Michigan Part II

We have been doing so much fun stuff! I might even be starting to like Michigan (only don't tell Riley). So here are some of the things that we have done in the last few weeks:

We went to this little German town called Frankenmuth. It was so cute and touristy. I think I counted 4 chocolate shops on one block. They were everywhere! There was also an AWESOME cheese shop that gave out free samples. I kept on sneaking back in line to get more samples because it was soooo gooood. They even had chocolate flavored cheese. Who knew you could do that? It tasted like a Tootsie Roll. Also they had tons of these face cutout things. I think they are so funny.


Frankenmuth is also home to THE WORLD'S LARGEST CHRISTMAS STORE! It was insane how much Christmas stuff there is. We didn't really look around too much, we mostly just wanted to have the experience of being there. But for people who are really into Christmas this place would be like heaven. It was huge, huge, huge.


We also went to the Detroit Zoo. It was such a huge zoo. And it was really pretty, for a zoo. We liked this exhibit that let you pet the rhino's. There was a neat exhibit with the polar bears and seals. You walked under the water to look at them. It looked like they were in the same cage but there was actually a really thin sheet of plexi-glass that was separating them. Those tricky zoo folks.


Our stake had their summer activity on Belle Isle. It is in the Detroit River right in between the United States and Canada. I didn't know they were so close but it is like, a three minute drive from Detroit to Canada. I took this picture of Brody and Riley with Detroit in the background. I would have asked those hillbilly's fishing in the Detroit River (you can see them in the background) to take it for us but I didn't want to have to explain how a camera works. I'm sure they would be like "okay now, I push this here button. But where does the Polaroid come out?" Seriously, who fishes in that river? If you caught anything it would have three eyes and have an eerie light throbbing from it.


This weekend we went over to the west side of the state and saw Lake Michigan. It was amazing. People kept saying that going to the Great Lakes was like going to the ocean because they are so big and they were serious. It had the most beautiful, sandy beach. The waves were HUGE. Unfortunalty we went on a day that was windy and rainy. That didn't stop Brody and Riley from playing in the water. However, Afton and I found that we enjoyed the lake better from the inside of the car. The beach we went to was at a state park that had some really fun walking trails with gorgeous views of the beach. So, we didn't stay in the car the whole time. Plus the trails were sheltered by all the trees (did I mention it is like a jungle here?) so we didn't have to worry about getting wet from all the rain. I loved that beach, we may have to go again before we move back.



Some other highlights include:
Our trip to Big Boy restaurant. If anyone hasn't been there it is kind of like a cheap version of Denny's. But we drive past it a lot and since it is called "Big Boy" Brody is convinced it is a restaurant special for Big Boy's (like him). Because I am a girl I almost didn't get to go. But Brody said that I could go if he escorted me. Because he is a Big Boy. I'm sure our trip there will be the thing he remembers the most from our summer here.


Afton learned to laugh! I was a little worried because she hadn't laughed yet. But one day Brody and Riley were playing follow the leader and, apparently, she thought it was funny! So she laughs now. There is nothing better in the world than a baby laugh.




Also, this will go down in history as The Best Day of My Life. Both kids were asleep at the same time. Riley said that's pathetic. But I think any mother out there can commiserate.


So that's our life! We are only here for about 2 more weeks. The time has gone by so quickly. We are having lots of fun but it will be so great to be home again.