Memories Made in Michigan

I'm feeling very relaxed as I soak in my last week of summer vacation! We were able to spend a few weeks with Stephen's family out in Michigan. We had a great time with the WHOLE family, now that his little brother James is back from his mission. We played hard and were able to travel around the great state of Michigan. I really got to see everything. I'll try not to make this too long, but we packed everyday with something fun!

We spent a day up in beautiful Riffle River. (a favorite family place their grandparents always took them camping) We played on swinging bridges, climbed amazing trees and waded in the river.

We also drove down to the big city and did a session in the Detroit Temple. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive each way and truly gave me a taste of not living 5 minutes from the temple. And yet they feel they are so close and are grateful they don't have to make the 8 hour trip to Chicago or Toronto. I love the temple and it was neat to do a session with the Holden's.


The next day, Stephen's uncle and cousin's came up from Ohio and we all drove up north to Mackinaw City which is right by the U.P. (aka...Upper Peninsula). Where we spent some time and then took a ferry over to Mackinac Island. It was beautiful with all the sailboats and lighthouses on Lake Huron. Mackinac Island has banned motorized vehicles for more than a century and remains a living Victorian community. So we rented some tandem bikes and rode around the island. It's also famous for being the place where the old classic movie "Somewhere in Time" was filmed. And of course we had to get some of their famous fudge!

Then off onto another road trip where we drove down to the Au Sable River. We rented canoes and kayaks and went 10 miles down the river. It was so green, I realized how much of a desert Utah really is. We had a great time catching frogs and saw lots of mink and turtles in their natural habitat. A first for me!

Stephen's brother Jeremy is starting the Police Academy next month and just got his gun. We decided to go shooting and brake it in. They also had a small 22 rifle for those who were too chicken to use the 40 caliber hand gun.(Like me!)

We also went paint balling to some field in the middle of all these Amish Farms. It was really a random place, but we had a fun time. It brought out the kid in all of us, but I had forgotten how much those little balls hurt when you get hit. Both Stephen and I were sore and had many bruises all over our body, one of which on my
leg was blacker than black and bigger than my hand. It was crazy and a good thing that was towards the end of the vacation.

It's always hard to leave and to live so far away. We had such a great time laughing and hanging out with each other.