Saugatuk Trip

Around Christmas, I came across an opportunity to rent a friend's house in Saugatuk, Michigan that happened to be less than 2 hours away from where my dad lives. We ended up planning a vacation with my brother's family and my Dad and Deb in Saugatuk for a long weekend. 

We set off on our two day drive prepared with mounted ipads, presents, food and most importantly, the new LEGO catalog. 

The kids were so excited to check out our cabin. They wasted no time before taking a dip in the hot tub. 

Our first adventure was to Oval Beach. It was a great swim beach on Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, Lake Michigan was REALLY cold (48 degrees) so the kids played in the sand and dipped their feet in the water. 

The cabin we rented was a very short walk away from a shared boat dock on a small lake. The water here was much warmer and everyone had fun jumping in and lounging on tubes. J.D. was even smart enough to bring fishing poles.

 

We used the back yard fire pit most nights for s'mores!

We shared breakfast and dinner duties everyday so ate well all weekend. Everyone loved J.D.'s strawberry cheesecake french toast.

My step sister, Kristi and her daughter, Korynn drove out for a day. We spent the rainy day at Saugatuk Brewing Company. 

Hiking at the Saugatuk Sand Dunes State Park 

As if hiking, fire pits, and lake swimming wasn't enough there was also a community pool to swim at.

Kellen had so.much.fun playing with Deaglan and Adalynn all weekend. On Monday he finally crashed. The poor kid passed out watching a movie and after we woke him up to eat dinner he kept calling it breakfast and when it was time for bed claimed "this was the shortest day ever." 

We got everyone hooked on Ticket to Ride. 

Grandpa Dave with Jae and Kellen. 

We had such a great time. The cabin and location was perfect for the kids. There was so much to do, we definitely could have stayed longer and explored more. The kids had fun playing together and Kellen and Jae liked spending time with their Grandpa Dave and Nana Deb.  

Steve and I have been taking about spending time in Chicago for awhile, preferably without kids but we decided to take advantage of being so close to the city and extended our family vacation a few more nights. 

Our first afternoon, we walked to Navy Pier to ride the Farris Wheel.

Our hotel happened to be right next to RPM Italian. We could not resist eating there even though it was completely inappropriate for kids. Kellen did a great job eating some really good truffled garlic break and spaghetti. He was rewarded with donuts dipped in whipped Nutella and mascarpone. Jae was not interested in eating at all, such a disappointment. Steve and I really enjoyed our dinners, glad we ended up there.

Our one full day in Chicago was spent at the Museum of Science and Industry. The museum was gigantic, we needed more than one day to check it out but we covered as much ground as we could. Kellen and Jae both enjoyed it.  

The real reason we wanted to go to Chicago? Frontera Grill! We had a great dinner there, Kellen enjoyed his quesadilla and Mexican Chocolate ice cream for dessert. Jae was still in a funk and did not eat her amazing chicken enchiladas. I enjoyed a fish with green mole.  

Our road drip ended up being a great vacation. The cabin and Saugatuk with family was so fun. We are lucky to have been able to rent it. Spending time in Chicago was long over due and we all enjoyed the city.