Michigan Trip

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Well I have to admit I have fallen behind with posting blogs. Allie and I went on a trip to visit my Mom's family in Upper Michigan, which is in the middle of no where. I don't think anyone in the small town owned a computer and so I had no internet access for 9 days. So for our adventures to Iron River Michigan, here is a recap of our trip. (Don't be bored by reading my recap, it's for my own personal interest that I wanted things recorded.)

Day 1: We arrived in Minneapolis, MN where we met up with Lara and the kids at our hotel around 1 a.m. Our plane was late arriving due to thunderstorms at the Denver Airport which is where we had a connecting flight from.

Day 2: Due to a short rest we got up and hit the Mall of America. For those who haven't been here, the mall has about any store that you want to shop in, including the Nestle Tollhouse Store, a Peanut Butter Store with any flavor of peanut butter you could imagine and many more. We hit the amusement park for the kids which takes up the entire center of the mall. The kids had a blast here, especially Adam. He was very brave for a 4 year old; wanting to ride everything. The only ride Allie was allowed on was the carousel, which she rode with me standing by. After a morning at the mall, we hit the road for our 5 hour car trip to Michigan in our mini van and the dark. The night driving was not a good combination for my sister and I who are blind as can get in the dark. Let's just say it took us way to long to drive 15 miles, trying to watch for deer jumping our of the forest and illusions on the newly paved highway.

Day 3: I quickly discovered that I was foolish for not bringing Allie's pack n' play with us because the first night sleeping at my grandma's was miserable. I wasn't sure how Allie was going to attempt to take naps either. Allie loves her own space, so something had to change. Well since my grandma's small town did not have any store which carried a pack n'play, we packed up the kids and headed off to Iron Mountain, an hour drive away. This was our closest Wal-Mart and I was so excited to find something familiar. I found my pack-n-play and Allie was a happy camper.

Day 4: We visited my Great Aunt Mary, which would be Allie's Great Great Aunt Mary, who is 92. She is still living at home and is the most blunt person that I have ever met. Here is a tribute to her with some of her quotes that were said on our trip.

Mary to everyone "I'm filling my pants."
Mary to Lara "Do you fill your pants?"

Mary to Adam, "If you're Adam, where's Eve?"

Mary to me, "I hate that pink shirt."

Mary to Adam, "Go ask your mom if I can have a piece of chocolate cake."
Adam's Response, "You have to wait till after dinner."

Mary (after eating a plate full of manicotti) "I hate manicotti."

Mary to me, "You are crazy for wanting 6 kids."

Mary to Allie, "You look like Skeezic."

Mary to anonymous, "You've gained weight haven't you? You're fat!"

I know this is probably not comical to everyone, but for me and my sister these quotes bring back great memories of our Aunt, which I needed to have recorded down somewhere.

Day 5: My mom's sister Chris and her husband Terry arrived from Wisconsin. The kids were so excited to have a male father figure in the house. Especially Uncle Terry, who is a playful, ruff, guy. He was so brave and walked with Adam and Ainsley up to the store to buy them treats. The girls stayed back and just visited with one another. The real reason Terry had to leave the house was because it was hotter inside the house than it was outside. We couldn't convince my grandma to turn on the air conditioner. My sister and I couldn't figure out how to turn it on either. It ended up being a great day despite just hanging out in Iron River.

Day 6: Probably my favorite day of all if I had to pick. We drove 1.5 hours North to my mom's other sister's house in Marquette, MI. I love this little town, it sits right on Lake Superior. After we arrived we hung around at my Aunt's beauty shop while my mom received a French manicure and got her ear's cleaned out. My mom's ear cleaning was the craziest thing that I have ever seen. My Aunt stuck these bamboo type sticks inside my mom's ear and lit the top on fire. This created suction somehow and pulled the wax out of the ear into this stick. It was interesting and quited disgusting. I was curious to know how much wax I had built up inside my ears. After all of the adventures at the beauty shop, my sister and I went to Lake Superior with the kids while my mom, grandma, and Aunt went shopping. My sister and I had such a relaxing and enjoyable time at the beach.

Day 7: This was the day prior to leaving to drive back to Minneapolis. We just bummed around Iron River all day. We wanted to go back and visit with Aunt Mary but she was taken up to the hospital for a chest x-ray. She had gotten a fever and a cough that got progressively worse. She ended up being transfered out of the small town hospital to a larger one 3 hours away. (Good move because they had misdiagnosed her at the small town hospital)

Day 8: We left early in the morning to drive back to Minneapolis. We visited the Mall of America one more time so we could actually do a little shopping this time. We also visited an aquarium that was in the mall too. I couldn't believe that I paid $18 to get in. It was impressive, but a very short tour through the aquarium. I was glad Allie ended up getting in for free. The aquarium was known for their shark exhibit. It was pretty cool because the aquarium went over our heads so there were sharks, stingrays, and fish swimming all around us. At the end their was an area where the kids could touch stingrays and sharks. Great adventures at the Mall of America. This would be a great place to take an "all girls trip."

Day 9: We flew home to Boise on two uneventful flights. We had such a great time in Michigan, but were so excited to see Dad. We missed you!