Labor Day Weekend...Up North

We thought we should give a run-down of the wonderful Labor Day weekend we spent on Long Lake. For those unfamiliar, Long Lake is in northern, eastern Michigan, very near to Alpena. We, along with a couple of other families, had been invited to stay in a house on the lake by our good friends and we jumped at the opportunity to head north.

We started the trip on Thursday after work. We were in the car and driving in good time, by about 5:00 PM. According to the directions, it was 4 hours of driving time. Add in a stop for dinner (remembering that Joey and Marie are notorious for being slow eaters) and some heavy rain, and we ended up pulling in shortly after 10:00. We got the kids in their PJs, showed them where they'd be sleeping for the next few days, and put them down. The awake adults then proceeded to watch the disappointing end of the Pitt football game. Well...at least I was disappointed.

Friday proved to be a little on the chilly side and pretty windy. At this point, three of the four families had arrived...a total of six adults and 8 kids age ~7 and younger. There were a couple of trips to the playground, lots of playing outside, and generally learning the ropes of being on the lake. There were also a couple of pontoon rides that the kids really enjoyed, one of which was to follow those daring enough to swim all the way across. From what I gathered, the distance was a little under a mile. Needless to say, I was not crazy, I mean daring, enough to try this. The water was a bit choppy and proved to be a little too rough for the sailboat...more on that later. I made a run to the store in the afternoon to get ingredients for that evening's supper and of course, beer. We grilled some chicken, had green beans, tomato basil salad, and lettuce salad. By the time clean-up was done, we put the kids to bed and enjoyed some down time, which consisted of brownies and Dominoes and of course, beer.


Saturday was even cooler than Friday and probably just as windy. By this time, the last of the families had arrived. Add two more adults and two more kids...you can do the math. The kids were still up for playing outside and at the playground, so we just had to dress them a bit more warmly. After lunch, a few of us again set out on the pontoon boat to rescue the sailboat that was stranded on the other side of the lake. (Due to the rough conditions on Friday, the captain had not been able to return to the dock and humbly accepted a car ride from a stranger to get back home. The sailboat then lived at the stranger's dock overnight.)

The water was again very rough and the wind definitely cold. And that was just for those of us in the boat wearing long sleeves and pants and with a blanket thrown over us. Once we got to the sailboat, we stayed close by while aforementioned captain prepped the sailboat and got it ready to tie to the back of the pontoon. This was successful enough and we took off for our side of the lake with the boat and captain in tow while we waved to the not-so-much-a-stranger anymore. It was about this time that it started to rain. The kids huddled under blankets trying to stay warm and dry, but Marie frequently peeked out to make sure that sailboat and captain were still okay. We finally made it back to our dock and by this time it had stopped raining. All in all, the endeavor was a success.






After quick naps, we woke up the kids to head to afternoon Mass. That was followed by catching up on all the college football scores, a yummy mexican dinner, and birthday cake! Jane, one of the other kids up for the weekend, turned 3 on Saturday and so we were able to share in her birthday celebration. The kids enjoyed decorating cards and signs for her and definitely didn't complain about getting to have cake and ice cream. Despite their sugar intake, the kids went to bed early and then there was more football to watch, beer to drink (for some), and Dominoes to play.




Sunday might have been the best weather day of the weekend. It was a bit warmer and definitely less windy. We could even wear short sleeves when in the sun! Our hosts made a super yummy breakfast and there was lots more playing outside. It was a lot of fun to watch the boys (kids and dads) play baseball while the girls busied themselves with other things. While the kids napped, we were able to play some volleyball, which was lots of fun. No pictures though...I haven't mastered that yet.



Sunday night, we filled our tummies with salad, garlic toast, and spaghetti. Since the temperatures were nicer, we were all able to sit in the enclosed porch together. This meant better conversation, easier clean-up, and that the kids could head outside to play and we could still keep an eye on them while we finished eating. It was then decided that a fire and s'mores were in order. These were also a big hit with the kids...though Joey was fine with just a graham cracker.





After dessert, we took one last cruise on the pontoon to watch the sunset from the middle of the lake. Marie was VERY excited about getting to drive the boat. (Note: The beer is not hers.) We were told that the sunset wasn't as spectacular as others, but it was pretty nice if you ask me. A perfect way to wrap up our stay.



On Monday morning, we woke up to pack, clean-up, do laundry (sheets and towels) and get the house in order before hitting the road. I think everything went pretty smoothly as everyone was able to leave by a little after 11:00. The drive home took a bit longer. It seems that the mass exodus northward and the southward return of lower, lower Michiganders really does plug up the freeways. Between traffic, a stop for lunch and another bathroom break, it took six hours to get home. Overall, it was a busy but relaxing, active but non-injurious, and tiring but SO worth it weekend. We are extremely grateful for the time we got to spend with our generous hosts and the wonderful company. All told, we'd definitely do it again sometime.

August Recap...

It's hard to believe, but we're now beyond Labor Day, the official end of the summer. I thought it might be a good time to fill you in on what we were up to during August.

Marie had frequently asked this summer when we were going to the beach. So, in early August, I decided on one not-so-hot Friday to take the kids. We packed up the car and drove to the beach, a whole 10 minutes away from our house. This particular beach is on a large lake and Marie took to the water right away...Joey, not so much. After a picnic lunch, we took a walk over to the "Splash Zone." Marie was kind of tentative at first, though I finally convinced her to go through the spraying water by going with her myself. I hadn't worn my suit and got a little more wet than I anticipated, but thankfully dried off quickly. We headed back to the beach again and finally convinced Joey to get into the water a little bit. Overall, I think the kids had a good time and it satisfied Marie's requirement of "going to the beach."






We also spent a lot of time in the garden during August. Marie's sunflowers REALLY took off. They ended up being a couple of feet taller than me and she got a kick out of watching every day to see if they had bloomed yet. We picked plenty of cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, and LOTS of green beans. All told, we canned just shy of 50 quarts. I think we should be set for the winter.


We also took a couple of trips to the blueberry patch. Marie did fairly well picking herself. Joey, on the other hand, wasn't a huge fan, which just meant that we needed to make more than one trip. The weather has been nice. We did have a few pretty hot days, which was perfect for getting in the pool a few last times. But it also cooled off a bit, which made hanging out in the yard very fun. Jon and the kids have played a lot of ball and even got out the kite one evening.


We took a weekend trip to Ohio to meet up with the rest of the Shibata clan. Joel, Jenn, and little TJ were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Shibata and this was our first opportunity to meet him. What a cutie! Everyone was able to make it over for the weekend as well, so we had lots of fun going to the pool, riding on the golf cart, and generally running around and playing. We anticipate the cousins will have lots of fun together in the years to come...





JJ, Marie, and Joey had a great time jumping down from the step into the (carpeted) living room...

The whole family....just keeps growing!

Overall, it has been a wonderful summer. The kids have been getting along great. Of course, there is the occasional disagreement; they both at times think they need to have or do whatever the other one has or is doing. But, the times when they play together and get along are getting to be more and more frequent.



We are looking forward to the fall and to birthdays, Atrium, football, and apple picking. Jon has started his online class. I think he is excited about it in some ways, but it will obviously require some investment of his time which may keep him from working in the garage as much as he'd like. His job at GM is going well; he still loves it and he is keeping pretty busy there as well.

The winds of change have been blowing at my job. There has been some upheaval in the corporate office and the management structure and as a result, some key players have left the company for other opportunities. It is a very real possibility that things will be changing on our front as well, but time will tell and we'll keep everyone up to date.

The biggest news we have to share is that we are looking forward to adding another little one to the Shibata household. We have a due date of March 9. Marie is EXTREMELY excited and has been making plans about what will happen and things we'll do when the baby comes. She is going to be a BIG help, we just know it. When asked if he is ready to be a big brother, Joey promptly tells us "No." He still has a few months to get used to it. :)

Fun in Illinois

Sandwiched between the family weddings were a few fun days spent at Grandpa and Grandma Meinhart's house. There are always lots of fun and interesting things to do there and this trip was no exception.

We had driven from Dubuque on Sunday and so spent the first part of Monday exploring outside. Grandpa's blackberries were ripe, so Marie (and the rest of us) got to help pick them. Marie didn't eat too many, but Joey evidently really liked them. That would only be the first time he would surprise us this week. Joey was also able to find and pick a pretty good sized cucumber from the garden.



We had also hoped to make a visit to the farm while we were there and it turned out that Monday was the best day to do that. At around the end of milking time, we headed over there. We had also gone last year with Marie, but Joey wasn't old enough to know what was going on at that time and quite frankly Marie wasn't too sure of things either.

Cousin Ryan was again a great tour guide. Marie, Joey, and Jon got to watch as Ryan and Uncle Rick finished up the milking. After that, Marie was quite content to head in the house and talk with the ladies. Joey on the other hand was quite enthralled with cows. He walked right up to the fence with Ryan to check out the steers. He even put one foot up on a low rung like a true farmer. He didn't have to be coaxed to pet the calf or even the bigger cows and didn't even mind too much when he got licked. He especially liked feeding the steers hay. He would hold out a piece to them, but would often need someone with longer arms to help him because the steers were more afraid of him than he was of the steers. Once they finally took the hay, he would march right back over to the manger to get another piece. A farmer's work is never done!








Through the night on Tuesday, more than 3" of rain fell. This made things rather wet outside. Since we hadn't brought the kids boots, we had to make a run to the store just so that they wouldn't be cooped up inside all day long. Marie and Joey both thought they were pretty special to get new boots!


With the new boots, it was time to go fishing! This time they had poles just their size and they had a great time just practicing casting in the yard. Once we moved to the pond, it didn't take long before they started catching fish. I think Marie caught three fish in all, though she didn't really want anything to do with them. Joey on the other hand wanted to scoop them up in the net and pet them. Again...no fear. "Joey" also caught a fish. Grandpa was "helping" him and it turned out that Jon had to help Grandpa finally bring it in since the fish was almost as big as the pole!






On Wednesday afternoon, we loaded the kids in the car again and drove to St. Louis to see my grandpa. He has been a bit under the weather this year, but I really believe he perked up and was glad to see us and the kids. He got a kick out of just watching them run around his house. We took him out to eat for supper and made it back in time to watch the Cardinals on TV...a favorite pastime of his.


The following day, we donned our Cardinals gear and planned to meet Grandpa Meinhart, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Matt at the ballpark for an afternoon game. The kids were very excited about the prospect of seeing Albert and just as much looking forward to riding the train to get there. The view from our seats was pretty good, though I could've asked for a little more cloud cover. It got up to 95 degrees...I don't even want to know what the heat index was. But, the kids did really well...I was probably more cranky than they were. Too bad we couldn't have cheered the Cards on to a win!





We drove back to Grandpa and Grandma's house that night to get some rest and wait for Uncle Dave and Itaxso to drive down from Chicago. It had been some time (almost a year?) since we were all in the same place. We all went to the wedding and otherwise spent the weekend just hanging out and visiting. Sunday came around all too quickly and we made the trek back to Michigan. Overall the kids did very well in the car. It is so nice to have good travelers. It was a tiring, but fun-filled trip...and we'd do it all over again if we had the chance!

Recent family weddings...

It's August already and it's been some time since we've updated the blog...we'll have to bring you up to speed on our recent vacation!

True to our usual form, our vacation consisted of driving around the Midwest visiting family and relatives. This summer our trip was sandwiched between two family weddings, the first on the Shibata side and the second on the Meinhart side.

We began our journey on Friday the 16th. We departed from home, set on making good time to our destination, Dubuque, IA. We had no hang-ups or delays on the first leg of the trip when we met Grandma and Grandpa Shibata and Aunt Jess in Chesterton, IN for lunch. It was then decided that Marie would get to ride in Grandpa's new car, so we quickly swapped her car seat. The rest of the ride also went pretty smoothly considering the close proximity to Chicago as we drove around the need to stop a couple of times for potty breaks. The last part of the drive through northern IL was extremely scenic and hilly (causing minor car sickness), but about 10 hours after our time of departure, we arrived safe and sound.

We were just in time to partake in the authentic Brazilian BBQ hosted by Uncle David and Aunt Sharon. The kids were definitely not the shy type and made friends quickly. They played lawn games and Marie looked for tadpoles in the small pond with the bride and groom. Needless to say, everyone was beat by the time we got back to the hotel and settled in for the night.



The following morning, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jess, the kids and I explored a little bit by heading to a walk along the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, there were LOTS of bugs and we didn't stick around too long. We drove around for awhile until we found a park where the kids could play and Jess and I could get in a quick jog.

The wedding was in the afternoon. Marie thought she was pretty big stuff sitting in the pew with the older cousins. The bride beautiful and the groom handsome as could be. It was definitely the first time I'd heard wedding vows in Portuguese! After a lunch reception, the kids took naps back and the hotel and everyone gathered back at Uncle David's for another BBQ and this time a bonfire with s'mores for everyone. It was a quick trip, but so great to see most of the Speckhard clan...we just don't have the chance to see them enough!





The following weekend, my cousin Eric got married down in good ole' Effingham. We figured the best way to get to both weddings would be to take the whole week as vacation. (I'll fill you in on what we did in the meantime in another post.)

Eric and Jenna's wedding was on Friday afternoon and evening. The weather was typical for July...hot. But, that didn't seem to phase the bride and groom in the least...they were all smiles. The reception was beautiful! It was obvious that both families had spent a lot of time preparing and decorating.




Marie and Joey didn't make it too long into the evening. By this point in the week, they were pretty pooped. Jon graciously offered to take them home and put them to bed while I stayed and caught up with family. Highlights included watching the groom and his 3 brothers race while doing the worm and hitting the photo booth with Twinkle Toes, Blondie, Giggle Butt, and Pee-Wee (you know who you are!). Extra points to anyone not previously mentioned that can remember my nickname. Ahhhh...the memories!