This past week we spent in Michigan visiting family and we had truly a wonderful time there. Honestly, I’ve been a bit hungover from the trip since, missing family and company in general, missing delicious meals and the rare treat of extra hands to help with the girls, errands, etc. The girls have missed the company too.
We set out for Michigan last Sunday morning. The morning went super smooth with both girls in excellent moods and quick to get ready to leave. The flight went smooth and before we knew it we landed in Detroit. Grammy was there to greet us and once we had our bags we were piled into the car and headed to East Lansing. Both girls got in good naps on this transport and arrived at their house with energy to burn. For our first night there my dad cooked us up some extremely delicious lamb chops and we got ourselves adjusted for the rest of the week ahead.
We essentially had one or two activities that we participated in each day to entertain us, especially since the Michigan spring weather took a dip on us for the week we were there.
On Monday we took Reese to a bounce house called Jumpin Jax and my grandparents came over for their first visit of the trip. We picked up BBQ from Saddleback BBQ to finally get a taste of their ribs and brisket and it was all delicious and provided leftovers for much of the week. We also taste tested Bryan’s bottled beer of the Double Trouble Double IPA he made and bottled for the trip.
On Tuesday we took both girls to Court One to go swimming and hot tubbing. Both girls enjoyed themselves in the pool. We walked to El Azteco and a park for dinner later that evening. Brooke was not all about the party scene happening on the upstairs level of El Az at all though and Reese became fond of the bathroom there for whatever reason so there was rarely a time that all of us were at the table together to enjoy the Topopo salad and margaritas.
On Wednesday my mom and I took Brooke over to my grandparents house so that we could enjoy some more time with them in a calmer setting (sans Reese) and Bryan took Reese to a park. Then the rain hit so we picked them up on our way home. We spent the evening at home with an excellent dinner of roasted sea bass and Uncle Chad joined us for the evening and dinner which was a real treat.
On Thursday we hit the Impression 5 Science Center in downtown Lansing that was a large part of my childhood (school trips, girl scouts, etc). It was crazy busy, probably thanks to it being spring break week, and Reese ran around checking out all of the exhibits. She spent a lot of time in the water play and the different exhibits featuring balls and climbing. We picked up takeout of Zeytoon’s to get in my middleeastern fix.
On Friday we took Reese bowling at my old stomping grounds. We played an hour of bowling and Reese was by far the most enthusiastic bowler I have ever met. She cheered us all on and definitely got the attention of our partners on the next lane. It was adorably cute! I won’t brag about who won the game. But the real winner was Reese who after bowling and before leaving the scene somehow was gifted the large bouncy ball she had her eye on in one of the arcade games. To the eight year old boy who gifted her this ball, we thank you! After bowling, Chad and Sarah met us at the house and Bryan and I quickly got ready for date night. We had an 8 pm reservation at the nearby People’s Kitchen that turned out to be a real winner for dinner and drinks. We had two rounds of drinks there and all had phenomenal meals (me the scallops and Bryan the pork shank). They close at 9 pm so we moved on to the Tin Cup bar in downtown Lansing for another beer or two before heading home. It was our first night out after having Brooke and such a treat getting to spend more quality time with Chad and Sarah.
Saturday morning came much too quick and the drinks definitely left us in a different shape. Fortunately I snapped out of it fairly quick but Bryan took a little while to feel more himself. We walked Reese to the nearby playground with the tall green slide and fortunately a girl about Reese’s age and activity shortly arrived and the two girls had so much fun “playing friends”. Reese definitely got some energy out at the park before heading back home and getting ready for the party with the family that night. My grandparents and Jennette and Terry were coming over, plus Chad and Sarah, so we had a full crew at the house. We had chicken and vegan enchiladas and the food was all so delicious and after dinner we enjoyed watching the Final Four games and Chad had a few friends come over to catch the games. It was wonderful being able to see my grandparents one more time.
Sunday was our last day and the morning was pretty quiet. Bryan made 4-month birthday pancakes for Brooke. We said goodbye to Chad and Sarah and got in baths and packing and then picked up one last late large lunch from Aladdin’s and Jet’s for Detroit style pizza before saying our goodbyes to Mom and Dad drove us to the airport. Our flight was the easiest it could have been with the two girls. Brooke took a 4 hour nap and Reese watched three movies without giving us any issue whatsoever. It was actually a relatively relaxing flight in which I actually got to read and sit in peace for a change. We had no issues getting our bags and car and by the time we got home Reese was asleep and quick to put to bed and Brooke followed shortly thereafter.
It was a wonderful week with a lot of memories, much of just the introduction of Brooke to the family and a well-behaved and fun-loving Reese that enjoyed all of the little things we pieced together for her. We’ve settled back into our routine at home, which is different with Reese starting at her new school, but we’ve had glorious weather since Monday which has helped immensely. I’ll fill in on the new school and other events in a future post.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 