Our Annual Pentwater, MI Trip

This weekend we took our annual fall vacation to Pentwater, MI this weekend. We go every Columbus Day weekend and it has become a tradition we greatly look forward to each fall. This fall we thought we weren't going to be able to go since I had a grad class scheduled...but thank goodness, I dropped it! It was a nice, relaxing time as always. It was so great to get away and have some down time! Take a look at the pics...

The beautiful fall colors are always breathtaking.

Just behind those trees is the beach we always go to.

We had beautiful almost summery weather.

We tried something new this year...on Sunday we headed up to the next city north of Pentwater for a couple of hours: Ludington, MI. It was a cute town, but still very small. We stopped for some ice cream after going to some antique stores.

We went the sand dunes again, but this time was different from last year. It was really cool...not quite as tall as the Silver Lake Dunes, but these were still fun.

We also went to Lewis Farms, which is an annual stop. We stopped at the petting zoo, picked our pumpkins, and enjoyed a caramel apple.

Marcus at one of the docks on Pentwater Lake (a small inlet of Lake Michigan)

Of course we had to watch the sunset, because in the words of Rachel Perrine, "Of course you watched the sunset...that's just what you do in Pentwater!"

The little gazebo is the center of the town of Pentwater. Look at the beautiful trees and the lake right behind them!

FYI- The following posts go in backwards order. :)

SUNDAY

Sunday was another super fun-filled day, but I didn't really take many pics. We started off the day with breakfast at Britt and Dan's. YUM YUM pancakes...and my fave quote from the morning was when my sis, while attempting to flip a pancake slipped a little and made a pancake into a pancake-burrito-omelette shaped thing, shouted, "This is a NIGHTMARE!!!" haha. I totally thought something was on fire or something. Don't worry, that did happen later in the cooking extravaganza. :)

Then, we headed to church with them. On the way out, I took this weird pic of Marcus. I completely cannot remember the context of this face.


I candidly snapped this one while walking across Clark Street. From right to left: Dan, Marcus, Brittney, Leah.

After church we headed up to Mundelein to Lindsey and Becca's apartment where we met up w/ the Anderson clan again- completed this time with Marcus's bro and his wife, Scott and Robin. From there we proceeded to Corner Bakery for a nice lunch.

Upon returning to our apartment around 5, we crashed for a quick nap, and then Marcus headed off to band practice and I headed off to Jewel. I stayed in my car in the parking lot listening to the Sox game until the very end.

THEY WON!!!!!!!!!!! GO WHITE SOX!!!!!

Now I am just waiting for Marcus to get back (and I will go do some homework) and then we will head out to meet some friends for coffee.

What a great weekend! I can't wait for next weekend...Pentwater, MI, here we come!!

SATURDAY

On Saturday the Anderson clan came into Deerfield for Trinity's homecoming. Marcus and I showed up a couple of hours before the Andersons along with Kevin and Rachel, and Brittney and Dan. It was really fun (and somewhat odd and definitely nostalgic, as well) to see so many alumni. It was really a special day. And to top it off, we definitely came home with sunburns!

Our niece Katie...the baby just keeps growing up!

The girls were rolling down the hills in an attempt to find entertainment at Travis's soccer game.

There's Travvy!! So cute, Team Captain!

The ref was...um...UNFAIR. Here is Travis disagreeing with him (I think).

My sis and me! Trinity Alum!

Fun times watching soccer.

One of my fave pics of Maddy's shoes...

Marcus and Travis

Becca and Travis

Later that night we went over to the hotel where Marcus's parents were staying so the girls could swim. We had fun socializing while the girls (and some adults) had fun swimming. :)

I'm not sure why, but Katie kept wanting to show me her rear end. :)

A totally cute sisters pic!

...and this one was Emma's idea for a pose...(Missy, let me know if you want this one OFF the internet!) I think they maybe had spent too much time with Uncle Marcus that day...

FRIDAY NIGHT

We had another fun and busy weekend! It was Trinity's homecoming this weekend, so Deerfield was full of activity and our friends and family in town were abundant. Friday night, Kevin and Rachel came into town and stayed with us. I didn't get too many good pics, but here's what I did get:Marcus was quite hyper...all weekend.

Turned out that the air mattress had a leak. Rachel thought it might worth a try to fold it and sleep on it. haha.

That didn't quite work, but they got creative and found a comfy solution by making a bed on the floor with all of our couch cushions. Can't wait till next time, guys!

When I should've been doing homework...

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, we had no school today. I had hoped to be ultra productive and get lots of grad school homework done, and while I have done some, the majority of my morning has been filled with much more interesting activities...

For starters...I cut another inch and a half off my hair. You may have noticed in the hiking pictures that somehow it all already grew back. 'Twas time for more chopping.

I surprised Marcus at work with some White Sox cakes I made in honor of today's ultra-important game. This morning before he left he told me that Sox fans are supposed to wear black (maybe until they win? not sure...) today, so I went ahead and did it, even though I don't fully understand. :) His manager, also a mega-Sox fan, was also excited.

I think they turned out pretty cute. :)

Okay, now that I do have a few hours yet in the day, I'm really going to try and get a lot of work done. I am currently studying up on Scientology for a presentation I have to give. Some strange stuff (in my opinion). I hope ya'll have a great day! Go Sox!

Hiking at Starved Rock

Saturday was my parents' 28th anniversary! So they came up for a little mini-family-gathering at Starved Rock. We had a fun time hiking and afterward we went to possibly the most random place ever...it was an indoor amusement park/pizza joint called The Enchanted Forest. It was quite an experience. We had a great day and it was fun to meet (almost) halfway without either of us having to drive a full three hours.

The girls

I know, I'm such a daredevil. At this point my mom was shouting for me to come down, which was really funny...considering I am an adult. :)

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom!

It was fun finding random caves to attempt to spelunk. haha.

You might have wondering, "Where is Brandon?" Well...we wondered that too...until we found him here at this lodge. Oh Baldy!
(P.S. For those of you who don't know, my brother's nickname is Baldy.)

This random but cute bookshelf/dinner table.

You could sit on this man's lap for a rest after a hike if you wanted. We did!