After we landed and retrieved our rental car, we decided to head to Ann Arbor for a quick bite and to stretch our legs before driving the rest of the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We immediately stopped at Zingermans for a late lunch and to stock up on all of our favorite treats that we look forward to getting once a year. We ate, walked around a bit, and then headed the rest of the way to the McLean's. It goes without saying that the boys were super excited to see Grandma and Grandpa again. They loved ransacking the house and discovering that there was a whole room filled with toys. It must have seemed magical to their little eyes.
One of the highlights of this trip was that the boys got to play with their cousins. It was awesome to have some older kids around to dote over and entertain Brady and Brody. It also helped that there were a couple of parks very close by the cousins were able to play indoors and outdoors. Brody and Brady were mesmerized by all the available cool toys, especially the bikes and scooters. I think that their cousins won extra cool points for being able to ride around so effortlessly.
We took a mini road trip up to Brenda and Steve's house to spend some quality time with them and try out their new boat. They live on an amazing river and they have a great pontoon boat that allows them to enjoy all that their backyard has to offer. We were excited to let the boys ride on a boat and to show them all the cool water birds. Brody really loved driving the boat but both boys were a little miffed that there was so much wind blowing through their hair. Apparently they were concerned about their hair styles? For whatever the reason, it took them a bit to warm up to the idea of being on a boat, but once they did they seemed to like it! I look forward to doing it again!
Chris and I took advantage of Grandparent babysitters and some awesome restaurants and went out on a date. We decided to head into Ann Arbor for an amazing dinner. It was really one of the nicer dinners we have had together and had all the components of a real date. It was a dimly lit restaurant, we ordered a bottle of Champagne, and the meal was leisurely! I am glad we took some time out for ourselves.
Not to sound like a broken record, but we headed back to Ann Arbor one more time to take the boys to the Children's Center. We had a great time letting them investigate the awesome ball contraptions, the fire trucks, and the water tables. Afterwards, we headed to the University of Michigan store to stock up on some new Michigan gear. After a fun filled day, we jetted back home just in time for a wonderful dinner party with all of Chris's extended family. It was so great to see everyone and to introduce the boys to many more members of their family. It made going home very hard knowing there are so many people to play with in Michigan.
A couple of memories I want to document:
1. The boys had a lot of trouble sleeping while we were in MI for various reasons. They slept in the same room as us so when they woke up in the morning, typically before I was ready to get up, I could hear the sweet sound of one on my son's voices saying "Mom" and usually I could feel a little hand on my foot. It was kind of cute. I felt like each day they were genuinely surprised that they could see me from their pack n plays and liked knowing I was so close.
2. One day during nap time, I heard a lot of crying way before they should have been awake. When I went into their room to investigate, I heard the song "Put your hands up for Detroit" blaring from the ipad. We have almost no songs on the ipad so the fact that this song was blaring was both ironic and kind of creepy. I have NO idea how this song ended up coming on but it was kind of eerie and funny.
3. Chris and I both had food poisoning on the flights home. Needless to say, that was an unfortunate way to travel. Luckily we had the foresight to upgrade our seats on the flight home so we had plenty of room to let the boys stand in front of us and play. Without those little respites, I'm not sure I would have made it. Also, I know why they still put barf bags in the seat back pockets. Not a mystery any longer.
Did you stock up on red licorice? Joy
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