On another day of our trip we went back to Ludington for some more playing and for one of our rare trips out to eat. It was a special treat to eat out, but it usuallys reminds us how much easier it is to eat at home! For lunch we went to a great place in Ludington called Chef John's. We'd highly recommend it for a great sandwich.
At the park there were a bunch of statues in a grassy area, and we thought it would provide a great photo opportunity. It did! Kate had fun strolling around the statues. She looks like such a little girl in this picture and not as much a toddler!
This is one of our favorite pictures of Kate on our trip. She loved climbing up on the rock and jumping off.
Drew wasn't as much of a stop-and-pose-for-the-camera kind of guy, so we settled for action shots of him.
I didn't think Kate could jump this high, but she propelled herself up and raced across on the zip line. Just kidding! Jana is holding her and pushing her across.
The next morning we ventured into the Silver Lake area and visited a lighthouse. Drew was super excited about the lighthouse and was thrilled when we found it open and that we could climb to the top. There was a height requirement to climb up and Kate didn't make it (no carrying kids, either), so Jana decided to stay down with Kate. Drew and I got about a quarter of the way up, he froze, and we ended up inching our way back down. In his defense, I was a little nervous myself. The stairs were a spiral staircase going up over ten stories! After bringing Drew back down, I climbed up the rest of the way myself and enjoyed the view from the top . . . actually, it was foggy and I could barely see the ground. Oh well, climbing it was fun. Would you believe that I've lived in Michigan my whole life and this was the first time as an adult that I've been in a lighthouse?!
While I was up in the lighthouse, our cool dude climbed on the rocks below it. Drew and Kate had great fun clambering all over the rocks and Drew quickly forgot about the failed attempt to reach the lighthouse summit.
Kate hadn't been to the water yet in her new bathing suit and she was very excited about trying it on and showing it off. Little girl bathing suits are much more glamorous that little boy bathing suits, so Jana and I were a bit excited about it ourselves.
Kate enjoyed showing off her swimming suit!
I, of course, had to scoop her up and pose for a picture. Kate woke up from her afternoon nap first, so it was fun to enjoy her and pay attention to her new bathing suit without ignoring Drew.
As you can see, any hesitancy about being in the sand was long gone from Kate!
I found a small shovel outside the cottage and the three kids had a great time building a tremendous fort in the sand. It was fun (for all three of us) to have a tool and to see how big we could make it.
The sand castle got big enough that there just little heads peeking out over the top of it.
Despite heavy rains the night after we made this, the sand castle stood firm and before we left we had fun destroying it (it lasted over three days!).
Taking a break from building, the three of us threw globs of sand into the water. The water was very cold! (~60 F)
Drew continues to be a pretty good thrower. It was fun to watch him chuck the sand (as long as you weren't downwind of it).
Kate was fearless around the water. We had to keep a close eye on her because she'd go zipping in and the next thing you knew she'd stumble and do a face plant into the water. She'd pop right up though and keep on going.
One afternoon Kate decided the front deck needed some sweeping. There's nothing like watching a young child trying to handle a full-size broom. We had fun watching her "clean."
That same afternoon Drew got up and sat on the couch and proceeded to be highly photogenic, a rarity for him. He so infrequently poses for the camera that we snapped shot after shot of him. I'm so happy that we may have captured in a few pictures how cute he regularly is to us!
After a little while of sweeping Kate came over toward me to show off. I love how proud she was of her work and how excited she was to have me watching. This smile almost says, "Are you watching me dad?"
My two ladies ready to hit the beach for a walk. Kate is looking quite a bit like Jana, isn't she?
Our annual footprints in the sand picture. The order from left to right is Kate, Jana, Mark, and Drew. It won't be long, and I think Drew will catch Jana in foot size!
This is were we headed on our walks. Due to rains at night, there were several "streams" that fed into Lake Michigan. The water was only a few inches deep, it was warmer than the lake, and it was perfect for playing. Drew and Kate had lots of fun running around and messing around in the water.
Drew paused for a bit (from throwing sticks) so that I could take his picture. He was surprisingly dry at this piont, which he remedied quickly.
Kate wasted no time going right into the water and getting soaked. It was a little chilly out, but neither child seemed to mind.
Jana and I had fun wandering among the kids as they flew around us running into the water, splashing, and throwing stuff.
On the way back to the cottage, Drew was soaking wet, so we put him in my sweatshirt. He's such a big four-year-old, but the sweatshirt helps give perspective on his size. Jana also did the same for Kate and then scooped her up in her arms. It was a neat moment looking at our little boy and our little girl, safely ensconced in a parent's sweatshirt and totally dwarfed by them. I'm sure someday we'll look back fondly on how small Drew and Kate were at this time.
Just a couple more pictures to go, and in this one you can get a sense of Kate's fearlessness in the water. Keep in mind, the water is cold!! Kate marched right in though and splashed and played in the water like it was eighty degrees.
Drew had no trouble with the water either, especially when he found a stick to play with. It's amazing how much fun a little boy can have with a stick!
On our way home from vacation we swung through Grand Rapids for a visit with GG and Papa (Great-grandma and grandpa Vryhof). They have a pool in their complex and to sweeten the visit we made a trip to the pool. Drew and Kate were so excited about it. We don't often get to a pool in Lansing. Papa gave Kate some swimming lessons and helped her maneuver around the pool. Both kids had a blast in the pool and enjoyed swimming.
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