Michigan 2015: part 4

Continued from part 3.

Saturday was the day of the family reunion, a traditionally lazy day that had always been spent lounging, playing cards with relatives, and when I was much younger - participating in the kids games.  Now that I have a kid of my own, a toddler at that, "lounging" was not really part of my vocabulary that day.  We didn't arrive until mid afternoon as we wanted to make sure Arlo got in a solid nap that day, but when we got there the little man was full of energy.  He was just a little too young to participate in the kids games, but still very mobile, so we took turns chasing him around and finding things for him to play with, trying to keep him disinterested from the nearby lake that surely looked appealing to him. 

Now, pictures!

all of us!  but only about 1/5th of the entire reunion.  photo credit goes to my Uncle K

the B family!  photo credit Uncle K

us, the Parental Units, and the newlyweds - Megs & Mitch.  photo credit Uncle K

us again.  photo credit Uncle K.

Here are the photos I took with our camera between chasing after Arlo and making sure he was fed snacks every 20 minutes...

After hanging out with everyone for a while, and the traditional group photos were taken (see above,) Erik, Arlo and I sneaked out to head back to downtown Alpena to eat at a restaurant (vegan options/organic options/local options!) we had discovered earlier in the week.  We finished the day walking around downtown picking up a few souviners for family, and then took a trip down to the beach.  It was a lovely way to spend the last evening in Alpena with my lil' family...

Arlo did NOT like the feeling of sand on his feet and refused to walk on it!  It was so hard not to laugh at the poor kid.

The following morning we celebrated my cousins daughters second birthday with a puppy dog tea party in my Grandma's back yard.  Afterwards, we packed up and drove back downstate to stay one last night at Erik's parents house.  The following morning we hopped on a plane back to sweet sunny NC, where Lucy was happily collected from the pet sitters house and the cats were given some much needed attention.  All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better time spent "back home" with family.  We will let The Mitten state turn cold again, and visit when the temperate weather returns next year.  I certainly can't go another four years without going back, my Meijers addiction simply won't allow it.  Thanks for everything, home sweet Michigan!