Adventures in Parenthood: Michigan!

We spent a week visiting Great Grandpa, Grandpa Bill, Grandma Peggy, and Aunt Lori in Burton, Michigan. Luckily we missed the terrible weather (think -25) and left right before the negatives came back. It was in the 20s and 30s most of the week with lows in the teens...a heat wave for Michigan! It was absolutely beautiful, everything covered in snow like a winter wonderland! Since it was in the 70s and super dry at home we really enjoyed a taste of winter.

Clara had so much fun playing with everyone. She had about a thousand picnics with Grandma Peggy and Aunt Lori, walked on the ceiling with Grandpa, and waved and played peekaboo with Great Grandpa! Aunt Lori's daughter and grand kids came over and Clarita had a ton of fun playing with the little girls Lauren and Reese. She especially liked their necklaces and earrings! We also went to Aunt Lori's grandson Jack's basketball game and Clara made a million new friends and had fun playing with Grandpa and the girls.

Snuggles with Lauren

Playing with Reese

Since it was so cold and snowy outside Clara spent most of her time inside playing and walking around. She loved playing on the two stairs that went to the dining room and went up and down about a million times. Kevin and I even got to go snowboarding/skiing on a covered landfill (since we don't have any snow in California this year) while Clarita stayed home and played with the grandparents!

Grandpa, Kevin, Clara, and I went for an adventure to For-Mar, a nature preserve just down the street from Grandpa's house. We bundled Clarita up and I strapped her on and we walked all through the snow. She was so tired, but stayed awake for quite awhile looking around at the snow and squealing. We walked a few miles saw deer, lots of squirrels, frozen ponds, and bouncy bridges. There was also an exhibit with a bunch of stuffed animals which Clara loved. She got to touch furs from a lot of animals and thought they were soft and snuggly. The little Wiggle had a ton of fun!

Frozen pond!

I had to wear my snowboarding goggles to keep my eyes warm!

Kevin and I went sledding and walked across a frozen lake (a really weird feeling knowing that there was 60 feet of water underneath us) while Clara played with her grandparents. Maybe she'll get to join us sledding when she's a little bigger!

The Shrine circus was in town so we took Clara there. She had been to the circus when she was four months old and really liked all the lights then so we figured that she would love it now. We were right! Clara was mesmerized by all of the lights and sounds. She watched intently the entire time. The circus did not end until 9:45 and Clarita was definitely tired but she hung in there and watched the entire show. She really liked the animals, especially the dogs. I think that she now expects dogs to jump through rings of fire!

Clarita really seemed to enjoy our trip. She was generally happy and enjoyed playing with everyone. I think she had tons of fun with Grandpa walking on the ceiling, flying through the air, and getting lots of splurps (that's what Grandpa calls blowing raspberries). It's really too bad that we live so far away and that she won't get to play with Grandpa all of the time.