Mom & Rick, Pam and Kevin and the babies came too, which was so much fun! Those little girls are adorable. It's pretty all-consuming to have them around, so it's a good thing they are the cutest, smartest nieces in the world and I love them so much. :)
We spent the time hopping from one wedding event to another, finding time to do fun things like fish on the lakes we stayed, watch movies in the Griffin's theater room, eat an amazing lunch at Pronto's (one of the sites in a new movie with Sigorney Weaver!), and visit the Henry Ford Museum.
My favorite things:
- The unbelievable "Candy Mom Band" at the Henry Ford Museum- playing such songs as the ABC song and Happy Birthday with a hardcore twist. Wow.
- Playing many very tense rounds of Nertz with Pam, Kevin, Jeff, Scott and Connie.
- Charlotte's walk off the dock and into the lake - poor little thing kept saying "I slipped! In the water!"
- Our boating adventures - our lake tour, the breakdown of the pontoon boat and subsequent time trying to keep the kiddos from being bored out of their minds while we waited for the tow, and the motor boat ride in the rain - see video below.
- Seeing Liz, a lot! (and eating the Roasted Garlic)
- And, of course, watching Julie getting married!! Yay Julie!
Here's a bunch of fun pictures from the trip:
Jeff & Liz fishing, Mike & Taylor, Mom & Taylor
Josh with Taylor and Julie & Quinn, Pam and Liz with their "dream cars" (ok, the dreams of the ones they actually had at the museum :)
Kevin and Jeff with their "dream" cars, Jeff and I at the wedding
Bob playing the guitar he made (took him two years!), The Shirocks with Pam and I, and a family photo
Liz and I at Pronto's (yummy garlic!), Josh and his "Wall of Courage" fundraiser for Beaumont's Cancer Center, Scott, Kevin, Charlotte, Connie and Jeff on the pontoon boat.
View from the Griffin's cottage, Charlotte and I swinging, Taylor in her life jacket on the boat.
The Lake
All of us on the motorboat in the rain!
I'm going to become pretty emotional now, so if you find it sappy, just skip it.
Do you ever notice when you see an old dear friend that, along with the absolute joy of catching up, there is a sad regret lingering in the background? I found myself wishing that I could have experienced life more deeply with the people that I love and miss. It's sad to come back and not be a part of recent memories.
So, here's my Michigan tributes:
To the Griffins:
Scott, Connie, Mike, Julie and Josh.... I can't even begin to express how profoundly you all have affected me over the years. Scott and Connie have been my second parents for as long as I can remember, and their generosity in opening up their homes and hearts has completely changed who I am - for the better. Even though I live far away, I really do think of them all daily. They are a part of my family and I cherish them all. It was SO good to be with them this weekend, SO good. I miss them all dearly, and wish that somehow our situations in life would have allowed us to remain close, like it used to be (stopping in to use the bathroom or grab something to drink and say hi - any time of day or night). Thanks for everything you have done for me, I can't express the depth of my love for you all!
The Shirocks:
Bob and Shirley swept mom, Pam and I up in their wings after dad left, encouraging and mentoring us in every way. I'll never forget or take for granted the time that Bob took out of his immensely busy schedule as a pastor of a new church to meet with me and mentor me spiritually, answering all the tough questions during that rocky time. They also opened their home to us at any time. Shirley basically forced me to grow through giving of myself to others, making me a small group leader to a group of 8th grade girls. The tremendous personal growth that comes through ministry and giving is a lesson she taught me, and one I try to continue to pursue. I am so thankful that Bob was able to be the one to join Jeff and I together before the Lord.
Liz:
Still a huge part of my life right now, one of my dearest friends. I've known her forever, almost 20 years, and she's as solid and loyal a person as I've ever known. I completely trust her and know that no matter what she's always there for me, and looking out for my best interest. I'm thankful that we can maintain such a good friendship even over the long distance. I love her!!
OK, just wanted to get that off my chest. Yay for knowing that no matter what I get to be with all these people in heaven - for eternity!
Needless to say, it was an amazing trip for me.
2 comments:
Hi Elaine! This is such a beautiful post. I don't even know those folks (except for Liz) but it brought tears to my eyes. Very touching!
I'm glad you and Jeff had such an amazing time! I miss you so much. Can we hang out sometime? School is out and I am relieved and ready to party! :)
Yay for the "Mom candy Band"! Somehow, with mere minutes of exposure to their music, they managed to lodge themselves into my brain. They will forever be the highlight of the chocolate exhibit... though I'm still wondering what the heck they had to do with Chocolate in the first place?! Maybe they were brought in to reduce the lines at the chocolate bar. I was certainly ready to escape as soon as possible. :)
We had an amazing time too. I feel exactly the same way about going back. I get a bit emotional when I think about how much we were a part of life an memories before and how little we are now. I'm glad we are all still family though. I was so good to be "home" for a while.
I do have to say though, a trip is not a "vacation" with babies. It was really fun introducing them to everyone one, but it's a lot of work to keep them occupied in unfamiliar places. My hope is that we will strike it rich before the new baby comes and we can take a vacation - as in just me and Fraley. Maybe we'd fly the babies down to you and mom for a week. :)
I love you.
~Pammy
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