First family vacation

This crew headed to Saugatuck, MI for a little family vacation. We have never been there before and had the absolute best time. The weather was perfect, the kids loved the beach and all the activities, and we went with our best friends which was wonderful. I took 92 pictures while we were there but obviously can't post them all. Here are a couple of the kids enjoying it all.

We were assuming Anna had never been to a beach before and she was one happy girl. She loved the sand and the water and was thrilled to be a part of all of this fun. She did wonderfully on the trip but we did have a few exchanges that were a bit emotional for us. Two days into the trip Anna kep saying she wanted to go home. I told Brian I wondered if she thought this was her next home, her next placement. Even though we were all there with her, she has only been home for 3 months and I truly think she felt she was just at the next stop for her. We tried to explain that we were going home in a couple of days and talked about our friends and neighbors, her toys and her bed. I won't ever know what she was thinking and feeling but again this is just a reminder to us that it will take a long time for her to really know that we are her family forever and this is her home. Another incident occured that nearly broke my heart. My kids all lose a lot of sleep when we go on a trip. No one sleeps as well and we all get overtired. I had to wake up Anna from a nap one day and she was clearly disoriented and so tired. She sat up and was crying saying she wanted "Mama." I kept telling her I was right here but I was clearly not the Mama she wanted in that moment. It took about a half hour of me carrying her around for her to cheer up but I felt so so bad. Again - time, time, time. Overall she was her usual happy and bubbly little self and we could tell she had a lot of fun.

Blueberry picking.

Brian hanging out with the kids in downtown Saugatuck. As soon as I got my camera out, Jack ducked behind everyone.

One of my favorite parts of this little town is the fact that there is a homemade ice cream shop on every corner. No one in this family is going to argue about eating ice cream every night for dessert.


Back to the beach.

A family picture at the sand dunes.

Despite the fact that were all exhaused at the end of the trip, this was our only napper in the car on the way home.

We had such a good time, we plan on doing it again next summer. And we feel good knowing we can successfully travel with 4 kids and everyone have a great time!