Shooting with Jon

The next day we did in fact go shooting together.  We went to this podunk open field in the middle of nowhere... which was a little sketchy to me, but apparently he had gone here before and it was legit.  There were SO MANY mosquitos there and it was hotter than hot.  Dad went earlier and shot with Jon and Megan and then I showed up and Dad and the family went to walk trails around that area.

We are not big gun people at all.  But, I figured that I shouldn't be afraid of them, and should learn how to handle one if the occasion every should arise.  They are a lot heavier than I always think they are and I shot a .40 and .45.  Then I tried Megan's purple revolver.  I hit my target on the first try!  haha.  I was pretty nervous.  The trigger was a lot harder to pull than I anticipated too!  My hands were sore by the end of it!  There is a lot of kick back that definitely changes how you aim, but it was a good experience.  I don't think that I will ever be choosing for this a hobby, but I'm glad I went and I know that Jon had a good time showing someone how to shoot.









After that we went back to Mom and Dad's for pizza and then walked to get ice cream.  There was a truck pull or something at the park which brought out a lot of rednecks and their trucks but we luckily avoided that by walking the trails.  It was pretty buggy there too, but if you kept moving you were OK.  I'm not sure if Megan has walked that far in her entire life, but she did the whole thing.  Little steps I suppose.





That concluded our visiting with Jon and Megan because we had to go home since we had plans the next day.  It was the 4th and that's when they were planning on leaving then, so we decided to get out of there and let them get ready.  They made it back safely which was good to hear and we hope they do well as Jon has to deploy in a little bit.

JVG

Oval Beach

I had mentioned before that when we were in Columbus Greta started making an unhappy noise.  So, when we got back I called and made an appointment with a place in GR that we have had really good experiences with.  We are still new enough to the area that we haven't found a place here but I think we might try a place a few people have recommended next time.  The plan was to drive up after I got done with work and then drop the car off.  The kids were gonna camp in the back yard since Jon and his family were occupying the rooms we normally sleep in and then hit the beach the next day!




The beach day that didn't happen before with Dad and Jon happened finally!  Holly and her family and Dale and Marcella joined too... it was quite the group of people.  We went to Oval Beach and the water was STILL freezing.  The weather was better than last time with Megan, but it still wasn't show casing how awesome Lake Michigan really is.  The kids still went in the water for a little bit, but I didn't!







It was fun hanging out with Holly and talking, but we didn't stay real long because the wind picked up and everybody got chilly.  We went back to Mom and Dad's house for dinner which concluded our beach day.  We had to pick up the car after everybody was fed, and the plan was originally to drive back after that but Mom and Dad asked if we would stay another day.  Jon wanted to go shooting the next day and we had talked about doing it together since I had never shot a gun and I figured it was a good way to hang out with him doing something that he loves.  So... we stayed another day.

JVG

Wild Mulberry

One of the little treasures we discovered in the front yard, and we mostly have found unpleasant things is this wild mulberry tree!  I love being able to go pick fresh berries in the morning and then have them for breakfast :)  Justus stayed with us for a little bit and since he is tall enough to pick the berries the kids couldn't he enjoyed a little feast.






JVG

Girls Day with Amy

One of my favorite times of year is when Amy comes to visit Michigan!  I love going out and visiting with her in WA but I love when she can hang with the family too.  As I mentioned earlier I was already pretty excited when SCOTUS passed their marriage equality but that was just the beginning of the awesome day!











After picking Amy up from the airpot we went out for sushi at our friend's restaurant.  Since I was sans kids I got to try a bunch of different things and they were all YUMMY!!!  I have seen pictures of their various foods online and one I really wanted to try was the ceviche.  It was all the right kinds of salty, fishy, yummy goodness.  Then I tried their new sushi burrito which I HIGHLY recommend.  It's pretty much like a big sushi roll, and they're amazing.  After we stuffed ourselves with yummy sushi we went back to our place and Amy took a nap.  Poor girl, whenever she flies she leaves so late so I totally understood the need for a nap.  So, we took the kids to open swim so that the house would at least be quiet.  We kept them out as long as possible, and by the time we got home Amy was awake so that was good!

After that I made some dinner and than Amy and I got ready to go out on the town!  We always say that we're gonna go out for drinks but whenever we are visiting we are running (lame!) but not this time!  We had actually thought about doing a half together but we decided that it was time to just hang out and not run... and... it was the right decision by far.




We got all fancied up and hopped in the mini van!  haha.  Hardest part was knowing where to go.  Since we came here when I wasn't in that scene I had no idea.  We first stopped at Latitude 49 which is a micro brewery/restaurant here and it was good!  It was packed because there was some sort of game going on but we just got a drink and talked.  She tried this really dark drink that was good but it was really heavy.  I got a nice cider which I had had before and it was just as yummy then as it was tonight!  We had good talks but Amy is a whiskey gal and they didn't serve liquor there so we went on our merry way.

























We ended up at Food Dance downtown which is a DELICIOUS place.  I'm really glad that she was able to go there because I think all visitors should try it out.  She got this fancy whiskey drink and I ordered a sangria.  YUMMO.  By that time light weight me was definitely feeling it so we ordered an appetizer to try and help out.  Somewhere along the way we thought that getting cigars would be a good idea, however, we couldn't find any place that sold them, so we didn't get them. haha.  Amy got wiley and decided that we should do a shot together... college style!  haha.  The server thought we were funny and brought us this yummy mango martini type shot.  It was fancy and delicious!

Once we decided that we were good to drive we drove back home and hung with G for a bit before passing out.  A fun but exhausting day :)

JVG

Date Night!

We had to get home because we were going on a date!  It was kinda crazy because it was my second night in a row dressing up and going out!  Look at me go!  Andrew was conducting this group, the Arcato Chamber,  he organized so we went to the concert.  I found out that a friend of mine from high school is also playing in the group as well.  I was excited to see everybody perform!  And, it was nice because Sarah was back in town and that gave me an opportunity to give her her going away gift.









The concert was amazing.  It was nice to actually see things from this end!  We went out afterwards for dinner which is always nice.  :)  I'm glad that we still are able to go out and enjoy each other's company still :)

JVG

Beach Day in Muskegon

After our girl's night we had to take Amy back to her parents house in Muskegon. We were gonna do the Seaway Half but that definitely didn't happen!  It is always so nice to see her but sad when we have to drop her off.  We did get a chance to enjoy the beach after dropping her off.  The original plan was to go there with my Dad and Jon's family because the last time they were in town the weather was terrible but everybody was feeling poorly so they didn't end up going... it was a shame because it turned out to be a perfect day!  The water was FREEZING though so we didn't go swimming a ton, but the kids had a lot of fun fooling around in the sand.  :)












































The kiddos were getting hungry and I didn't pack any snacks so we thought about leaving and getting some food.  So didn't know any place around so we called Amy and she begged us to meet her for lunch.  She went shopping with her family and they stopped for lunch and she was stressing out... so we met up with them and got to hang with her family for a little bit.  The kids had a little snack and hung out with Amy's niece, Camille.  It was cute, but I definitely understood Amy's predicament.  Again, I will take any chance to hang out with Amy more!









JVG

Father's Day

This year for Father's Day, I think it was a little extra special because Dad had all his kids and Grandkids around to celebrate with him.  Jon and Megan were in town and we we grilled and had a nice time hanging out.  They got a pick up game of whiffle ball going and the littles try to slip in slide down their big hill.  I just made him a french silk pie, per his request, but we were all so full from the other delicious food we didn't even get into it!  :)








Again, I was a loser and didn't do anything for Gaetan... even though he is the world's most fabulous Papa.  I'm hoping that we tell him that often enough so that he knows that he is everything that we could have hoped for :)  We love you Papa!  Happy Father's Day

JVG