History of the J Man

We’ve been slow to post about our annual trip to Michigan because it’s always hard to come back from a trip, unpack, get back into the grind of work and still get all the photos downloaded. 

We actually didn’t take a ton of photos because we had aunts, uncles and grandparents around to act as paparazzi so I really only have the video below to include. 

We stayed in the same house as last year and had a great time.  The weather was nice the whole week.  We got a bit of rain here and there but nothing that stayed around long enough to dampen our fun.  Not that it would have mattered to Jonah.  He loved running around in the living room (as you can see in the video) and making garages and parking spaces for his cars, trucks and trains with the Jenga blocks that Aunt Amy brought.  And as long as Aunt Amy was around he was happy.  He woke up in the morning not saying hi Mama or Daddy but, “Amy, Amy?” 

Jonah at Watervale 2009 from Julie Diehl on Vimeo.

Last year the first couple nights sleeping in the pack-n-play in our room were hard for Jonah but this year we didn’t have any problems.  It probably helped that by the time he went down he was pooped!  He slept from about 8:30-6:30 each day.  Of course we always try to tell him to sleep in till 8:00 but that only happens VERY rarely. 

This year we got to spend a day on the public beach in Frankfort which we’ve never really done in the past.  We were going to meet everyone for lunch in town later so we thought we’d just head to that beach and be right there in time for lunch.  We got there around 9:30 and were the first ones at the beach!  By the time we got to Dinghy’s and got our food I literally had to catch Jonah as he fell asleep in his chair.  He was in a booster seat so we were worried he’d fall right out!  He napped for the next hour in his stroller as we walked around.

Jonah also got to go on his first boat ride on this trip. Chris’s parents (and sisters and future uncle) rented a house about 15 minutes away on Crystal Lake. Their cabin came with bikes and a pontoon boat. The day Chris, Papa and Uncle Tim went golfing Jonah, myself and the rest of the Diehl’s went out on the pontoon boat. Jonah even got a chance to drive the boat (he likes to turn left we learned, as we did a complete circle in the middle of the lake)!

Well, we’re back from Arcadia, Michigan. If your wondering where that is, check out the map on the left. It’s about a six hour drive. If you’re wondering how Jonah did, on the way up, we couldn’t be prouder. Only one stop for lunch (at McDonald’s, which won’t be happening again any time soon).

Overall, it was a great trip, though the weather was not the best. The beginning of the week was nice–Mark (Julie’s dad), Tim (Julie’s brother-in-law) and I went golfing. I marked that trip as a success in that I came back with the same number of golf balls with which I left and even nailed a couple of long putts. Also in my genius, I neglected to wear sunscreen and bug spray, so I was a bit sore for the remainder of the trip.

The cottage where we stayed was very spacious and slept everyone comfortably. The first night, Jonah had a hard time falling asleep, but as the week went on, things got better.

After wondering weather Jonah would take to the beach, it didn’t take long for everyone to find out that he loved the sand. The money we spent on his beach toys was a great investment. One of his favorite activities was to use his shovel to fling sand everywhere. as you can see from the photo below. Unfortunately, he developed a bit of diaper rash, so he got the chance to run around naked while also playing in the sand. If you’re wondering, he had a blast.

Tuesday we went to visit my family who was staying up north in Glen Arbor, about 45 minutes away. They stayed in a condo on a ski resort that had a pool, tennis courts and a great workout facility. None of which they were able to use. Doh! Still, while the accommodations were modest in terms of size, they were quite modern compared to where we stayed.

On Wednesday, it was time for my family to come down to visit us. My Dad, Mark and Tim decided to climb “Baldy,” basically a large sand dune located near the Watervale resort, which is where Julie’s family has gone to stay in past years. The kids (my sisters and I and our significant others) spent the day at the “Big Beach,” a stretch of beach on Lake Michigan. There’s another beach near the resort called the “Little Beach,” which is on Lower Lake Herring, a smaller lake just to the east of Lake Michigan.

That night, we all ate at the barbeque at Watervale that had to be moved inside because of rain. Normally, the BBQ is outside and having it indoors definitely took off a bit of the luster, but we made do. The damage for me included:

• 1 hot dog
• 1 bratwurst
• 1 hamburger
• 4 ribs
• 7 chicken pieces
• green beans
• 1 ear of corn
• 1 ice cream bar
• 3 deviled eggs
• salad

Not bad. I’ve done better and now that I have 2008’s list, I can shoot for something more next year.

The highlight for Thursday was definitely going to The Shed (a local bar) to see Tim play his ukelele. He played three songs, including “Over the Rainbow,” a Flaming Lips song and one other one.

The rest of the week, we pretty much relaxed, played a few board games, spent some more time at the beach and ate greasy food. I went for a swim on the Friday before we left in Lake Michigan which was especially relaxing. The water was really warm this year.

Hopefully next year, when Jonah won’t need his morning nap anymore, it will free us to do more things like go berry picking or a glider ride. I know Grandpa Koslen is quite anxious to take him fishing.