Madi wanted to know what a blog was, so I told her it was like a journal where you write down your memories. She, of course, wanted to participate, so here are her memories from our trip to South Haven (and my commentary).
Madi’s Memories:
– “We went swimming, and Daddy swirled me around.”
(The kids shouted “again!” over and over until Ben’s back couldn’t take it anymore. The water was surprisingly nice and only wavy one day, plus there was a great sandbar close to shore that was the perfect place to jump over waves and splash around. Madi also took several rides out to the swimming buoy on an inner tube…what a blast!)
– “We made a big hole in the sand, and I fell into it.”
(Digging holes in the sand is a popular task at the beach…this year, Papa brought a full sized shovel so that they could have a giant hole to sit in, jump over, and play in. Some people build sand castles at the beach…we dig holes. Another popular activity at the beach, at least for my kids, is competitive snacking. Almost from the moment we got to the beach, the kids, especially Madi, ask for snacks…cheese sticks, animal crackers, fruit snacks…add a little sand, and the snack is perfect.)
– “We reached a Chinaman’s nose when we made an even bigger hole.”
(This is what Papa told them when he dug the extra big/deep hole…he is always coming up with interesting things at the beach. He also created a beach golf course for Josiah complete with inner tube obstacles, a shovel for a golf club, and a tennis ball for their ball.)
– “I had Lucky Charms for breakfast.”
(Growing up, we would always get the variety pack of single serve cereals to take on vacation with us as a special treat. It was always a battle to see who would get to eat the Fruit Loops. I decided to continue the tradition by letting Madi pick out a cereal…hence, the Lucky Charms. I thought about the variety pack, but who was going to eat the Corn Flakes?)
– “We jumped from bed to bed in our room.”
(Ah yes, the ever popular jumping between the two beds in Madi and Parker’s room. We brought a blow-up bed and squeezed it into one of the bedrooms. This left just a small gap between the beds, which Madi, Josiah, and Parker quickly discovered was perfect for jumping in-between or stepping in-between in Parker’s case. Amazingly, no one got hurt, and it was total entertainment when we were not at the beach. I couldn’t watch though…made me too nervous…)
– “Gramma bought me a tutu in town.”
(Last year, Madi picked out a purple tutu at the local toy store, Oh My Darlings, which has an upstairs room chock full of girly stuff. Madi wore the tutu to ballet class all the time last year, so for this year, Madi decided to pick out a pink tutu with flowers inside the netting…very fancy. When we got back to the house, I told her she should put it on and do a “show”, but she resisted vehemently, saying she could only wear it with her leotard…what a goofball. Parker and I both got shoes at Hales, the local shoe store. I usually find a pair of shoes there…this year it was dark purple Privo slip-ons. Parker got his first pair of crocs – at first, it was to distract him from shoving all the orange display shoes into the bottom of our stroller, but when he tried the crocs on, he was sold.)
– “Josiah. Gramma, and I made a blueberry pie.”
(This has become a tradition too. We have gone blueberry picking for a few years now while we are there, and last year, the kids helped Gramma make a blueberry pie. This year, Madi started talking about the pie baking weeks in advance, and was more than ready when the time came, especially when it was time to add the “secret ingredient”…tapioca! Thankfully, for Madi’s sake, Parker “discovered” that Malachi was fun to play with (he is 7 months younger), so Madi and Josiah were able to make the pie with Gramma by themselves.)
It’s loud…and busy…and involves lots of sand filled bathing suits…but watching the kids making memories like these…totally worth it!
— Post From My iPhone
