our first big really super epic (expensive) adventure on this trip was a sea kayaking tour of pictured rocks national lakeshore. on the day it was scheduled, the weather wasn’t looking so hot and we weren’t even sure it would take place. but the crew was optimistic, so we loaded up into the ferry to […]
food
up to the u.p.
for those unfamiliar with the geography of michigan, most of it is the big mitten shaped bit, north of indiana, tucked between three great lakes. that’s where all of our first few michigan excursions took place. but. the main destination of our trip was the upper peninsula, commonly known as the U.P., and that is […]
the first step to olympic gold in curling.
i’ll be the first to admit. when derek told me that he booked a curling lesson, i was not that excited. i didn’t think it would be an activity our family would enjoy. i couldn’t have been more wrong. the folks at the leelanau curling club made the experience phenomenal. they were so patient and […]
sleeping bear. rafting. lighthouses. beaches.
our second day in the general vicinity of sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore started with some time on the water. initially we had planned a trip with one outfitter, but when we arrived, it turned out they were closed. thankfully, we found another spot, and while derek handled booking the trip and the shuttle bus […]
travel day. two capitals, fabric, and an old friend.
after the rock house hike and otherworld, we made many more stops en route to our next accomodations, making this one day (june 12 to be exact) quite long. while still in columbus, we checked another state capitol building off our list. the kids are still such troopers about this. then we made the first […]
other world.
our travels from hocking hills to michigan took us through columbus ohio, where derek discovered the other world immersive art experience. it seemed similar to, though not quite as thought out and crazy cool as, meow wolf in santa fe. but first. we fueled up. then it was time to get weird. the outside of […]
miscellany of may.
as it turns out. may was pretty busy with things that deserved their very own blog posts. so this one will be short and sweet. to kick things off, anna and i did a bit of strawberry picking. we lovelovelove local nc strawberries. i ate healthy. walked and lifted. 🙂 ok. so this part is […]
happy mothers day to me. </br>camping/hiking edition.
immediately after dropping off my cake donation, i loaded up the outback and rolled off to the mountains for a little solo mother’s day camping and hiking trip. derek gifted me some car camping gear, to see if that’s preferable to tent camping. for this first attempt, he booked me a hipcamp site near brevard, […]
anna’s fourteenth.
whelp. fourteen years ago i birthed the annababy.time sure is flying by.after watching me make several floral cakes in the last little bit, she requested a floral cake of her own, but with bright happy spring colors. this is what i made: she had a few friends over for her birthday party. i have no […]
bits and pieces of april.
first of all. let me tell you a tale of how, when jenn and brandy were visiting, we may or may not have gotten caught up with the idea of getting baby chicks and stopped in at tractor supply and made a complete and total impulse purchase of four baby chicks to add to our […]