Shore Line West Tour

This week was a pretty huge week for us. Ryan completed the Shoreline West Bike Tour where he biked from Traverse City to Mackinaw City. While he was biking, my mom, Keira, Soren, and I hung out at the Great Wolf Lodge and went to Sleeping Bear Dunes.

The fun/madness didn't start until Wednesday, so Monday was a fairly normal day for us, which meant shopping at the mall followed by an evening trip to Maybury.





On Tuesday, we went to see/hear Linda Day tell stories at Linda/Nana's school. Keira really enjoyed the stories, and Soren stood by himself for quite some time.

Keira and Soren also really liked these adirondack chairs. Soren looked much happier before the camera was around.


Additionally, I was able to squeeze in some "real" swimming with Cristina out at Island Lake thanks to my mom holding down the fort.

Wednesday was the day of our trip, and it started off for me at the doctor for a check up, but Soren had a horribly runny nose, so I dragged him along with me. Fortunately, my dr wasn't terribly concerned about him, so we were good to start the drive to Traverse City. My mom, Keira, Soren, and I all rode together while Ryan, Kent, and David came up separate. The drive was a bit stressful, with potty stops being a major concern. We had to skip Birch Run because everyone was asleep and we didn't dare disturb the silence in the car and pushed on until Midland. The kids were pretty loud, and we happened to be able to exit the freeway at a mall that had a play area. This was a great opportunity for both Keira and Soren to run around a bit and burn off some energy before returning to the car for another while.


One we arrived at Great Wolf Lodge, we wasted no time getting over to the waterpark. It was really fun, however Keira was fairly content to stay in the baby pool area. She did eventually decide to come on the lazy river with me, and really enjoyed it. Soren also really liked just floating along in the water. Neither would go near the bucket that dumped, but both like to watch it.




That night we met up with the guys for dinner at the Fresh Water Lodge for a great dinner.

On Thursday, the guys started their tour by riding 60 miles to Charlevoix. Charlevoix had these cool mushroom houses. This is the camp in Charlevoix.
Charlevoix
Kent
Mushroom Houses:


Ryan and David

While the guys were riding, Keira and I hit the waterpark for a bit while Soren napped, and then we took the extreme scenic route to Sleeping Bear Dunes, taking an accidental tour of the Leelanau Penninsula. We made a quick stop at a beach in Glen Haven.




Next, we went to the Dune Hike which is part of the national park. It was amazing, but the dunes keep going forever. I think there are 7 dunes to hike over before you get to Lake Michigan. Soren and I hiked one dune or so past where you could see Lake Michigan, and then returned to sit with Keira who was "stuck" halfway up the first dune while my mom went ahead. Keira eventually decided to come down, but needed to be carried part of the way. I am sure I was quite the sight with Keira in my arms and Soren on my back.










After the dune hike, we continued on to the Peirce Stocking Scenic drive. We didn't stop at all the areas due to time constraints, but we were able to stop at a few and catch some amazing views of the dunes and Lake Michigan. We were also able to see the "sleeping bear", which doesn't really resemble a bear anymore due to errosion.



The "sleeping bear" is the dark area just to the right of Keira through the fence.





We got back just in time to catch the storytime in the lobby. Keira didn't like Wiley Wolf, but Soren didn't mind him. The animals around the clock sang and then a staff member read a bedtime story. We did this on two nights.


On Friday, the guys rode about 52 miles to Harbor Springs. They took a detour from the tour route to ride up a section of road known as "the wall". It started out at 6% grade and then shot up to an 18% grade. This is Kent coming up the wall.
Kent, Ryan, and David at the top of the wall.
Harbor Springs
The guys did a recovery ride around Harbor Springs and took some shots of the HUGE houses along the water.
David
Kent

Self Portrait of David and Ryan.

The camp at Harbor Springs.



We stuck around Traverse City today enjoying the waterpark and the city. We spent the morning at the waterpark. I was able to try out the slides today, and they were very fun. We couldn't get Keira to do any slides. I sent her down one on Thursday, and that was the end of slides.





These shots show the cool "Wolf Den" room that we stayed in with bunk beds for Keira in their own cubby. It had a TV and game controller, but we didn't use those.


We also walked around Traverse City where they were having a large sidewalk sale and then got dinner at North Peak. After dinner, we walked around one of the marinas.

Saturday was a rainy day, and the guys rode into Mackinaw City. We packed up and headed over there to meet them. It was quite the ordeal to pack up the vehicles, and it was amazing that we got everything in, considering that my mom had dropped off my dad and his friend Don earlier in the week and essentially had 3 carloads of people up there, but only 2 vehicles going back. Our car, which now contained me, Ryan, Keira, Soren, Kent, and David, had lunch in Mackinaw City at the Dixie Saloon while my parents and Don drove back in their car with most of our luggage and got right on the road. My Dad, David, Kent, Ryan, and Don.

We fortunately had an uneventful drive back. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I walked in the front door, Soren made a beeline for the stairs and of course fell down them, but this time bit his lip and bloodied his face. The poor little dude had such a puffy mouth! He just got his first of his 2 front teeth. Too bad that couldn't have waited a couple days. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured, but it added to the stress of the weekend.

Needless to say, Sunday was a restful day. I am not sure what next week will hold, but I am sure we will be doing some training for my upcoming tri and Maybury TT.

Cash For Clunkers Worked for Us!

This was another action packed week. All of our hard work from last week calling around and visiting MANY Ford dealerships paid off, because we were one of the lucky ones who were able to take delivery of a new vehicle using the cash for clunkers program. In addition to that, we also spent a ton of time having fun outdoor and visiting with friends.

On Monday, we finished up our vehicle search and found the perfect vehicle close to home. It was even better than the one we had tagged previously, and was expected to be in earlier. We were not initially as concerned with a few days, but as the week progressed, we learned that could have made all the difference! I received my welcome packet of information and samples from PUR today, and we have been enjoying cold filtered water, and we can also add flavoring to it. We also went to Maybury in the evening for a ride and a run. Both kids demonstrated their climbing abilities today. Soren is becoming a real master of the stairs.
Keira climbed on this large structure at Maybury today, and then got "stuck".
Ryan was there to help her out.

Keira also got a quick ride in.

Tuesday was a really fun and busy day. I took Keira and Soren out to Island Lake to the Spring Mill Pond area for cub scout lake days. Families were invited, so there was a nice crew of friends from church. The Spring Mill Pond area is different from where I did the race and from where I train in open water, and it is great for children. It is clean and stays shallow pretty far out, so the kids can wade around in a large area. Keira wore her life vest so she was free to play in the water with her friends, Elise and Haley, from her nursery class. Soren warmed up a bit to the idea, and did let me put his feet in the water.

Haley, Elise, and Keira. Yes, I was the paranoid mom who had their child in the coast guard approved life jacket, but Keira didn't complain and I could relax somewhat around the water.




That evening, I returned to Island Lake to go swimming with Cristina, but shortly after we arrived at Trout Lake, as storm blew through. While we were debating on swimming or bailing, we saw a few bolts of lightning, and that solved our problem. Had Ryan not had plans to ride in the evening as well, I probably could have waited it out, because it was fairly localized. Ryan was able to go on his ride without any issues because the storm completely missed the Novi/Northville area where he rode.

Wednesday was the big day! Our Escape was in, and would be ready to pick up in the evening. I was able to meet up with Valerie, Katie, and Luke at the mall during the day. It was fun for Keira to play with her friend Katie. I also got a few shots of Soren for his 10 month birthday.


Luke and Soren

Keira and Katie

The dealerships had been so crazy busy all week, we were asked to wait until 6 to come in. We fortunately had all of our Cash for Clunkers paperwork ready to go. After spending an insane amount of time at the dealership this evening, Ryan was able to bring it home. I must admit it was pretty sad to say goodbye to the Sport Trac, especially knowing that it was going to be destroyed. It had been a great vehicle and provided a ton of utility to us. At least if we can't have it anymore, no one can! We took the new escape for a quick spin as a family, put the kids to bed, and then wasted no time putting on the roof rack from the Sport Trac.

Goodbye Sport Trac! Maybe your box or doors will live on!
Ryan and Keira with the NEW Escape!
Keira and Soren are all belted in and ready for their first ride.

Thursday was a really fun day for Keira. Today was the last day of story times at the library for the summer. Soren really enjoyed the music time this week.




After the story time, we went to Linda's school for a special presentation. Pebbles, the clown, came and did a really nice presentation. She started off in regular clothes and explained to the children that she was a mom, just like other moms, and then explained how all of her makeup and costumes went together to make her look like a clown. Keira was still really nervous, but I think it really helped her comfort level. Keira was very excited to get a sleeping beauty tattoo, flower stencil, and balloon bracelet.




We took the new Escape to Maybury tonight for the first time so Ryan could get a ride in while I ran.

On Friday, we could not believe that the government was already needing to suspend the Cash for Clunkers program. I felt so fortunate that everything had worked out for us, with our vehicle coming in on time and getting everything taken care of. I am not a fan of government spending, but I was not about to let a program like this go to waste. I am just really glad that we did not wait on this deal. Having two car payments for the next few months won't be fun, but it is better than losing out on the rebate money. The rest of the day was yet another action packed day, and really messed up Soren's napping schedule. Here is a really sweet picture of Keira being a good mommy.We met up with Linda at the mall for some shopping before going to Lizzie's birthday party in the afternoon. Keira had a great time playing with the water and pools. Soren did OK too out in the sun. Lizzie, Little Ava, and Keira, are in one of the pools.
Soren just took it all in. He didn't get wet at all.
Keira didn't get the slip n slide, but preferred this slide into a small splash pool instead.
Lizzie is posing with her cake.
Keira got pink EVERYWHERE! Too bad it didn't come out so well.


After the party, I had hoped to put both kids down for a nap and go riding, but that didn't work out so well. Neither went to sleep, and it is a bit tricky for me to put my bike on the new truck, so Ryan ended up dropping me off at Maybury to ride and taking Keira and Soren on errands to prepare for his upcoming bike tour. After the ride, we grabbed some dinner, and got the kids to bed pretty late. This did work out a bit to our advantage, because little Soren actually slept for 7 hours straight, and I happened to actually be sleeping as well for them! He woke up to eat at 12:30am, just after I had gone to bed, and then slept until 7:30am!

On Saturday, Ryan rode with the Wolverines, and averaged 19.9mph for his 60 mile bike ride! Impressive, but Ryan wished they could have gotten the extra tenth to be at 20mph. Soren slept literally all morning, so we didn't have a special Saturday morning adventure this weekend. I did get a decent run in once Ryan got home, running 6.5miles all under 9min/mile, which is a good pace for my long slow run of the week. After getting cleaned up, we headed out to Ann Arbor to see a longtime friend, Liz, who was in town for the weekend and having a barbeque. Ryan was her first climbing partner at Planet Rock before we got married, and Liz has gone with us and met up with us at the Red River Gorge (in KY) for climbing trips. We had a fun time catching up with her and her family. We spent a while out there, and my mom actually beat us to our house. She spent the day driving my dad to the start of the 7 day West Shoreline Tour, which Ryan will be joining next week for the 3 day version. Keira and Liz look so cute together!


On Sunday, we all headed to church. My mom came with us and helped with Soren so Ryan could attend his meetings while I got my Primary duties done. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Kris and Linda's for a great dinner and dessert. It was a beautiful evening, so we spent time playing out in the yard. Keira was so funny. We offered her a banana, and she said, "I don't want a banana. Bananas are for Monkeys". She is really cute these days.



This next week will likely shape up to be an even bigger week! Ryan will leave on Wednesday for the West Shoreline Tour with David and Kent, and meet up with my dad. My mom will be staying with us this week, and on Thursday we head up to northern Michigan to spend 2 days at the Great Wolf Lodge and see the sites before picking up the guys to bring them home.