Vacation, part two

So.......Tues through Sunday.  What did we do?  Enjoyed beautiful blue skies like the one above every day!!  Blair golfed Tues, Wed, and Thurs (aren't I just the nicest wife?), so Spencer and I spent time going on walks, going to the beach, and playing with balls. 

On Wednesday night, Mom and Ralph watched SYT so that B and I could go to dinner.  We went to the Veranda at The Perry Hotel to have a "proper cocktail" prior to going to dinner.  We thought we would end up at Chandlers or Little Traverse Bay Golf Club, but the weather was perfect on the Veranda, the drinks were stiff (Arnold Palmer martinis!!), and the view was so beautiful, we decided we couldn't leave.

Pretty flowers in the garden

One of the views from our table

The other view from our table

 

We stayed to watch the sunset over a bottle of bubbly.  Great decision on our part!!

Thursday evening we were able to head down to the beach to get a few pics of SYT in his sweet Kissy Kissy outfit that B's aunt bought him last summer when he was just a wee little lad.  He had a horribly runny nose (getting teeth) and it was, perhaps, just a little too close to bedtime, but, for the most part, he was cooperative :)

Friday morning, one of the besties and I forced allowed our husbands to watch our lovely angels, and we went into town to shop for awhile.  I got a few new books for Spence at the bookstore, almost bought a pair of Lilly shorts (am hoping they'll be on sale in a few weeks at sidewalk sales), and mostly enjoyed hanging out with NCS.  Friday night we had dinner with my family and B's aunt out at her house.  It was lovely.  Pesto (for our third time that week- no worries, we never tire of it!) with shrimp and chicken, salad, a gorgeous berry crumble, and great wine all served on the deck.

(please excuse the obviously puffy hair/no makeup/I had to really hurry home from the beach look!)

Saturday B and I did a little antique shopping after his 10 mile run, spent time organizing all our stuff so that we could pack, played more ball with SYT, made dinner for mom and Ralph, and then joined friends at one of our favorite watering holes to toast to an amazing week together. 

All in all it was a WONDERFUL week filled with sunshine (have I mentioned that yet??), babies, friends, fun, family, and lots and lots of love.  I couldn't be happier than I am in my little tiny version of heaven.  Amazing, extravagent, worldly vacations have nothing on being "up north".  Blessed, I tell you!! 

Harbor Springs on Dwellable

How many things can I check off my list??

Ahhhh........it's vacation time.  Let's all just take in one long, deep breath of the great northern air, shall we?  We arrived last night and after a dinner at my mom's, put SYT down for "nigh-nigh", and went on a long walk with just my darling hubby.  We had a nice long drive through a few new neighborhoods last night too, but more about that later.......

So, now that we're here, what are our plans?
*Playing tennis (this will be comical as B and I haven't played in years)
*Driving range for both of us
*At least 3 rounds of golf for B
*The full gammet of 4th of July activities, including the Paul Revere Run (a 3 miler- SYT's first!), the Harbor Springs Art Show, the parade, a party on the bluff, and fireworks
*Eating an ice cream cone
*Biking from Gram's into Harbor for said ice cream (we brought the burley with us)
*Pictures of SYT on the beach in the late afternoon/early evening
*Going out on my aunt and uncle's new boat
*Getting sandwiches from Gurney's
*Morning walks with the stroller brigade
*Afternoons on the beach
*Going out for breakfast (B and I have only been out for breakfast once in the last year - Easter brunch!)
*Proper cocktails
*A Vesper concert
*Socializing, socializing, socializing!

We're here, we're happy, we've got time to refresh and rejuvinate.  I'm hoping that your long weekend leads you into some happiness and rejuvination as well!!  I'm promising a picture overload when we return :) 

4th of July Fun

The 4th was desperately hot up north, but still worth the trip.  A few of my favorite pics are below!

Love the Americana feel to this one!

At the Harbor Springs Art Show

Trying to find a picture for above our mantel.  My favorite cost over $1000, so it's on the wish list for now!

I adore hostas!

The parade begins

The bagpipers.  They must have been DYING of heat!

The kids love all the bands in the parade (almost as much as the candy!)

Old timey cars (there are always tons of them)

Our friends kids and BYT holding SYT and trying to keep him shaded by the burp cloth.

Mommy and SYT in the shade.

Fall Colors!

We had a great weekend up north.  We hiked the ski hills with my mom, Ralph, their new dog and Junebug, took lots of long walks, raked Gram's huge yard (raking is my favorite outdoor "chore"), ate great meals, and enjoyed time with the fam.  Today was a LONG car ride home (over 7 hours- normally 6), but worth it for such a great weekend.  B is out tonight at the Wilco concert with some of his friends- he's going to be a tired boy in the morning :) 

Here are some pics we took while we were up there- enjoy!!

I have zero photoshop skillz, so these are (obviously) untouched, but still give you a sense of how gorgeous it was!  I hope you all had a great fall weekend as well!!

Working for the weekend!

Tunnel of Trees in Harbor Springs

Today is day three of three at the hospital, and I'm so glad that in 10 hours I'll be done for the week! Tomorrow after B gets home from work, we're hopping in the car for our annual fall weekend up north. The leaves are at their peak right now, and it's not supposed to rain at all, so it should be beautiful up there! Bestie, S, is riding along with us to see her parents for the weekend as well. Even though we won't arrive until after midnight tomorrow, it's so worth it to wake up Friday morning knowing we have the whole day.

Some of our weekend plans include:
*Meeting mom and Ralph's new dog, Orion (they got him from the shelter last week after walking dogs at the shelter for 2 months. They totally fell in love with him!)
*Hiking the ski hills at Nubs Nob with the dogs- great exercise for us and the dogs (hopefully some good photo ops too)!
*Eating Boston Cream Pie for dessert on Friday night while celebrating my birthday. (Doesn't this look delish? I can't wait to try it!)
*Golf (for B and my brother at  Crooked Tree.  Simply fabulous fall colors on this course.)
*Either shopping downtown or heading into Bay Harbor for the Harvest Festival
*Lunch at at least one of my favorite restaurants (Gurney's, Flatiron Deli, or Roast and Toast)
*Running with S on Sat morning to burn off the cake from the night before
*Champagne toast to celebrate B's marathon victory (hey, he placed 18,000 and something out of 33,000 runners- that's definitely not last place, so it's a huge victory!)
*Etc,etc,etc........

The high the weekend is only 52 (and that's the day we leave!).  BRRRRRR!  It's going to be chilly!  I'll just have to pack warm clothes, heavy socks, and a cute scarf to keep me warm!  I'm not going to let it bother me on bit though!  We'll just have to exercise a bunch to stay warm and snuggle with the pups when we're indoors! 

Tell me about your weekend plans- pumpkin patch, apple picking, decorating the house for Halloween, baking, shopping for layers or new boots???  Keeping up in blogland will be tough after Thursday afternoon, so lay it out for me now!