First day of school!

Another summer came and went so fast!  And just like that, Sean is a 9th grader starting high school and Evan is in 7th grade!

Sean had a busy summer with football conditioning, football camps, and drivers training.  He completed segment 1 just in time for the school year to start doing 6 drives with the instructor.  His permit just came in the mail yesterday!  I can't believe he's driving.  He's a freshman at Canton and is playing first string center for freshman football.  He's made a lot of new friends over the summer, which has helped him transition to Canton since a lot of his friends from middle school are going to Plymouth or Salem. He's gone to a Varsity game with some of his teammates. 

He got lucky with all his classes being at Canton and not having to travel between buildings.  He's taking PE and Technology Today as his two elective classes, along with Algebra 1, Physics, English 9, and World History.  School is off to a good start for him!

Evan also had a busy summer with travel baseball going all the way until mid-July and then football starting in early August.  He's playing West Catholic football this fall and knows a few friends on the team.  He's adapted really well to the time commitment and the physicality of playing football.  He's playing the whole time during games on both offense as wide receiver and tight end and on defense as safety.  He's in 7th grade and back with his friends at East.  He's taking PE and Engineering as his elective classes.  We were hoping he'd be in Spanish 1 like Sean was in 7th grade, but he didn't get it on his schedule.  

Scott and I are starting years 21 and 20 of teaching (hurry up, retirement!).  Here's hoping it's a healthy and successful school year for all of us!

Empire, Glen Arbor, and Traverse City Camping!

After taking a year off from camping because of other traveling last summer, we finally got back out there.  We opted to go back to Indigo Bluffs in Empire because we all really enjoyed the campground and there's so much to see/do within 30 minutes of Empire.  We booked Sunday-Thursday on site 138, which was the site next to where we camped last time there and we think 138 is slightly bigger.  I was very happy with our spot.  

We left Sunday morning by 10am and stopped just outside of Cadillac at Buckhorn Saloon for a big lunch and some games of pool.  We stopped in Empire for ice, wood, and some adult beverages before getting to the campsite.  It took us just shy of two hours to set everything up to our liking.  The boys went off on their bikes to check out the field for baseball and the playground.  We did a "snack dinner" and then walked over to the pool where Scott and the boys swam for a while.  Then it was bonfire and s'mores time!

Two years made a big difference!  They both grew a lot!

Monday we slept in and made eggs, hashbrown patties, and bacon for breakfast at the campsite.  We decided to head into Empire to stop at the Visitor's Center for Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes to get a map and directions to Pierce Stocking Drive.  We didn't get to do that 7 mile driving loop back in 2020 because it was closed due to COVID and we didn't do it two years ago when we camped so I wanted to do it this time.  It was fun!  Stops 1-4 were good with a hike on stop 4.  Stop 9 was our favorite with the big famous sand dune spot.  

We got back in the car and drove to Glen Arbor for some shopping and a late lunch at Cherry Republic.  Cherry Republic was huge and we tried what felt like everything - the wine with a tasting, the gift shop with samples, and their food.  To be honest...it's a cute spot and the cherry pit spitting "arena" was different, but I felt like everything was very mid and overpriced.  I think you're paying for the name.  The Cottage Book Shop was a favorite of mine, of course!

We drove back to the campsite and played shuffleboard, rode bikes, had a bonfire and s'mores again, and even tried Jiffy Pop popcorn over the fire (not recommended on their instructions, but it worked!).  

Tuesday we had to be up and out for our tubing reservation on the Platte River.  We did pancakes for breakfast and eggs and we packed a bag lunch to leave in the car for after tubing.  We went to Riverside Canoes again and this time I was tied to Scott's tube and the boys were tied together and it was much better.  It also helped that the water level was lower and so we went slower down the river and it was never over our heads with the depth of water.  Only bummer was Sean lost a croc when he flipped off his tube...his shoe got eaten by the muck.  We grabbed our lunch from the truck and our beach chairs and towels and enjoyed Lake Michigan for the rest of the afternoon.  

Back at the campground we played Uno, rode bikes, and made hobo pies (pizza pockets) over the fire for dinner with salad and other veggies.  We also made grilled cheese sandwiches in the hobo pie maker.  We even made dessert in the hobo pie maker with bread, butter, apple pie filling, and marshmallows.  Simple and delicious!

Wednesday, our last full day, we slept in and made french toast and bacon for breakfast.  Sean was on the hunt for a Petoskey stone so we decided to spend a few hours at Empire Beach, just 10 minutes from the campground.  Within 10 minutes of being there both him and Scott had found one!  Mission accomplished.  We went back to the campsite to take showers and make hotdogs for lunch.  Then we drove to Traverse City to meet up with the Salings.  We met them at Right Brain for beer and to let the kids play the pinball machines.  Then we got dinner at the Little Fleet, which was fun.  The boys got pizza, I had tacos, and Scott had mac and cheese with brisket.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Moomers for ice cream and it did not disappoint!  

We had our last fire and s'mores.  Thursday morning we woke up and the boys just had cereal as we all packed up.  We stopped for lunch on the way home in Claire and it was...a very sketchy place that I know we regretted picking the minute we walked in.  Lesson learned on that one.  But, we had a good camping trip!  It's always good when you get to visit Northern Michigan and Lake Michigan!