June 11-15: Vacation!

I don't really have the energy or time for a full recap of our vacation.  I'm sure there are not many of you out there who really care about every detail of our vacation anyway.  So I'm just going to post a few pictures and thoughts.

Holland, Michigan:  We went to Holland with our friends BJ and Kellie and their kids Ava and Truett.  Combined, we had a 1, 2, 3, and 4 year old together on this trip!  We really liked Holland.  It's a fairly small town and doesn't have many big attractions, but it is a place for a laid back vacation.  We spent a lot of time in downtown Holland...shopping, eating dinner, going to the Farmer's Market, and checking out the street performers they have there on Thursday nights (an interesting experience to say the least!)

The Beach House:  We stayed here, and we LOVED it!  Iwas a gorgeous place.  Everything was so nice.  Our condo had two living areas, a fully equipped kitchen, small patio and grill, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms and a sleeping loft.  Plus they had a pool, hot tub, and bigger patio/grill area for everyone to share.  So much attention was paid to detail in the building and furnishing of this place.   Everything was very high quality.  Nothing was cheap about it, except the price!  We paid $240 per night, which we split with our friends.  So it was only $120 per night for us...about the same as the cost of many hotel rooms in the area.  And we got so much more for our money in this place.

 The Beach and Pool:  So it's not quite the same as the ocean, but the Lake Michigan beach is still a fun place to hang out.  Our kids had a good time playing in the sand and even playing in the water (it was freezing, but that didn't stop them).  We had one day that was kind of chilly, but the other days we were there, it was warm enough to hang out at the beach and play in the pool.  Audrey had a breakthrough in her swimming.  She has always been so scared and unwilling to let go of us in the water.  With the help of some flotation devices (a swim vest, arm floaties and occasionally a pool noodle) she got brave enough to move around the pool by herself.

 

 Vacationing with Small Children:  The last time we went on vacation with BJ and Kellie was before we had kids.  Several times on this trip, we reminisced about those easy, carefree days.  We could sleep whenever we wanted for as long as we wanted.  We could eat dinner in peace and quiet.  We could just lay out at the pool all day long.  Oh...those were the days! 

Traveling with four small children was a bit on the crazy side, but really, life with small children is always on the crazy side, right?  I'm glad our kids got to spend time together (even though they won't remember it).  Plus it was fun to watch the kids have fun swimming and playing at the beach and taking in the sights.  There was never a dull moment!!