It was summetime in (central) Michigan...

Title of the post inspired by Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" ;)

After spending a few weeks at the lake house for Owen to study, we headed out to Michigan for a week of vacation with his family before starting his next rotation just outside of Detroit. The first week we spent with his Mom, sisters, and Todd in Homer. We spent Owen's vacation week at their house on a lake and filled our time with catching up, riding the quads, tubing, grilling out, fishing and cooking what was caught, bonfires, fixing the rope swing, playing with heavy machinery, playing tennis, celebrating birthdays, and boating/attempting to fish on Lake Michigan (out of Grand Haven). It was a fun week with everyone, thanks for showing us a good time!!

After a fun filled week in Homer, we heading up to Okemos for Owen to start his Family Medicine rotation in Southfield. We stayed with Tony for the month and Owen commuted to the site ~2 hours a day. Even though it was long, it was better than staying in a hotel and not seeing anyone all month. Being in the Lansing area, we were able to see everyone in his family more and even some friends in the area!!

Owen spent the month doing inpatient family medicine and made some really great connections at the hospital. I spent the month training for my upcoming triathlon and catching up with friends (and a quick holiday to London...more in the next post). I was able to catch up with a friend from St Maarten who lives near Ann Arbor and meet her two beautiful kiddos. I also had lunch with a childhood friend from the neighborhood I grew up in who now lives in Ann Arbor.

Other highlights with everyone include Owen mountain biking with his Dad a few times (I even went once), we had dinner with Chila's family (most of whom I've never met), I got to spend a few days with Lydia doing craft projects, editing Owen's application photo, and just hanging out. We were able to spend time with Tim, Stacey, and Seth for several dinners and some pool time! We were able to see his sisters a few more times and get back down to Homer for another weekend with his Mom, sisters, and Todd, watched the girls do their thing at a smoothie booth and even saw Virginia get baptised! We even got to go for a real Amish buggy ride that weekend! It was great to have a rotation there and be able to build in a vacation/family time in the same trip! Thanks again everyone who hosted and entertained us!

The lake at Tammy and Todd's house

Watching storm clouds roll in

A few days on the boat in Grand Haven

Owen and his Grandpa

Second big fishing trip with no fish caught

So foggy on Lake Michigan

Birthday celebration on the boat

Trying again

Finally caught some fish back at the house!

Filleting the fish for dinner

What many of my days looked like up in Okemos....cycle training for my triathlon

Hanging with Lydia at the MSU gardens

visiting our old car before it's finally put to rest

Playing with Seth (Tim and Stacey's son)

Fun day with one of my St Maarten friends! Amanda and her kiddos

Lunch with Katie! Coppermine Village Pod 1 forever!

Katie in the red, me in the blue/green!

Energy Smoothie Booth at a town wide tag sale

Amish buggy ride!!

Hard to focus when being pulled by a horse on a dirt road

Owen's birthday celebration!

Fixing the rope swing

Huge venison burgers

Riding the tube

Virginia's baptism

Michigan countryside

July at the Lake!

We spent most of July at my family's lake house in Holland, Massachusetts. It was so nice to be home during the summer and have the chance to spend a few weeks at the lake. Even though Owen was studying for the month, it was so relaxing to be by the water, kayak daily, lots of fishing, and enjoy some space to ourselves! On the weekends, my parent came up to visit, boat, and grill out. We watched fireworks over the lake on 4th of July, had the Brunetti's visit, the Allen's visit, my brother came up, my childhood friend Matt from across the cove came up, and we had dinner with some of the neighbors. I tried waterskiing again for the first time in years and actually got up for the first time ever on the adult size skis! We saw the largest moon ever one night, and the most amazing sunset another. It was a really great time at the lake, thanks again to my parents for letting us enjoy it for the few weeks! 

While in the area, I also managed a trip to Boston to visit with Alison while she was in town for a wedding. It's nice to visit the city in the summer, even though it's hot, it's so much nicer than all the winter months and wind that I usually see it in. We had lunch in the park, wandered around a bit, had lunch at the Top of the Hub at the Prudential, and stopped by Mike's Pastries for cannolis of course! It was a great day in the city! Another day while in Farmington, I was able to meet up Sarah Bouckoms for lunch before she headed out to New Zealand for a visit. Always love seeing her and look forward to hanging out again this fall when we're in both in Farmington again. We also went to a bull riding event with the Hanrahan's bulls, which was a cool experience, and a beautiful summer night in northwest Connecticut. We also enjoyed some dinners with the Brunetti's and Hanrahan's before leaving again, it's always great to see everyone! Although short, it was a great few weeks back in the Connecticut/Massachusetts area. Thanks family and friends for the fun times! Look forward to more this fall! 

The lake house

4th of July Fireworks

Owen's best catch

Boating on the lake, Hamilton Reservoir

Brunetti's come up to visit, taking Gabby on the boat

Love my little niece Gabby!

Owen and Jared fishing

Boating with the Allen boys

Post my first successful  time waterskiing!

First time up on the adult skis!

So nice to see all the water sports stuff out and being used

S'mores by the water

Absolutely stunning sunset!! No adjustments on the photos, true colors!

 

 

After lunch with Sarah Bouckoms!

Summertime in Boston

Swan boats in Boston

 

Make Way for Ducklings

View from Top of the Hub at the Pru

No trip to Boston is complete without these!

Let R Buck and Hanrahan's Sevens bull riding event

Birthday in South Carolina

On our drive back from Florida to Connecticut, we decided to stop in South Carolina for a day to visit my Dad's cousins. It also worked out well because it happened to be my birthday, so I was able to have a really fun day instead of just sitting/driving all day! We hadn't seen Kathie and Wallace in almost 5 years, so we really wanted to make sure to get a full day in with them. We arrived late Sunday evening and went over to say hello for a bit and grab some dinner at fish camp, then had the full day Monday (my birthday!) to enjoy their company before leaving early Tuesday to get home. We went for a boat ride around Lake Wylie (where they live) then headed out to the farm for some shooting, four wheeling, blackberry picking, and grilling! Have I said before how much we love the south?? It was a great way to spend my 29th birthday and we were so thankful to get the time with Kathie and Wallace. Thanks again to them for showing us a fun day! Hope to see you again soon and not let another 5 years go by!

**As a side note....don't shoot prone in South Carolina...Owen got chiggers that are just now going away after a month!!

Kathie and Wallace's house on Lake Wylie

Birthday Boating

The cabin at the farm

Four wheeling, looking for blackberries

Shooting at the farm

Wallace watching Owen's shot through his scope