the lodge... part one...

well, we're back from our vacation with the lehman family and have lots of pictures and stories to share! we went to a really, really cool "lodge" in the UP of michigan. first we flew to chicago and then we drove a long, long time through wisconsin (in a white "bus" though, so that was fun!) until we ended up here...

it was really neat and we had loads of fun together all week. we have a few good pictures, but it's hard to really do this place justice and describe all the cool things we did (plus momma had her hands full and didn't quite get as many good pics as she would have liked). here's the big dining table where we ate (a lot - thanks ladies!)...

and when we weren't outside playing, we were on this big, awesome porch hanging out and doing crafts together...

(note the awesome view of the big lake in the background)...

there was a piano too, which i really enjoyed playing. lauren did too, but uncle greg was the true piano master...

and one of my favorite parts of the whole trip was the big bear in the great room! we became friends right away. i said hi to him a lot, shared my food with him, and just generally liked him. there were animals all over the place in every room, and i thought that was really cool...

i spent a lot of time pushing the stroller around outside on all these yellow ones! what more could a kid ask for?!

and here's grampee and me on a big tractor - cool (with a golf cart in the background - little boy paradise)!

and one of my favorite things to do was go on a boat ride! there were three different types of boats which i got to ride several times, and here i am "driving" the fast one...

i like to sit by beamee...

here we are on an evening ride in one of the slower boats. allegedly i dozed off for a bit after a long day of playing without a nap, but i think it was just a coincidence that my eyes were closed during this picture...

silly picture outside...

long steps down to the boat house...

what whip cream, momma? aunt elaina and aunt aimee and i don't know what you're talking about...

one day we took a short road trip to see lake superior and visit porcupine state park (although no live porcupines were spotted, sad!). here i am playing with gabrielle and taylor at the park...

and here we are playing in the sand on the lake shore (the water was definitely too cold for me to get in - yikes!)...

i got to take a shower each night instead of a bath, and that was pretty neat. here i am wrapped up in my towel...

all in all, it was an awesome week. i loved hanging out with everyone, playing outside a lot, eating good food, seeing and experiencing new things, and staying up late! there was so much more to share and momma said she'll post more pictures on our picasa site soon, so i'll let you know about that. also, luke wants to do a post next to talk about his perspective on the trip, so check back in for that. good times...