Adventures in Michigan Part Two

Our adventures continued Wednesday with a trip to Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad. This was an awesome place with tons of old buildings that had been moved from various locations around Michigan and relocated to a little village. It was complete with people dressed in old fashioned clothes performing activities of daily life such as making horse shoes and weaving. They even had a working sawmill and mill where they make flour. I love old houses and thought it was great! We road the train which was a 40 minute trip on an old full size train. Clara loved it and was absolutely silent at first taking it all in! Bailey also loved it and wanted to stand up and see the scenery pass by! There was a carousel (the fastest one in Michigan) and we went on it with the girls. Clara was really excited, but I think she got a little scared when it started going fast. At the end she wanted Dada to hold her. Bailey seemed to enjoy it! By the end of the trip both girls were exhausted and they both fell asleep immediately in the car. Clarita didn't even wake up when I took her inside which never happens! I made dinner with the spoils from the farmer's market and we headed to Reese's softball game. Clara was super excited and stated that she wanted to cheer "yay, go go go!" She did just that and chased Lauren all over throwing grass on her and declaring this to make her "fancy." Bailey was content to eat some prunes and smile and wave (her newest skill).

Of course she wanted to sit with Tia and Bay Leaf

She had to take a picture with every Nutcracker
and there were a million

Good thing Tia didn't live when there wasn't running water

I got it on my second try with my left hand and
a Clarita in my right hand!

This is how you make a tired Clara happy

Learning all about guns

On Thursday we had planned to go to Ann Arbor to visit one of Tia's college roommates, but she came down with the flu the night before so we stayed home. We spent the day relaxing, went to a local smaller farmer's market, and even went to the grocery store to check out the fruit that Dada's company ships there. It was a relaxing day complete with naps for everyone! After dinner we headed to Jack's baseball game. We tried to check out the weekly car show at McDonald's, but due to the threat of rain there were only a few cars.

Shopping cart races...Clara demanded that Bailey ride in one too

Feeding Mama and Dada lolipops is almost as good as eating one

Friday was our last full day in Michigan. We headed to downtown Flint and walked along historic Saginaw Street. There is a section that is still brick and we walked along it as well as along the river trail. We saw a drug deal go down and Clara got hit on my a four-year-old! It was a beautiful day, clear and cool and we enjoyed the weather. Since we don't have Cracker Barrel at home, Tia wanted to eat lunch there. Grandpa Bill didn't think he had ever been to one (turns out he had and had forgotten) so we headed there. Clara fell asleep right before we arrived and did not wake up when we took her out of the car. She slept through lunch, waking up long enough to switch from Dada's lap to my lap. This hasn't happened since she was tiny and showed just how tired she was! We enjoyed a nice lunch and then headed back to Grandpa Bill's. Since she had already taken a nap, Clara spent the afternoon playing with Jack, Lauren, and Reese. She found some of their old toys in the yard sale pile including a doll that she named Baby Suemoto. She insisted on carrying her around in her baby carrier and got an empty bottle from Tia to feed her! We enjoyed a nice Italian dinner outside followed by a bonfire complete with s'mores. Clarita was really excited about the idea of s'mores ("they have chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows? I love s'mores!") but preferred to eat un-roasted marshmallows and graham crackers. She did enjoy roasting marshmallows and made a few. Bailey even got to help roast a marshmallow! It was a great last evening with weather chilly enough that we had to put pants on! A nice reprieve from the 100 plus degree weather at home!

I no like prunes

Baby Suemoto

Sadly, Saturday came and it was time to say our goodbyes. We spent the morning hanging out on the porch and even got some pictures with the Grandpa Bills. We had a great week and were sad to say goodbye. It's hard leaving such an awesome grandpa and great grandpa and knowing it will be awhile until we see them again. We loaded up the tiny car and both girls fell asleep right away and slept the entire ride to the rental car return. They were then wide awake for the trek to the airport (traveling with babies and small children equals tons of stuff). Since Tia lost her wallet on the trip to Michigan she did not have an ID. Tio had sent her an expired passport in her maiden name with her work ID and marriage certificate, but we got to the airport extra early to allow plenty of time. It turned out to be no problem and she actually got through security faster than us! That meant we had plenty of time for the girls to play in the airport before we began the trip home from hell! Clarita had fun playing with the pay phone and Bailey liked looking out the window.

Learning about Scouts

Great Grandpa Bill

Four generations of Johnsons!

Our plane ended up leaving late and we were sure we were going to miss our connection in Chicago since we only had a 45 minute layover. Clara was really excited to see the plane wings once we boarded ("there's two alas!") and immediately requested a little cup of water to put on her tray. She agreed to wait until we got in the air and was great the short trip. Bailey did great too! Turns out Chicago had heavy thunderstorms which delayed all flights. We ended up having plenty of time and even got to eat dinner. We then sat on the plane for over an hour due to lightening and no planes being able to take off. We finally got into the air over two hours late and knew it was very likely we would miss our flight from LA to Fresno. Clara fell asleep before we took off and slept for the majority of the long flight. Bailey spent most of the flight asleep as well. Clara woke up a little before landing requesting graham crackers and to see Bay Leaf. The girls did so great on the flights and we received lots of compliments about them. Bailey made lots of friends with her smiles and waves!

Learning about airplane safety

Needless to say, we missed our flight home. We ended up landing with enough time to possibly make it, but then sitting on the runway for at least 20 minutes due to another plane taking our gate. The next flight was not until 11:00 PM the following night and the airline offered us nothing except blankets and pillows to spend the night in the airport (weather delays get you nothing). At this point it was after midnight California time (after 3:00 AM Michigan time) and we were exhausted. We decided to rent a car and drive the three hours home. Luckily I rent cars for work all the time, and the Enterprise worker felt sorry for a pregnant lady with a small child and a baby in tow. We ended up getting a good deal and an upgrade to a Ford Explorer so Tia didn't have to be uncomfortable. Clarita was the only one excited about our change of plans and declared the car to be a "ninos car" which she couldn't wait to ride in. We stopped and fueled up on chips and soda (and I got a nosebleed to welcome me back to California) and headed home. Clara jabbered away to Tia about being afraid of garbage trucks coming into her room while she ate chips. She then declared, "I go to sleep now" and fell right to sleep for the rest of the drive. Bailey slept the entire drive and I slept for an hour despite drinking a soda (this is why I am a terrible driving companion). Luckily Dada and Tia stayed awake and we made it home around 4:00 AM. The joke was on Tio who had left Tia's car at the Fresno airport because he didn't want to drive there at midnight to pick us up. Not only did he have to pay for parking and pick up the car after midnight, but he had to come pick up Tia and Bailey at 4:00 AM! We were all happy to have made it home and get some rest!