Labor Day Weekend in Michigan!

We had a great trip up to Michigan this weekend! The Thompsons bailed on us so it was just us and my mom and Chuck. The weather was pleasantly fall-like in the 60s and 70s. We had eucher tournaments each night which was really fun. Chuck and I against my mom and Luke. Chuck had never played before so he was learning the game the first couple of nights. By the last night the true winners dominated (Chuck and I of course). Sunday was the nicest day weather-wise. We decided to take a hike up The Dune. The Dune is a huge sand dune that you can get to walking behind my mom's cottage. It's about 3 properties over and you hike up the back of it in the woods, get to the top to enjoy the view of the lake and then run down the front of it. It's a ton of fun and we decided that we were all going to go - Dane in the Baby Bjorn with Daddy and Will with help from us.

Dane and Daddy ready to go!On the way up to The Dune you pass "Blueberry Hill." This is after you've already gone up quite a bit, but before you hit the REAL hill. Will and Momma taking a rest on Blueberry Hill.
Here is Will crawling up the back of the dune with my mom and Chuck. You literally have to crawl up it to get to the top. You crawl/scamper from one tree to the next and look for any roots or branches to help pull yourself up. This is when I was at the top and it was beginning to level off. The real climb is even steeper than this. Will did a great job! Here are Daddy and Dane and Will, my mom and Chuck approaching the top. The Paytons at the top. Here is Will climbing a wall of sand at the top before we ran down. Running down - it doesn't look NEAR as steep as it actually is. You literally have to run down - you take a step and slide at least 3 feet then take another step and slide 3 feet, etc. It's a lot of fun. Will took a couple of spills and a face full of sand but was having so much fun he would pop right up and keep on going. Getting to the bottom...So much fun!!

As soon as we got to the bottom Will was already asking to climb it again and run back down. When we got to the bottom and had all emptied out our shoes full of sand, we walked down to the beach for a while. Chuck spotted a bald eagle. We watched him take off and soar - without flapping his wings one time - for at least a mile. Until he was out of sight - and he never flapped his wings once. It was beautiful.

We had dinner with BG & GG on Saturday night which was fun. When they were ready to head home my mom and Will walked them across the street since it was dark. When they were on their way back they decided to run home. While they were running back apparently my mom passed gas. Will replied: "It's ok, Nana! I'm tootin' too!!"