, my wife was packing up and loading the car. My mother-in-law wasn’t going to let us leave hungry, so she made up some turkey burgers and we all had another meal together. When they were in town the day before, they had picked up a chocolate cake for the “dads” for Father’s Day. Before we could even slice it, Ella was eating sprinkles off the top of it!

We had promised the kids another ride on the four wheelers before we left, and they couldn’t wait! Each kid got a few turns riding with me and Papa. Before I put it away, I just had to go and take it for a spin by myself – so I could see just how fast it would go. Man, this one I was on really clipped! I can see how easy it would be to get hurt on one of them. It was extra fun for me to just let loose and be a kid again for a few minutes.

Just before we left, it began to sprinkle. There was a storm on the way and we wanted to head out before it hit. The kids kept asking all the way home when we would be heading up to the cabin again. After the fun we had there, I would imagine the answer is “Soon. Very soon.”

Next trip, however, I will be sure to wear sunscreen!

Weekend Work & Weekend Fun

I haven’t posted in the last 5 days. It is not often that I get time with my entire family, so my focus has been on them.

The weather has been just perfect. Even though we are officially still in Spring, it felt like Summer! We’ve got a water table that the kids love to play at, but we took advantage of the warm weather and set up their new sprinkler.

We picked this huge fire hydrant up at Sam’s Club and the kids love it. Water shoots from the side “plugs” and there is water that spins out of the top. Even my wife knows that you are never too old to run through the sprinkler.

Memorial Day was very laid back and I worked on some projects (more on those in another blog), but Tuesday was just the best day! Sam planned a day at the beach with the family. She also knows how much I have talked about my childhood summer vacation destination ….

As a boy, we spent many summer days in Caseville. I have written about it in the past. Prior to having kids, Sam surprised me with a day trip there. I was like a little kid! I remembered so many places. I have since told her that I would love to take the kids there. So we combined their first trip to a beach with their first trip to Caseville.

Choosing to go on the Tuesday after a holiday weekend had perks! We pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves! It was perfect! We lathered the kids up with sunscreen and before we could get some on ourselves, the kids were running toward the water!

Andrew loved every second of being there. At first he spent his time chasing seagulls, but eventually made it over to the water.

Neither kid has ever been to the beach, so they had no idea just how hard it is to run in the water. Both of them fell almost immediately and freaked out a bit. The main beach at Caseville is perfect for them because it doesn’t get too deep for a while. You can walk out pretty far and still be above water.

Ella was a bit scared after she fell in the water, but I walked her out a bit and held her hand all the way back because she was scared.

The water was cold at first, but that was always the way it was growing up. You know how it is, you go under water and then you are fine. There was a bit of wind that day, which made it a little chilly, but it was still fun to be there with the family. We even tried to build sand castles, but Andrew thought it was more fun to step on them once they were built.

Sam prepared a fantastic picnic lunch for us. She made sandwiches, packed some fruit, and plenty of water, iced tea, and juice boxes. She found this cool beach blanket that was perfect for us.

Of course, once the food came out, the seagulls were very interested in our picnic! Andrew wanted to throw them food, but we stopped him, thankfully. You know once they get a nibble of food, they want it all!

There was a point where the kids were cold and shivering, so we brought them up to the playscape and let them run around a bit. We were both surprised when Ella said that she was done with the beach. She said she would like to come back, but was ready to go home.

One thing we didn’t do was go by the old place that my grandparents had just out of town. We figured the kids were pooped, so we’d just head home. We did, however, stop by the new Caseville sign and get a family selfie.

The sign is a new sign. From what I read, they did a big upgrade to a lot of the signs in town to make them more “uniform.” What’s cool is that on the left of the sign the word “Caseville” is spelled out in the International Nautical Alphabet. You can see it a bit better in this picture of the kids.

After our long drive home, we decided that we didn’t want to cook. So we took the kids to the local pizza place and had a nice family dinner.

It was a fantastic day! Sam and I, however, realized soon enough that we had forgotten to put sunscreen on. Sam’s back and shoulders were just fried and my head was also pretty toasty. So we’ll be keeping the Aloe close by for the next couple days!