McClelland Summer Vacation Part Two: Tuesday through Friday

Tuesday July 3:

After leaving Mackinac we took our time getting down to Bay City. We stopped in Mackinaw City again and ran into one of Scotts co-workers from his R & B days. It is a small world, we also ran into Bill and Joan when we were on the island. From there we headed on down 75, stopping here and there for potty breaks and food. I had never been to Houghton Lake, so I decided to take a small detour and drive around the lake. It was nice, but seemed a bit like Westland with a lake, maybe I didn't see the right part. We got to Bay City around 6pm and had a great home cooked meal from Grandpa. After dinner it was more visiting and chatting with the cousins and bath and bedtime for the kids.

Wednesday July 4:

The day started off with another yummy meal made by Grandpa, and then it was time to set up for the big party. The fourth of July is a big deal for the McClelland family, it is reunion time for them, previously being held in West Virginia, but now moved to Bay City. Food was prepared, hammocks set up, swimming pools filled etc. etc. etc. Around 2pm everyone who wasn't already there started to arrive. There is no major game plan for the party other than to visit and eat. The kids had so much fun we hardly even saw them the whole day. They kept busy with the slip and slide, the pool, the bikes, the puppies (Aunt Pam and Cousin Laura brought theirs...Kaleigh couldn't get enough of it... at one point she was actually in the cage with two of them). There was baseball, and of course more food...barbeque chicken, corn, green beans, jello, scalloped potatoes, spaghetti salad, banana pudding and grilled banana banana splits. YUM! The only thing missing was the fireworks (which we watched from the backyard the night before, Bay City always does theres the 3 nights before).

Thursday July 5:

The men started their day by going on their annual golf outing, while the ladies and the kids headed out to see a movie. We decided to take the kids to see Ratatouille... it was very cute, although maybe a little bit above their heads. Avery actually fell asleep 3/4 of the way through, which actually wasn't a bad thing (one less wiggler). After the movie it was lunch and meet back up with the guys so the ladies could do their annual shopping trip with no kids. Carole, Lisa and I headed to downtown Midland this year (we did Frankenmuth and Bay City the two previous years), in a downpour... we actually missed the turn to downtown the first time because there was so much rain and hail. But by the time we got out of the car it had slowed down and the sun was on its way back out. It was a nice trip, but you can tell that the economy is effecting mid Michigan as much as it is other areas. When we got back it was time for another home cooked meal of ham, kale, rolls, mac and cheese and salad, before everyone retired early.

Friday July 6:

We packed everything up and said our goodbyes to Grandpa and headed to Frankenmuth early to take the kids to Zehnders Splash Villiage. What a place! Water slides, fountains, lazy rivers, hot tubs etc. etc. We went with Lisa, Adam, Drew and Andy, Hailey and Alex... everyone had a good time, after the first 45 minutes or so of Avery freaking out because of all the rain (sprinklers) and noise. Once I got her to go down the lazy river and see that the spray was just like the hose in the backyard, and the buckets dumping were just like what she does in the bath tub she calmed down and enjoyed herself. She even went down all of the big slides (over 3 stories high) more than a few times. Quinn and Kaleigh jumped right into everything... Quinn especially liked filling and dumping buckets, and the yellow twisty slide. I would have liked to get more pictures here, but the environment was not camera friendly if you know what I mean.

After leaving around 2pm we headed home, and when we got there we decided to walk to town (all that walking on Mackinac gets you used to it) to get haircuts for the boys. While we were there, Grammy and Grampy called and we ended up meeting them for dinner at Brecon Grille and heading to there house after to check Quinns corn, visit, and go for a swim. It was a great vacation, and I can't wait to go again soon!