Sandy Pines Vacation

This is going to be a long post and full of pictures. I'll let them tell the story of our vacation, for the most part.  My whole family made it out to the lake for the 4th. We ate, played, and swam. We even tried a photo shoot and got a few good pictures of the whole gang and just the grandkids.

Tuesday we visited Grandma and GG while Luke and Paul hung out with Max. We spent the afternoon outside watching the boys play in the yard. The weather was beautiful and a perfect day for hanging in the yard!

 

Wednesday, Adam went golfing with his dad so the rest of us hung out at the lake. One of the favorite parts of the trip was tubing. Gerrit didn't even want to go in the boat this year, so he hung out on shore with Opa. He liked playing with his own boat close to land. The only tubing Gerrit did that day was on land...

Thurday we also hung out at the lake. Luke road the neighbor's new scooter, we played at the water park, Gerrit road his 'new' bike. {We borrowed one so we didn't have to take his along. It was a bit big for him and required him to use handbreaks which he could do on one side. When we got back to MN, he said his bike was too small and he needed a bigger one!} Luke and Emmit were often found on the golfcart, Luke dreaming of driving, and Emmit...just playing!

Friday was the annual day at the country club with my brother's family. The older boys went golfing while the rest of us hung out at the pool. Ella loved being with Emmit, even if Emmit didn't like being with her. Mia is a strong swimmer and showed Gerrit a thing or two about going down the slide. Gerrit enjoyed playing football with Max and Luke. Dinner was at Yesterdog and dessert at Jeff's house where the kids continued to play.

Saturday and Sunday were steamy so we didn't do a whole lot. Grandpa Birr and Geri came for Sunday lunch, the guys went to the driving range and Emmit took a nap thanks to a golf cart ride.

There was a remote control race one night too which Gerrit loved to watch. Luke and Paul tried out the ropes course too this year.

Monday was a bit rainy so we did our annual trip to Meijer. After dinner, while we waited for Anne and Dave to arrive we took the boys to Craig's Cruisers. I think they had the most fun here and wish we had one in MN. Gerrit liked playing co-pilot but Adam wanted to go faster. So the 2nd time, Gerrit watched with me while the 3 boys raced. Can you guess who won? The only driving Gerrit did this week was the jeep.

Tuesday we took Anne and Dave on the dune rides. There was a Craig's Cruisers in Holland and it was 2 for 1 night so of course we had to stop. Luke didn't like it b/c they made him use a little car which didn't go as fast. Even Anne and I took a spin.

Wednesday was hanging out at the lake day. The guys rode and did the drivign range and the rest of us visited the playground, took golf cart rides and traded off in the hammock. Hobo pies were on the menu which were tasty despite the wet wood which caused quite the smoke. At one point, the jeep came around the corner and Emmit was driving! Gerrit thought it was great - I did not.

Thurday, Anne wanted to try the ropes course so on our way to the pool, we stopped. The guys were golfing so we took in the pool one last time.

Friday the gang headed north to my brother's cottage. Gerrit went tubing with Paul, Mia and by himself! I enjoyed taking Paul for a tube ride and pride myself in getting him off the tube too. Paul enjoyed trying the slack line (a balance thing) as well as catching a fish. Mia showed Gerrit how to fish too. It was a great day and wonderful way to end our vacation.