Mom & Dad - Hosts extraordinaire!

Our visit with Mom and Dad was great. We've really missed having them around while they've been gone on their mission, and they were so sweet with all the plans they made for us, driving us around, feeding us, and pampering us however they could.

Dad took the boys down to the pool just about every morning before we'd head out for the day, and they'd stop by the office afterwards for a cookie. Ben was disappointed there weren't any oatmeal cookies, so Mom whipped up a batch for him one morning. She took the boys out a couple times to look for fireflies before bedtime, and they both would take the boys off my hands during our outings here and there to give me a break. Those little breaks were wonderful!

Whenever we had any downtime, Mom was always checking in with us, asking what she could do for us. We didn't have anything planned for our last day, but it's not for lack of her trying! We were content to just hang out and relax, but she and Dad would have gladly took us anywhere.

 

Mom and Dad have really enjoyed their mission work and time living in Michigan, and it was a treat for all of us to see where they've been living and for them to be able to share with us some of Michigan's gems.

Thanks again Mom and Dad for the wonderful visit! We loved our time with you and appreciate all the fun things you shared with us. We're looking forward to having you home in a few months!

MI - Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad

Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad wasn't in our original plans, but I'm glad it was a last minute addition. We spent a full afternoon there and probably could have benefited from a few extra hours to explore the village a little more.

Crossroads Village has over 30 structures that have been preserved from the 1800s. Dozens of them were relocated and restored. The boys and I got started with a visit to the Durant Barn, built by Billy Durant, one of the founders of General Motors. The barn is now used as the village Toy Barn. The boys were full of questions and enjoyed playing with all the old-fashioned wooden toys. I even attempted to walk on stilts....making it a very short distance. :)

We all took a ride on the Huckleberry Railroad for a 40-minute ride through some woods and along part of the shore of Mott Lake. The ride was lengthy due to our creeping speed of 15-20 mph. The railroad apparently got its name because people could easily hop on and off the train to gather a few berries that were said to grow alongside the tracks.

After our train ride, we visited a couple shops in the Horton-Colwell Building. On the second floor of the building there was an Opera House which, at the time of our visit, was hosting a magic show. We had some time to kill before our ride on the Genesee Belle, so we stopped in to check it out. Our group of 7 plus 2 others made up the audience. I think Mr. Magician Man thought we'd be a dull crowd, but I think we pleasantly surprised him....at least I know Zach did! He was the lucky assistant and had us all laughing. I had no idea he was such the little performer. I didn't catch the first few minutes of him onstage, but he was dancing around with moves I've never seen!

Following the show and a break for snacks at the car, we made our way to the Genesee Belle which is an old paddlewheel riverboat. We enjoyed a very relaxing ride around Mott Lake which was followed by the scariest carousel ride I've ever been on. A carousel is built in 1912, and you'd think it would spin at a respectively slower speed, but apparently when it was restored there was some sort of crazy motor installed. I don't recall being on a carousel without some sort of belt or restraint of some kind...this carousel had none. I thought Zach was being lame sitting on a bench rather than picking a horse to ride, but he had the right idea! I was leaning over from my horse holding onto Ben out of fear he'd fly off his horse, and the ride attendant still had to jump on mid-ride to help him scoot up and get a better position on his horse. I'm glad Ben didn't realize what a death trap he was riding on.

 

The village was closing, so after a quick stop to visit the farm animals, Stanley Schoolhouse, a few other structures and a hay maze, we made our way to the exit and headed out.

MI - Frankenmuth

It took me a day or two to remember how to pronounce the name Frankenmuth, I finally got it after I trained myself to pair Frankenstein and tooth. It's definitely a unique place, and we probably would have had more time to explore it had it not been for the Christmas monstrosity store known as Bronner's Christmas Wonderland!

The sad face in the  middle just wants his mom....

....see a few seconds later and he's happy as a clam. Cute little stinker.

I don't think anyone can fully prepare someone for what to expect upon entering this store! Saying that it's a Christmas explosion doesn't quite cover it...you'd need to multiply it a couple of times. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were warnings in place to advise those susceptible to seizures to enter at their own risk. No joke.

There's so much going on in Bronner's that your eyes literally cannot keep up or process everything you're seeing. We spent hours in this store, and didn't even see everything. You could probably spend days there before you took everything in. The store is the largest of its kind and is the size of 1-1/2 football fields and could probably easily be expanded by another 1/2 and still be slapped full of everything Christmas.

Trees, ornaments, indoor/outdoor decorations, ornaments, stockings, ornaments, Santa costumes, ornaments, lights, ornaments, figurines, and more ornaments. The list of stuff is exhausting. You want Christmas TP? Yup, they got it.

 

Once the shock to the system dulled somewhat, it was a lot of fun to wander around the store and look at everything. All I can say is "wow."

 

 

MI - Dow Garden Goodies

I loved all the beautiful colors in Dow Gardens. I think my brother Eric was on my mind the entire time I was there. I knew how much he would appreciate it. I don't have an ounce of the botanical knowledge that he does. He can probably go through and name each of the species in the following photos.

MI - Dow Gardens

Mom and Dad had lots of enjoyable outings planned for our visit. We enjoyed beautiful weather for our visit to the Dow Gardens in Midland. The botanical gardens cover 110 acres and include a Children's Garden, Color Garden, Pineside, Stream Walk, and Estate Garden.

 

 

 

Although nothing has matched it yet, Dow Gardens did remind me a little of The Butchart Gardens in Canada. I loved that each specie of tree and flower was labeled. I'll need a separate post for all those beautiful goodies!

We may have made a mistake by giving the boys a map of the gardens early on. After a short while they were directing us to the Children's Garden, and Zach was insisting that we were lost and was asking people which way they should go.

I don't think we saw all of the gardens, but spending extra time in the Children's Garden wasn't a bad trade off. It was such a fun place to hang out! There were vegetable gardens to where you could pick and sample the ripe veggies, big bubble tables and wands, an unpredictable "splash pad," huge sunflowers, and rows upon rows of the cutest scare crows standing guard over children's' garden boxes. So much fun!

 

 

 

 

We ended our visit with a quick walk through the Rose Garden before making our way out of the gardens. It was such an enjoyable outing!

 

They smelled so delicious, he just had to have a taste!

It wasn't enough that we found the Children's Garden, after he'd had enough, he was fixated on finding his way back to the parking lot.