CANADA!

On Monday, we drove up to the pinky for a state park adventure after a Grand Rapids doctor visit, and it got me thinking that there aren't many state parks left toward Ann Arbor, which was slated for Wednesday.  I talked it over with my mom and Billy, and decided that it was high time to let the kids use their passports!

Since Alice rarely joins us, I shared the secret with her, so that she wouldn't miss out.  We took Billy's car in, and I readied the passports, but was able to maintain the secret!  Then, the dentist called, letting us know that William did not need to come in before starting orthodontic treatment, which allowed me to bump Juliet's appointment up to William's time!  This meant more time in Canada!

Finally, the day arrived, and we headed to the appointment.  Poor Juliet was having a filling done, and my mom took everyone else over to the art museum.  All things considered, it was a short appointment, and Juliet got a smoothie from the shop, since she had a numb lip!  Yours truly got a coffee, and a cookie to share with the other children.

We finally got to reveal the secret, and everyone was excited to go to Canada!  And the mystery of why Alice was coming with us was finally solved. = )

The internet had prepared me that I could encounter issues travelling outside the country without Billy, so he'd written a letter of consent, just in case, but it was ultimately unnecessary.

We opted to take the tunnel for the outbound trip. The kids liked it and compared it to all sorts of shows and video games.

Our first stop in Canada was a thrift store!

Then we went to a discount grocer, where all the kids took turns poking the milk.

Right now, the US dollar is up against the Canadian dollar, so this baguette was really closer to 70 cents for us.  Unsurprisingly though, prices were comparable on most things, the number was just bigger.

On our Monday adventure, I'd found Canadian tattoos, which the girls were proud to sport in front of the Canadian flag!

The boba straw was paper, so they had a posted guide.  I was teasing William that I wasn't sure if he could follow the instructions, but he did just fine, first try!

Giant reflective Balls!

Once we concluded our visit to the mall, we went to Dollar Tree Canada.  Everything there is a base of $1.75can, so not any cheaper, but we found a few things, like some Hello Kitty Kinder eggs!

Juliet hanging out on the big black bollard.

By the time we finished shopping, it was close to 6, so we grabbed a hot and ready pizza and headed to the park. It was surprisingly busy!  There were all ages and races represented.  It was crazy to see the bigger kids teaching the littler kids how to play basketball, and moms and kids practicing scooter, we even saw one boy teaching another one to skateboard!  Usually, our party is the only one, or one of just a few visitors, mostly dog walkers!  It was a little like being in a movie.

We didn't stay long, because with the setting of the sun, the temperature was dropping quickly!

The Detroit skyline was most impressive from the Canadian standpoint.  It was weird driving North to get back to Michigan.  We took the Ambassador Bridge, which has quite a view.  We were dumped practically onto the interstate, and made good time getting out of Detroit.

I was thankful for the pretty weather and the opportunity to travel internationally with the kids for their first time!  Alice wants to go back for her 18th birthday, but we'll have to see!

later days

P.S.  The only thing that Billy asked for was some Rickard's Red beer.  I was looking up how much I could bring him, before having to declare it, and learned that because of the ongoing tariff dispute between the US and Canada, I was not able to bring him any. The internet said that they would confiscate and destroy it. = (

Other Fun Activities

Most of what we've been doing lately can be wrapped up in other posts, but these are just a few moments that didn't fit anywhere else.

Emily and Grace were playing Minecraft together.  Last night, apparently, Grace pushed a button in Emily's game marked "do not push" and ended up trapped in a container of some sort. lol.

When we collected coupons from the library, William ended up with a bonus one from McDonald's.  Not even Grace and Emily, who were the first to claim their prizes, received one! The coupon was set to expire at the end of September, so I really wanted to use it up!  When we looked up how much an ice cream cost, it was only $1.29, so I agreed to buy each of the girls one.  But when we arrived, they were over $2 each!  So, each of the girls requested to pick out something that was the same price or less.  William was the only one who ended up with ice cream.  It was a slow morning for them, because we had 30+ minutes when we arrived, and were almost late to the love clothing center for Alice and William, and all we got were treats!

Avia came with us to the final meetup an eatup at the South Lansing library the week before the kids went back to school.  It was nice that Alice and William were working the love clothing center on Wednesdays, because that was the meetup and eatup day!  We ended up going three or four times this summer.  

Since William and Alice missed the meetup and eatup, we went to taco bell to redeem their coupons.  I don't know why I find it so hard to use the coupons once school starts, but we try to use them all up before school starts!  

Each coupon came with a taco and bag of cinnamon twists.  The kids enjoyed the taco, but the twists were enjoyed by none.

Last week at the Cornishes' the twins found a shark blanket, and couldn't wait to show us the twin shark!

Somehow, the kids talked Avia into buying them McDonald's!  I thought they were just getting treats, but she bought them a full meal! Spoiled children!

Grace and Juliet shared a seat in the most twin way possible at their dentist appointment.  They both wanted the same seat, pushed their hips together, and sat down, without any discussion or argument!  It was wild to watch.

Billy and I went on a date to the wine shop on Friday night, and tried out her new cheese tray! We ordered the dill option and it was quite tasty!

It's been a busy, but lovely August, and September holds the promise for just as much fun!

later days

78 Michigan Parks: Tippy Dam State Recreation Area #40

There was a roadside beach that we attempted to locate, without success, since reception was not great.  We did find a man-made lake, which is not the norm for here!

Luckily, Manistee had several local beaches that we scouted, until we found one from our list that we wanted!  First Street Beach was pretty empty when we arrived.  But more and more people arrived, presumably to watch the sunset.

At the farm stand, we bought some bird seed for William to give to the seagulls.

William was not able to get close enough to give the seeds to the seagulls, but when I sat and threw a few seeds out, they came to me.  So, William sat, and a few of them came his way.

But there were more, and he wanted to feed them all so he moved closer,

...and closer, 

....and closer!

Meanwhile, the girls got to swim and play in the sand.  We even remembered to bring our beach toys!

Emily was doing flips in the sand.  The ones where she was actually flipping didn't turn out great, but this one of her about to stand was cute. ; )

Emily wanted to take some pictures at the beach in her new homecoming dress.

As the sun set, we packed up, because we had a second stop planned: Tippy Dam!  Our trip had a short pit stop, for ice cream!!!!

By the time we arrived at Tippy Dam, the sun had set, and we just had some ambient light left.

Emily had several cute poses here in her dress as well, but the light was just so poor, that the sharpness was compromised.

Tippy Dam looked just like one of the Dam's in Fallout 76!

The siren did not sound while we were there, but we did see several people out in boats!

Danger, William!

By the time we left, it was proper night, and we had a three- or so-hour trip home.  I think we got in around 1am?  It was totally worth it to see a little bit more of the state, this time the pinky!  If we can swing an earlier appointment next time, maybe we can make it all the way up to the pinky tip!

later days

edit 8-30-26: backdated for continuity.

A list of our previous visits:

Fort Wilkins Historic State Park #1
FJ McLain State Park #2
Twin Lakes State Park #3
Baraga State Park #4
Craig Lake State Park #5
Van Ripper State Park #6
Bewabic State Park #9
JW Wells State Park #10

Palms Book State Park #12

Indian Lake State Park #13
Muskallonge State Park #14
Tahquamenon Falls #15 (round 2!)
Brimley State Park #16
Straits State Park #17
Keith J Charters #33

Orchard Beach State Park #38
Sleeper State Park #46
Port Crescent State Park #47
Silver Lake State Park #49
Muskegon State Park #50*
Newaygo State Park #51
PJ Hoffmaster State Park #52
Grand Haven State Park #53
Ionia State Park #54
Sleepy Hollow State Park #55
Metamora-Hadley Recreation Area #56
Lake Port State Park #57
Seven Lakes State Park #58
Holly Recreation Area #59
Algonac #60
Holland State Park #61
Island Park State Recreation Area #63b
Highland Recreation Area #64b
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area #65
Dodge #4 State Park #66a
Bald Mountain State Recreation Area #66b
Maybury State Park #67
Saugatuck Dunes State Park #68
Fort Custer Recreation Area #69
Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Pickney State Recreation Area #70b
WJ Hays State Park #71
Belle Isle Park #72
Van Buren State Park #73
Grand Mere State Park #74
Warren Dunes State Park #75a
Warren Woods State Park #75b
Lake Hudson Recreation Area #77
Sterling State Park #78
Port Austin State Harbor #Bonus 1
Kal-Haven State Park #Bonus 2
Wagner Falls #Bonus 3
Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park #Bonus 4
Yankee Springs #Fail