Empire Beach

We were able to enjoy Empire beach as a family last weekend. We love it there because there is a great playground and it's right on Lake Michigan. It's beautiful and not too crowded. The kids had a blast and enjoyed the waves that day. It was nice to spend some quality time with just the five of us.

 Camden the monkey

 ALL my kiddos

 Carson

Carson playing in the sand

 Camden jumping in

 Lauren showing off her rock find

 Camden

 Carson

 My boys

All three lounging on the beach

Great Grandma

The kids were excited to visit Great Grandma Merchant when we got back from vacation. Here's a picture from our visit.

Frankenmuth

We drove through the night so the kids would sleep for most of our long drive back to Michigan. We were planning to stop in Frankenmuth to stay the night at Zehnder's Splash Village. The kids were really excited to swim and go down the water slides. We did a little shopping at Birch Run in the rain first and then we were able to check in a play. We took a break to stop at Bronner's Christmas Store. The next day we played some more and then headed for home. We had such a great trip, but it's always nice to get back home to sleep in your own bed and get back into normal routines. Another successful family vacation in the books!

 Sleeping in the car

 Back in Michigan!

 Enjoying the water park

 Teeter totter 

 Bouncy swing

 Lauren on the lazy river

 Mom and her boys

 The kids by the tree in the lobby

Bronner's

 Checking out the ornaments

 Carson loved playing and splashing

 The older kids were in there getting dumped on by

the big bucket

 Camden going down the slide

Lauren

 Dad and Carson

 Mom and all three kids

New York Day 3

Our last day in New York was spent exploring Lake Placid. We did some shopping and went to the Olympic Center. We got to see figure skaters practicing on one rink and we also got to see where Miracle on Ice happened at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Then, Dianne and Mary drove the van back while our family rode on the train. It was about 30 minutes and the kids had fun! At the train station in Saranac Lake there is a carousel that Mom and the kids got to ride. We ended the day with dinner and packing up the van as we decided to drive through the night while the kids slept. We had a great time on our vacation to New York and will be looking forward to going again sometime. 

 Walking the streets of Lake Placid

 Lauren and Camden in another bobsled

 Lake Placid

 The kids enjoying a chocolate treat

 The Olympic Center

 Ice skaters

 "Home of the Miracle on Ice"

 Hockey Rink

 Train

 Our family

 Dianne and Mary waving us off

 Some views during the train ride

 Lauren

 Carson

 Camden

All of us on the carousel ride

New York Day 2

Our second day in New York took us on an adventure to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. The kids got to see live animal encounters with a bird and a porcupine. They had to finish an activity page while they walked through the center and at the end they got badges. There were fish, turtles, otters, and plenty of stations to learn about ice bergs, the world, bones, plants, etc. We spent several hours there exploring. There was also a nice nature walk outdoors. That night we took the neighbor's pontoon boat for a ride into town. It was a beautiful scenic ride with views of the mountains. We docked the boat and ordered pizza for dinner. Then we had some ice cream to end the night. Another fun-filled day.

 Listening to a presentation

 Camden by the ice berg

 Earth

 Mom and Carson

 Camden and Dad learning

 Carson had to try it too. He loves Lions.

 Dad and Carson on a nature hike

 Lauren and Camden crossing the bridge

 Our family at the Wild Center

 Trevor and Mary paddled over to get the pontoon

while the rest looked on

 Dianne and Lauren enjoying the ride

 Mary, Carson, Trevor and Camden

 Mom and Carson

 The boys checking out the view

 The kids playing at the park

 Enjoying some pizza

 Dad and Camden

 Dianne and Lauren

 Carson with his ice cream cone

 Lauren and Camden enjoying their treat

Beautiful sunset