It is the perfect day for a trip to the west side of the state!

THIS...is our happy place!  Grand Haven, MI.  It was hot but there was a wonderful breeze that was blowing and made it bearable.

Alisa had a bucket list for the time we had...first stop...The Toasted Pickle for lunch.

High Nooner sandwich and fresh squeezed lemonades.

Next stop...Barefoot Dave's to replace holey, worn out t-shirts.  "Watch out for the speed bumps, Mom!"  Ha...the dogs!

A drive through town before checking into the hotel.  We stayed at the Baymont in Norton Shores.

We got checked in and freshened up and headed over to the Springlake wedding venue...

in the Sharp's backyard for Paige and Alec's wedding at 5:00pm.

It was hot in the sun, but the wind was blowing pretty good and kept us cool enough.

The damage from the storm back in May was only noticed on their roof.  They had to do major clean up from the part of the tree that came down on their house and deck.  

It really was a nice set up for the event.  It was exactly what they wanted...a relaxed afternoon/evening with friends and family to celebrate.

The father of the groom...also self-proclaimed "clown of the goat rodeo" which made Alisa laugh till she cried as he gave us instruction for us to contact him when we arrived for help with parking.

It turned out not to be a problem and we were disappointed in his lack of clown accessories.  Cue...more laughter!

Congratulations to Paige and Alec!

 

A favorite spot for us...Grand Haven, MI!

 

Birthday weekend trip

When Alisa said she was coming to Michigan for her vacation, Ted told me to plan some girl time over in Grand Haven and he would watch the dogs.  Wow!  I was so excited...and Alisa squealed in my ear over the phone.

We added time into our bucket list to go to church at Lakeshore with Grandma Jello and then do lunch.  We sat at Applebees for almost 3 hours chatting and laughing and reminiscing.  Oh, how all of our hearts needed this time together!  All three of us girls missing our dear friend...Cheryl Mae.

Alisa and I got back to the hotel and crashed.  We napped and then spent a couple hours in the hot tub and pool.  We talked of going down to the boardwalk, but we ended up just staying in and ordering a pizza.  It was sooooo good!  

 

Teacher's retreat on Lake Huron 2021

Yummy food!  Comfy stay!  Encouraging words! Laughing coworkers!  Helpful conversations!  Rousing games! 

A winning team!  We won a gift card to Target!

Beautiful scenes!

We had to visit the "scary store" again.  It was open!  And this time we brought more friends...and then felt bad that we didn't buy anything...so one of our party bought an over-priced coffee cup.  We are pretty sure we saw most of the same exact merchandise as last year..plus more dust and dried bugs.  

Brad and Mari joined us for Thursday night supper, session, dessert, and games.  The food was fantastic!  But it always is when you don't have to prepare it.

"Um...we would suggest not standing there!"  and then we all laughed.  Too much power exerted sent pieces flying off the end!