I think it might have been the first really nice weekend in summer this year. It wasn’t too hot or humid and the rain was limited to a few scattered showers. The kids also got to learn some responsibility as it was their weekend to watch the hermit crabs from daycare.

We got the kids up at the butt crack of dawn to catch the hot air balloons in Midland. We arrived just as the first balloons were heading over the Tridge. I don’t think the kids liked the target shooting event as much as the taking off, but after getting some pop-tarts at the gas station, they were both in a much better mood.

Ollie has been talking about making another rainbow Jell-o mold and we decided to do this after we got back from Midland. He was pretty excited and I think it turned out better than last. Once I got the last layer done, I headed outside to get the yard mowed. We haven’t had a lot of rain in the past couple weeks, so it actually wasn’t overgrown too bad.

I bought the kids life jackets last week; they were sad to miss out on kayaking with nana and papa. The plan was to find some where local to rent and spend a little bit of time on the water. Susan wasn’t feeling up to it, so I decided to take the kids to the beach instead.

Although the beach area was limited, Lake Huron is very high this year, we had a great time. The kids got to play in the waves, build sand castles and dig until “they hit water” – something that really fascinated them. After spending a couple hours in the sun, we got hungry and decided to head to Casseville to find something to eat.

Usually when I take the kids to the beach, we end up at McDonald’s for lunch. This time I was able to convince them to try something new and we ate outside at the Thumb Brewery. It must have been good, the kids scarfed down their food and soon we were on our way home.

On the way, I noticed a big storm system heading our way. We were almost able to get around it, but managed to get caught just before we got on I-75. The rain was down-pouring, Ollie managed to sleep through all of it… Henry could hardly believe it.

I wasn’t able to find a spare moment to get one of my bikes out, but it was a really fun weekend!