About a month ago we took a quick trip up to Michigan with two other families.  OK, so at this point it has been significantly longer than a month, but it makes me feel a little better to say  it that way.  I don’t feel so far behind on posting!

One of our friends has a friend that owns a house in central Michigan.  So, three families loaded into the house on Thursday afternoon, praying that we did not do more damage than could be easily fixed!  We spread different people in different rooms on different floors and actually fit 23 people into the house without too much difficulty.  Several of the girls stayed in the front room together.

First thing Friday morning we woke up to one of our “camping” rituals … pumpkin pancakes with cream cheese frosting.  There was a lot of anticipation as Kelly mixed up the batter and started cooking up the tasty treats for the crew.

The finished product did not last for long!!

If you are going to Michigan, you really need to spend some time visiting the lighthouses, so we loaded everyone up and took the 90 minute drive out to the west coast to visit one of our favorites.  It requires a little bit of a hike…

… so you need to load up on snacks …

… and take a bathroom break.

The problem is, the smell in the bathroom was somewhat overwhelming and SOME of us had to make a decision on how badly they had to go!

Riley ended up regretting that decision!

We were then off to the lighthouse!  While the path was flat, it was VERY windy and there was a lot of sand that had blown onto the path.  That made some parts a little hard to pass with Leah’s wheelchair.

We made it out to the lighthouse and then went out to view Lake Michigan!

The wind only increased coming off the lake.

This one is just because Leah is so pretty…

Kelly took some time to pose with some of her girls!

Nick was sporting his cool sunglasses!

With everyone else getting pictures taken, I decided to have one with Kelly!  I always look good with a beautiful woman by my side!!

Nick and Riley started walking back to the lighthouse together.  It has been so nice to see the bond that has been built between the three newest girls and their brothers.  They all seem to enjoy each others company.

Coming back from the edge of the lake, I took the opportunity to grab a few individual shots.  First was Luke:

Then Mia:

Then Ali!

I guess someone should have told our friends that there was no cell phone service out here!

Some of us hiked up the several hundred steps to the top of the lighthouse.  Here Caleb and his buddy Jeron take a break for a little mid-climb photo.

I realize I keep talking about the wind, but if you thought it was windy on the ground, try being a few hundred feet up in the air!

Luke and Caleb enjoyed the view and the height!

One of our friends had his sunglasses blown right off of his head, so Kelly, who stayed on the ground, had to run after them and fetch them!

Ali and her friend Ellie posed for a picture from the top.

Nicholas and Ethan tried to remain cool because they are teenagers you know.

Our friend Dennis took a few seconds on our way down from the lighthouse to get a shot with some of his kids.

Down at the base of the lighthouse there was the stump of a huge old tree, some 127 years old, which some of the boys wanted to climb up on.  Caleb was determined to get up on that stump without help from anyone else.

He worked on it and worked on it, repeatedly falling down, but every time someone tried to give him a hand, he would push it away, choosing to accomplish the climb on his own effort.  When he finally made it to the top, he took a little break as his friend celebrated his efforts!

We thought it would be a good place to take a picture of ALL the kids that were with us that day!

On the walk back to the parking lot, there was an area where there was a shipwreck.  Some of use trekked up over the dune to see what was actually there.

There really wasn’t much to see, so I took a quick picture of one of Ali’s friends and we headed back to the path…

… with the girls taking a break for a group shot.

So after you have been to a lighthouse, what is the next thing you have to visit when on the west coast of Michigan?  That is correct!  The Sand Dunes!

I get it.  If you have never been to Michigan you do not understand A) why exactly there are sand dunes in Michigan, and B) what the big deal is about them anyway.  Neither of our friends had ever been to the dunes and one of them had lived in Michigan for several years.  I can’t answer the two questions above except to say that it is awesome and if you ever get a chance to go, you need to take advantage of it!

It was getting  a little late in the evening by the time we got there, but it was more than worth it to be able to watch the sun set from up there.

When you are out there, you feel like you have been transported to another world!

Our dog, Hershey, enjoys it almost as much as the humans do!

Football on the dunes adds extra level of excitement!

Nick and Caleb try out their best GQ poses.

As the sun slipped down over the horizon, we took a minute for a family picture.

While Leah has become very proficient with her crutches, and her strength has grown immensely, the sand became a little challenging and I did have to carry her out and down the stairs. She was none too happy with the setup!

On Saturday we walked around the neighborhood where we were staying, looking for a castle that was on the property.  Everyone grabbed their walking buddy and we headed out.

As is typical, Caleb chose to walk with our friend, Bob.  Caleb LOVES Bob, even though Bob is a Cleveland Browns fan …

This is just before our friend, Dennis, whipped Leah around the corner and tipped her wheelchair over!  No one was hurt, but Dennis was banned from touching the wheelchair ever again!

So … this was the castle.  While it sorta looks like a castle, it was really only a place you could rent for parties and weddings and such.

Jessie and some of the boys decided to climb a few trees while we were there.

This was also Ali’s 15th birthday!  So in the evening we celebrated and Ali opened presents that everyone brought her.

We then enjoyed brownies and ice cream!

Sunday we woke up to pouring rain, which meant that we had to load our cars while getting wet!  On our way home, we stopped in Grand Rapids to visit some people that we know that also adopted a girl from the orphanage that Ali, Riley & Jessie were from.  We had stopped in to see them several years ago before Riley and Jessie had come to America, so it was nice to get to visit with them again.

Another family came by the house who also had a daughter from the same orphanage, and we all spent a little time together.

One of the families had a very old picture of Ali, one that we had not seen before, and they gave that to us.

They also had another party for Ali, complete with cake this time instead of the brownies that we had the night before!

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Ali …

And then Ali blew out the candles.

Then]y even gave Ali a new, very soft blanket to keep her warm on the ride home!

All the girls posed for a final picture before we left.

How nice for Ali to spend her birthday with part of her past and part of her future, being loved by those who knew who before she had a forever family.

We finally made it back home.  It was a short weekend, but one that was packed with lots of fun with friends and family.

Cameron