Traverse City - Summer 2015

For those of you who don't follow me on social Media... MOM... here are some of the photos from our recent summer vacation to the beautiful Traverse City, Michigan! How lucky are we that Matt's hometown is a top vacation spot in the U.S. and it's easy to see why when you see how much fun we had!

Here is our car packed up and ready to go... I was literally only home for 12 hours after my Europe trip before we hit the road on vacation! and I got A LOT done in those 12 hours... Sleep, laundry, packing, and cleaning out the fridge.

the kids didn't get much sleep in the car but they did great...

and after 15 hours we were there!

 

 

We did a ton of eating on this trip... like always. Here is a full post about some of my favorite TC Restaurants.

 

Here is Hunter at our favorite Breakfast Burrito location, Cuppa Joe!  

 

Kids loved looking at the water and finding minnows

 

You see that backpack on Hunter... it is full of toys to help make sure that we make it through dinner out at a restaurant without a meltdown!

 

Photo outside of City Hall after Dinner

 

We are always sure to stop by the Great Lakes Children's Museum!

 

Both boys loved this little bridge right off of the Main Street.

 

Emma and Uncle Mitch at lunch on day...

 

Hunter went bowling for the first time... and didn't do too shabby

 We went to Sutton's Bay and wineries on Old Mission... Full post and photos HERE

Had a blast out at the North Bar Lakes and Dunes!

 

Gibson fell asleep on the raft!

 

Grilling and smores at Matt's Dad's

 

Boys did some great bonding

 

We went down to the Cherry Festival but the kids had a MELTDOWN so we didn't stay long

 

Our last full day was the 4th of July and the airshow so we went to Matt's Aunt and Uncle's... they have an AMAZING view of the bay and a pool. It doesn't get any better!

Now back to reality and HOME!

Summer Plans!

To say that we have a lot going on this summer is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!!

Emma's will get out of school the week of 17 June and we will start the summer of with a long weekend to Savannah, GA (My hometown)!

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I cannot wait to go down there to see family & friends and to celebrate my brother who will be retiring from the Navy! The trip will of course include a trip down to Tybee Island so that Hunter can have his first beach experience!

I have a 2 day/1 night work trip at the end of June and a 2 night/3 Day trip the first week of July.

Cannot wait for July 4th so that we can watch the fireworks over Washington, D.C.! We actually have access to one of the very best locations and I will share more about that in a later July post...

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In July Emma will head down to camp for two weeks!!! She is so excited to be heading back to Camp Winshape in GA.

This is the same camp that I went to growing up and we plan to continue the tradition with all of our kiddos! I'm also excited that (thanks to furlough) I will be able to both drive Emma down AND pick her up! (Typically I have only been able to take off from work to do one or the other...). The trips down to GA for camp will be sure to include some fun stops along the way... to include a night in Atlanta so that we can visit the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. 

While Emma is at camp I will do an international work trip. It is one that I am SUPER excited about and will share info after!

In August things continue to be crazy busy with a weekend wedding in Indiana for my cousin and a week in beautiful Traverse City, MI!

I mean just look at that water!!! A plus for going in August is that the water might be warm! We cannot wait to see family/friends (it is Matt's hometown), to go tubing, wine tasting, and I would love to add a tradition of cherry picking! It is something that we have not yet done in Traverse City which is CRAZY because it is the cherry capital of the world! Another thing that I've wanted to to for a while is a visit to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Busybusy!

August will also bring a one week work trip to Washington State.

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The family will come along as I will have a little free time and I'm looking forward to taking them out on a boat, fishing, whale watching, going to antique stores, and horseback riding!

In September school will start up and Hunter Man will be turning ONE!!! Where does time go??? 

We truly plan to make the most out of our summer and we have a HUGE list of fun items that we hope to check off! I will, of course, share our adventures as they happen or soon after (in the case of work related items)!

Stop back by this afternoon to check out our Summer Fun List!

Where I want to be: Hotel Yountville

With all of the rain we have had the last few days I cannot help myself from daydreaming about going on vacation to get away from all the wetness!

Where might I want to go... Well Napa, California of course. With beautiful fall weather I would love sitting on a vineyard without a care in the world.

I would stay at the AMAZING Hotel Yountville! The design of this property is exactly what I want my home to look like and the hotel rooms are what I would like to model my master bedroom addition after! After seeing these photos I want to instantly start planning a design board for our future space.

Take a look at these photos featured on their website and you will see why I'm in love with this hotel! Try not to drool on your computer keyboard!!!!

The gray washed wood beams are gorgeous in this lobby and I am in LOVE with all the furniture in this space. I will take one of everything please for my living room!

LOVE the large candle lanterns lining this beautiful pool.

Couples massage! Sign me up!

Walking in the beautiful vineyards! This is where I want to be right now... with a picnic blanket and my Zoom reading the 3rd book in the Hunger Game series!  

Restaurant on the property!

Yummy yummy!

And now for the guest rooms... I love the simplistic elegance!  

I LOVE these pillows! 

  

LOVE the table, chairs, sofa, pillows, artwork, light fixture... YES I LOVE IT ALL!

Here are some additional photos of the beautiful surroundings.