a beachy afternoon...

Oops!!  When I was moaning on about my lack of posts due to computer issues, I didn't realize that I had a bunch of photos sitting in a draft post!  I had forgotten all about it (in fact, sadly, I still don't remember doing this) and discovered it when I hit publish on my sewing post. 

So, here are some missing beach photos from our Labor Day Weekend trip...

The day after the drive-in, we took it easy.  We slept in, hit the Cherry Hut for lunch and then headed for the beach to relax...

The kids enjoyed burying each other (again, I don't understand the appeal of this)...

And we all enjoyed sitting in the sun and swimming in the lake together.  It was a really good, low-key family day.  I think we spent about four hours there... just enjoying our time together!  (If only I knew where my waterproof camera was, there would have been a lot more photos since we spent a lot of time in the water that day :-/ )

sewing...

Sorry for disappearing!  As you probably know from reading my blog... I have a love/hate relationship with my computer.  With all of my photos and videos on here, I have about maxed the poor thing out.  I had the last of our Labor Day weekend trip photos up in photoshop for about two weeks.  It had gotten to the point that each and every step of editing took about 5 minutes to process.  I finally ran out of patience and shut my computer off to reboot.  Things are a little smoother now, but I'm over those photos, so I'm moving on :-)
 
In a future post, I'll have to go deeper into this, but this school year has brought on a bunch of change.  The kids have really rethought their activities and what they're into and made some changes.  One major change that Clara made, was to open up her weekend schedule.  She decided this year, to not sign up for any ongoing class on the weekends.  She wanted the time to relax, go to parties, hang out with friends and take sewing classes again.

I know... I just said that she didn't want to sign up for any classes on the weekends, right?  Well... that just applied to ongoing, every week classes.  She loves taking the classes at the craft/fabric store.  They're typically one day classes or at the most, two days.  A couple of weekends ago, while the boys were at the Michigan State game, the girl took two sewing classes.

First up, she took a hand sewing class to make a fleece blanket...

I thought her owl turned out really cute!

The next day, she took an applique class...

Yes... owls are their theme this session.  This was supposed to be machine sewn, but the instructor said that it was just too difficult to do with an already assembled tote bag.  They tried hand stitching it, but the canvas was too thick.  So, in the end, they finished the edges with puffy paint.  Clara picked out all of the fabrics for both projects all on her own.

She was the only one in the tote bag class, so with the extra time, they worked on making her a pillow to go with her blanket she had made the day before!  There is still some assembly to be done...

It doesn't match exactly since they let her use felt from their stash instead of purchasing more.

Since Mango was peeking out in the last photo, I thought I would include a quick snap of her...

Clara has really gotten into sewing again and I love it!  She and Alex took a sewing class this past weekend and made themselves new pillowcases.  They turned out really cute... I need to get a photo of them!

Clara is also taking a fashion design/sewing class at her school.  She's totally loving having the free time to pursue some of her other interests!

last drive-in movie...

... for the season!

After our day of sightseeing, we headed back out to the drive-in.

As the kids were getting set up in the back of the car, I asked Clara to look at me for a photo.  This is what I got..

 ... sigh.

The boy cooperated in a more normal fashion...

:-)

And finally, they were both set up in their spots...

Shortly after getting set up, they decided to head off to the playground for a while.  I managed to get a couple of shots before they ran off...

The first feature of the night was Brave.  I tried to get a photo of the title, but I happened to choose just that moment to adjust the volume on our radio... by the time I realize the title was up, it was too late.

I did get this freaky hand shot though...

 Very strange looking!

Next was intermission with dancing sodas...

and juggling popcorn...

The second feature was The Avengers.  I missed the title on this one as well.  I was actually paying attention this time, but I as I jumped to get the shot when it came up, I dropped everything else in my lap.  By the time I recovered, it was gone.

So this dark, grainy shot is all I've got...

It was a late night... but not nearly as late as the last double feature we went to.  Double features in the middle of summer when it doesn't get dark until around 10 are rough!  It was after 3am when we got home that time, I think.  This time I think we got home right before 2am.

We love the drive-in and can't wait until next season!

saturday sightseeing...

For our last weekend before both kids were in school, we headed back up to Michigan.
 
Saturday morning, we gave the kids the choice... Point Betsie Lighthouse or Sleeping Bear Dunes.  A clear decision couldn't be reached, so we decided to try to do both.  But instead of going to the Dune Climb, we would try one of the trails instead, especially since the trail we picked had a path to the beach.

We started out at the lighthouse...

I'm probably going to overload you with lighthouse photos... but it was just such a beautifully restored lighthouse and it was an absolutely beautiful day as well...

Jeff and the kids, outside as we waited our turn to climb up into the lighthouse...

One of the old lenses from lighthouse...

The stairs up...

The climb wasn't bad at all!

The kids listening to the volunteer at the top...

The view of Lake Michigan...

Tired of lighthouse photos yet?  :-)

I made the kids pose for a photo...

and they actually cooperated!

Last one... I promise...

From there, we drove over to the trailhead and had a picnic lunch.

Then we went on a one mile hike through the woods...

It was very pretty and peaceful...

 We finally made our way out of the woods and onto the dunes..

Further to go then we thought!  Plus walking up and down sand dunes is tough!

(especially when you're out of shape and a wimp like me... lol!)

But we made it and, if you ask the kids, it was well worth the effort!

There were great waves to play in...

They had such a great time!

And thankfully... the walk back seemed much shorter than the walk out there!

first day of 5th grade...

 Just a couple of quick shots this morning....

 

We were running a little behind this morning and everything was wet from the rain, so we didn't get our usual first day of school shots... but I was thrilled with these.  My baby girl is growing up!