Summer Vacation

Summer vacation means a trip to the pleasanter air of northern Michigan for our family. This year we decided to bite off a larger chunk of time in the Great Lake State because I can think of no good reason to rush back to North Carolina in August. When my sports world goes dark (mid June) and the oppressive weather simultaneously arrives, I have to mentally hunker down and wait for cool nights and college football to rescue me from July/August. Oh my lord it's a slow go! The yearly trip to Michigan is the bridge over the doggiest of dog days.

This year we drove because of Ruby's developmental level. At 21 months we believe she is in the terrible twos. She is prone to meltdowns at the drop of a kitty and we wanted full control over our travel. So we rented a car and hit the road. Both ways we stopped in Charleston, WV, which the sorta halfway point between Chapel Hill and metro Detroit.

We had a brief overnight in Milford, MI at my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Mike's house. There, Ruby fell in the gold fish pond. The next morning we headed to my brother/SIL Geoff/Laura's house in Sanford, MI, which is in the middle of the state. They have seven children, two horses, one goat, two kitties and a dog. Plus they have a playground, trampoline, swimming pool, sandbox, and tons of other things for little kids to do. Ruby's cousins are all very excited to see us and they do a great job of playing with and caring for Ruby. The three nights and 5 days we spent there were probably the best of Ruby's life. With all of her cousins showing her the way, she played and played and played!

In between Sanford visits, we went up to Boyne City to visit Grandma Pat (my mom) and Grandpa Jerry. This is a much slower pace for Ruby but there are tons of toys and lots of land to explore. There, Ruby fell into a routine (no waking up and climbing out of the pack n play) and her tantrumming dropped way down. In fact, Ruby grew up a lot on the trip. She developed a new voice to use when she wants to be demonstrative (often related to NO!); her vocabulary increased dramatically, her gross motor skills increased. We definitely returned with an older more mature child. Perhaps she was anticipating starting pre-school upon our return.

While in Boyne City, we were able to make a day trip to see Ruby's great- grandfather, Robert Edmonds, and his wife, Norma. Grandpa also happens to be my favorite relative. He has built every house he's lived in for the past 50 years and is quite the artist, furniture maker, all-around creative man. That I have none of his ability is my great disappointment in genetics. At 83, he still works in his shop regularly and he showed us a very cool dresser he's just finishing up. There, Ruby saw her first live chickens and was not so sure about them. She was actually a little afraid of all the farm animals she met for the first time on this trip.

After a week of incredible feasts and relaxation (toddler style) at grandpa and grandma's house, we hopped back on the highway for another stop in Sanford on our way back to metro Detroit for my 20-year high school reunion. I wasn't all that excited for the reunion itself; I was most excited for a weekend of hanging out with three of my high school friends I've stayed in touch with over the years. As a bonus, I did see a few friends I haven't seen in twenty years and that was really cool. Though my memory of high school is not necessarily fond, I realized that I was friends with some really good guys back then. Hopefully we will stay in touch now in the age of internetting. The reunion went fine but it seems a better idea to have the 7-8 guys you care about bring their families and have an all day cook out. Coughing up $65 (which reportedly is a bargain in the reunion business) for buffet food and well drinks, while pretending like you're interested in someone's (who never talked to you in high school) life story is a poor use of time and money.

After two fun-filled, relaxing and stressful weeks we made it back home. Ruby is hardly ever in the car for more than ten minutes (and won't sleep in one) but in two weeks she covered 2,100 miles! At times it was very tough (read: ear splitting), but Kirsten had been planning intervention strategies for weeks leading up to the trip. Thanks to her hard work - which involved regular climbs into the back seat to play with/sing to/comfort/feed/occupy Ruby, getting toys/milk/pacifiers thrown back at her, and generally waiting on Ruby hand & foot while I drove - our trip was made possible. In fact, Kirsten deserves special recognition for her selfless attitude and hard work (way more than her share) during our two-week jaunt. So a big 740 News shout out to Momi, Momi, Momi!