Catching up

As Beth puts it, I really could be one of those people who doesn't work but is busy all the time. She says this because, even though I'm not working, I still have trouble getting to my phone and returning calls. It's true. I feel very busy. Yes, some of it is frivolous (who really needs to go to Target two or three times in one week?). But some of it is also very legitimate as there are a lot of tasks (and priorities like spiritual and physical health) that went undone while Matt and I were both entertaining busy schedules. There are a lot of fun things we've been doing, too though; not just "tasks".

Over the past several weeks, we enjoyed a three week vacation to Michigan and now we've been back in the Falls for a month. Here's a taste our what and where.

We stayed at the Keilen cottage, which sits on little Birch Lake in Elk Rapids, Michigan. We had the pleasure of enjoying three relaxing weeks there. Originally I thought it would be strange (maybe even too cool) to spend August in Michigan. We couldn't have been more delighted by what we found: surprisingly little rain, sunny and 80 almost every day, with refreshing 60-degree nights. The weather was better than the last few summers we've visited.

And the weather made the trip. We water skiied 2-3 or even 4 times each day. We lazed on the boat, in the hammock, playing in the yard, walking on the bay. We read books, drank coffee, soaked up the sun. We talked, and story-told, and slept-in. We barbecued, and camp-fired, and floated along. The trip was perfect. It was restorative. It was blessed.

We also thoroughly enjoyed our visitors. Here, Lisa and I enjoyed a sunny, feet-dangling sit on the dock. Lisa was able to stay for two days and one night. It turned out to be the couple of windy days we had, but we had a fun time attempting to fly kites over the lake the first day. Charlie-dog especially loved it. He would chase them back and forth through the water. It was hilarious! The second day Lisa was there is when the weather calmed and brightened for this picture and a swim.

Matt's brother and his wife Kristen came up to visit as well. We enjoyed the delicious food of Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen, a long-standing family favorite. And with the help of Kristen and Cindy, I found my first petoskey stones in Grand Traverse Bay. It took some time, patience, and a lot of waves in the rear, but it was worth it:)

I mentioned we water skiied, just a bit. Truly, it was the highlight of the trip! Matt and I LOVE to water ski. It's so thrilling, so fun, so refreshing. When the water calms (particularly in the early morning and just before nightfall) it is as smooth as glass. The ski cuts through as Mark (above) put it, "like butter". It's amazing!! It was a fun treat was getting to teach my cousin Mark and his friend Luke how to ski. They did fantastically!

Oh, one more thing about skiing. I got up on ONE ski!! Well, kind of... First I spent a lot of time practicing dropping a ski and balancing on one. It was thrilling and exciting to learn this new skill! The first time I did it for any dignified length of time was breath-taking. In addition to being super-excited to actually be balancing on one leg like some kind of floating flamingo, I also had a dazzling orange and pink sunset to one side of me coupled with the brightness of the rising full moon on the other. What more could melt this outdoor girl's heart? So, once I was fairly confident dropping a ski, I decided to try to get up one one. It's a challenging process and really shows the meaning of "rip you a new one" but it was fun, too. I kind of wish I had started trying this sooner in the trip. I had about two days of trying this before we had to leave. I was able to get partially up and drag a ways while holding on, but I don't think I actually stood all the way up. It was all kind of blurred by the massive amounts of water spraying in my face! Regardless, I was pretty proud of myself for persevering. I had not done either of these things before this trip.

Many of my family were able to join us in northern Michigan for a long weekend. Somewhere in this picture are my Mom, her husband Alan, Grandma, Grandpa, Holly, Dave, Mark, Luke, and Scotty. This was Sunday morning after church before they were all getting ready to take down camp at their RV park. We enjoyed a pancake breakfast with them, complete with (of course) homemade maple syrup.

Marcy and Chris didn't get to make it to the camp-out, but luckily we were able to meet up with them in Gaylord for breakfast. They were on their way up to the U.P. to canoe and camp in the Le Cheneaux Islands (sounds divine!), so we were able to meet them on our way back down state as we ended our trip.

This post wouldn't be complete without telling you about our new dog Charlie. Here he is enjoying a nice, tasty stick at the cottage. It was great to have him there. He's such a natural outside dog; loves the water, the boat, the sticks, and running around and around the house. He has so much energy, which makes him a lot of fun. He's also a real sweetheart and loves to cuddle close. AT the moment he's snoozing at my side on the couch, fully reclined with his head hanging over the edge, utterly relaxed. The fleas we had trouble with in MI are officially gone, and he's really settling in to his life here with us. We still having a problem with him becoming very anxious while we're away, but hopefully that will diminish as time goes on.

To be continued...