Mackinac part 2

more pics of our getaway....

The horses & carriage for the Grand Hotel

the boardwalk along the lake

another view from the top of the island

Sugar Loaf (rock formation--it boggles my mind how this huge rock is just in the middle of no where!)

I love this picture...it is the entrance to one of the cemeteries on the island.

Next post....MORE New Kids on the Block!! Yes, I went to a second concert & had way better seats. It was so cool !!! : )

part one of Mackinac pictures

I am going to do 2 posts of some pictures from Mackinac, because it takes alot of shuffling them around to make it look right on the blog. Then I'll do another post with pictures of my layouts from this past weekend's retreat I went to!! It was a nice place, and good to be with friends, and great to be scrapbooking of course!! It was more of a Bed and Breakfast place. But I think the 2 weekends in a row away were too much. I wouldn't have gone to the retreat this past weekend had I known way back when I registered for it that Mike and I would go away the weekend before. But oh well, it was still fun.

Cal, the day of his surgery.

On the way to Mackinac, we stopped in Schoolcraft County (somewhere in Michigan). Really pretty, and lots of land for sale!! (Someday I want to have a summer cabin on the lake!!!!)

The Mackinac Bridge is the longest bridge in the US over freshwater (maybe the longest in the world, I can't remember...)


The Grand Hotel from our ferry (there was a window so the picture isn't great)

Views from our hotel room's balcony



The Grand up close--the Grand is the largest summer resort in the world

me & Mike

me & Mike on the tandem bike

Arch Rock--we didn't stay long at this point, some really stupid people were throwing rocks down from the top, so we quickly rode out of there!

Fort Holmes, highest point above sea level on island

Home again!!

First of all, Cal's surgery went perfectly. He has a cast like wrap covering his hand and wrist, but he is doing great. He was very brave, and hasn't had any pain with it. It will stay on for 4 weeks or more, then the pins will be taken out of his finger.

Ah, after 800+ miles of driving, we are home. We left at 5am for Mackinac Island, leaving our sleeping children with sleeping Grandma (who slept over the night before). We got to Mackinac City in plenty of time to catch the early ferry (2:30) instead of the 4:30 one. I was treated like a queen for my 30th birthday. It was a beautiful weekend--the colors, of course, and the weather couldn't have been better (unless we would've gone the previous weekend when it was 80 degrees!) Our room at the Chippewa was a suite and overlooked the lake--it was so nice. I even got a one hour massage. My husband is such a nice guy! All in all a great weekend--lots of walking, we biked the entire island (no motorized vehicles are allowed on the island, residents and tourists get around on bike, horse, or on foot!). The night of my bday, we went out for a delicious meal at Goodfellow's restaurant (I highly reccommend it if you ever go). It's so nice there, and it's filled with awesome Victorian houses. I just can't get enough of those : ) One day when Mike is gone, I would love to put all the fancy looking trim and scrolly things on our house that so many Victorian houses have. He doesn't like that gingerbread house look, but I love it!!

I will post pics soon, I haven't even uploaded them yet!! We got home around bedtime last night, and after the kids went to bed, I was ready for bed (after watching the final inning of the baseball game, of course).

Poor Tony Romo...

a broken finger. Cal might be happy to share the same injury as an NFL quarterback. Boy am I glad though that Dallas lost in OT. It was a good game ( I really do watch alot of football).

So Cal went to the orthopaedic surgeon this morning and he is having surgery first thing tomorrow. Even though Cal isn't in pain really, the break is a bad one, and it's twisted as well. Cal is very nervous about it, with good reason. WHile Kaycey is a seasoned pro when it comes to doctors and hospitals, Cal's never had any major health issues/hospital visits, other than ear infections really.

Got to crop on Friday night for the first time in a long time! Hooray!! It was a fun at the store, and I'm so excited for Stephanie and her new company (I bought one of everything : )

I made this page Friday night...

I love it!

Our cabinet guy came to the house yesterday and finished putting in the kitchen cabinets. Hooray!!

A new do for me

i went to the guy my sister has been going to for 7+ years. he was "fabulous" quoting Pattric (my new hair stylist!!!) i needed a change...i figured what better time to have hair done than before a birthday and a getaway?

Break a leg!!!

...or a finger. Cal broke his finger at football tonight, and we have to see an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. It is definitely broken; Mike took him to urgent care right when it happened. Poor Cal!! At least it is his left hand--he's a righty. We are hoping it's nothing too serious, but I don't know what is usually done for an injury like this. Hearing "orthopedic surgeon" is a little unnerving.

I have a very busy week and a half coming up...tomorrow Maddie has dance class (somehow I totally forgot about it last Friday!). Also, have to work out the surgeon stuff first thing tomorrow. Tomorrow night is a special event at the scrap. store for a friend who has started her own company, Bella Blvd. Check it out!! www.bellablvd.typepad.com/ It should be fun!! Saturday Kaycey has a soccer game; Cal is out for the season unfortunately. I work at the store for a few hours Saturday afternoon. Sunday I have an appt. to get my hair cut and colored--I haven't cut it since January. Colored it sometime this summer I think. I'm not one to really bother with my hair much, but I thought it'd be a good thing--right before a birthday and a weekend away!! Monday I have an oil change on the car we are driving the 7 1/2 hours, and Kaycey has an eye dr. appt. Something tells me there is something going on Monday night...can't remember what. Tues & Weds I'll be at the store working. SOmewhere in there I have to pack bags for myself and kids (kids are staying home with my granparents for a night and then going to Mike's parents house for the wknd). And make sure there is groceries for stuff to take on our trip and for the kids' lunches. We realized that Mack. Isl. is an hour ahead, so we have to leave extra early. Thankfully my Grandma is coming to stay Weds. night so Mike and I can get a really early start (like 5am!) We have to make the last ferry, which is at 4:30pm. My Grandma will see the older two kids off to school, and spend the day with Maddie. I have to write out a schedule/timeline for all the grandparents involved, too--when to catch the bus, phone numbers, etc!!!

Some things I have worked on recently (and not so recently!!) I've been arranging and unpacking more, and come across things I forgot about!! I'll post some projects tomorrow.

Exciting past week...

We bought season tickets to the Brewers for 2009!! Yea for us!! So, that allowed us tickets to go to post season games. Mike went this past Saturday (we'll get to where I was in just a bit...) Mike and I went Sunday. It was really sad that they lost, and the post season is over for them. But, there's always next year, and we'll be at lots of games!

So other exciting happenings in the last week or two:

We met our friends' little baby boy, Jonah, for the first time. They came over for dinner, and they have two other children who are one year younger than Kaycey and Maddie. It worked out great--everyone played together very nicely. Maddie kept calling her friend, "Curly" (Kaylee). That was definitely the comedy of the evening.

Our other friends had a little boy almost two weeks ago, and we are meeting him (Gavin) tonight.

I went to a New Kids on the Block concert on Saturday in Illinois!!! I have to admit, I wasn't sure how fun it would be--I mean, five guys 20 years later--can they still break it down?? Will they sing old stuff?? And oh, my--we were not disappointed. It was awesome. We, nerds that we are : ), are going to the show in Milwaukee now, too, & got closer seats. My camera didn't work particularly well, but I got a couple decent shots. The best was my cousin decked out in all her old school garb! It was great! So my sister and I went to Dad's house and got our old T-shirst and pins that were in the basement in a bin. We ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe (yummy) and the waitstaff really got a kick out of us. I don't think anyone believed we were old enough (we ranged in age from 7 to 13 at the time I believe) & they were shocked the New Kids were back!! "you mean the 'oh-oh-ohohoh' guys?", the one waiter asked. The block is back!! And better than ever!!!

My sister and cousin, Sara

The ring, the bracelet, the watch, the hat, the pins, the t's...all from back in the day!!!!

Me & my cousin, Laura