Back in France / Curious Kids Museum

We are back after a WONDERFUL and EXCITING vacation in America! As I sit down to blog a bit about the trip I realize that we did SO MUCH--there is no way I can even come close to covering it all.. What I can say is that the kids (and their parents!!) had SUCH a great summer. I just don't know where to begin! The kids really changed so much during our travels. Kaitlyn has become a full-fledged toddler and has blossomed into a little girl with a shining, strong and comically funny personality. She has become a master dancer and is SOOOO amazingly social now...Saying "Hi" and waving to anyone that makes eye contact with her. Krista matured so much this summer also...she was reading nearly anything she could get her hands on in English while we were in America, and has just entered the world of Harry Potter via her Uncle Tommy's lead. She has also become a MASTER Monopolian! Tommy and Krista would spend HOURS playing Monopoly. We had some pretty exciting games going--and a LOT of laughs. Then there is Erik who discovered a LOVE for Native American Indians during our stay in the Potowatomi region. You will find him dressed in native apparel for most of my photos---including him in a few photos with JET BLACK hair! Yes, I let him get his hair spray painted BLACK at the blueberry festival! He was REALLY looking like an Indian after that!

It was really just such a perfect trip and I'm so thankful that we were lucky enough to spend nearly 6 FULL weeks on holiday as a family! We were able to see so many friends and relatives which really made the vacation so memorable for us. I guess the highlight of our trip was a week we spent on Lake Michigan in my Dad's cottage. It was fantastic to have the beach, restaurants, shops and exciting events all at our doorstep. The Blueberry Festival just happened to be going on also while we were there so that was really fun for the kids too. I took a ton of photos so be forewarned! BUT, what made the week so much more special was that Mike and Lia were able to join us all the way from L.A.!!! It was really a fun family time....Everyone together! Something that so rarely happens these busy days/weeks/years!!!! It is these special times and moments together that form the patchwork of memories that I so dearly treasure.

I will go into more detail on our fun in a future blog. But for today I'll leave you with some photos of a great museum we went to in Michigan called Curious Kids Museum. It was a really cool, hands-on museum that the kids just adored. Even the big kids!!! ;) Basically the kids could just roam around and discover whatever took their fancy. There were numerous costumes and "stations" that the kids could discover. There was 'Asia' where they could dress in Japanese clothes and sit at a Japanese dining table and look around a Japanese living room (music, books etc)...or they could dress up like a firefighter in REAL gear....sit in a mini firetruck or ambulance, jump on a life size piano, be a star on their own tv station, test and time their reflexes on a reflex machine...or one of my favorites---ENCASE themselves in a giant bubble! It was really a fun time! The best part about this museum is that the kids could touch and explore everything! It was neat! Even Kaitlyn had a blast riding down the volcano slide!

There is certainly a lot more to come about our travels. I sure took a LOT of wonderful family photos at the Lake. I'm just thrilled we were all able to get together and spend such a wonderful time with each other. It really was perfect!

Here's Krista with her very special Uncle Mike at the museum ....followed by a few more photos of the museum.