Michigan

We hadn't been to Michigan since Emmett was tiny so we decided to take advantage of the fact that Tia was on maternity leave and could go during the fall. We had so much fun when we were there in the fall before, but unfortunately we didn't time our trip quite right and got there a week before all of the fun events that we attended before. We still managed to have fun and spend some quality time with Great Grandpa Bill, Grandpa Bill, Grandma Peggy, and Aunt Lori. Great Grandpa Bill is 99 and although he spends most of his time dozing in his chair, he enjoyed watching the kids play! We stayed in a hotel since Great Grandpa needs a little more assistance and having a herd of kids there 24/7 was a bit overwhelming. We spent the mornings doing activities and the afternoons hanging out. Clara didn't take a single nap, but I was able to get Emmett to sleep by putting him in the carrier and bouncing for a few minutes. Once he was asleep I could lay him on the floor and he slept for hours! Bailey even managed to fall asleep watching TV one day!

We spent a rainy morning at the Sloan Museum meeting Clifford! There was a special exhibit dedicated to him and they happened to be having a special breakfast event before the museum opened. Emmett was so excited to meet Clifford and hugged him and held his hand. He called him "doggy" and was so excited that "doggy" gave him a bone water bottle! The kids had a blast at the museum and were sad to leave. We had some coney dogs for lunch and then headed to Grandpa's.

We spent another morning at the Flint Farmer's Market which is always a fun experience. We had breakfast (and dessert) and the kids played at the Children Museum exhibit. We then headed to For Mar nature preserve for some fun before heading to an apple orchard where the kids got to play and pet goats before eating apple cider donuts and drinking apple cider. Emmett got stung or bitten by a bee and after he finished crying kept hitting his ear and yelling "bad bee!" It was kind of funny. We managed to get some good pictures with the grandpas after dinner too!

We spent one last morning with the grandparents before heading back to Chicago. The kids had so much fun playing and spending time with Grandpa Bill. Emmett and Bailey couldn't remember him but warmed up quickly. Clara remembered him and, surprisingly, didn't take too long to warm up. She later talked about how sad it is that Grandpa Bill is our family but that we don't get to see him very often.