The perfect end to summer

As depressing as it is to actually write it, "summer" in my eyes, is officially over because the girls have started school.

Gone are the days of sleeping in till 10....having nowhere to go and nothing to do, and just being lazy. It was wonderful, and I miss it. I miss it bad.

But, I couldn't have chosen a better way to end it. With my family. All of us together up north in St. Ignas. (minus Micah who is a workin fella now..missed you Micah!) It's like heaven on earth, my family...and I'm always alittle sick (a "good"sick) when we have to say our goodbyes. But for the little bit of time we had together, we had fun.

Chris and I and the girls arrived when others were on Mackinac Island, so we waited....








And then finally...together. We owned the pool, and any non-family who showed up hoping to swim, took one look and quickly made a u-turn.

Watching the kids lovin on each other...everyone so filled with joy, it gives me happy thoughts of this years Thanksgiving, and of "the lodge" at Christmas, where we will all get to be together again..it's my heaven. Oh how I love these people so!

And I often wonder how a man doesn't grow hair on his ankles....






Oh wait...being that it's this person explains a lot...I love you Billy!








The reason we all made this trip was to see our parents off to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island...a gift we gave them for their 50th wedding anniversary.










Forgive me all you black socks with black shoes and shorts wearers....you do know this is a fashion faux pas right? She had tourist written all over her, and I couldn't help but take a picture.

You don't see broods like this too often....and when you do, it's pretty rare that they get a long and love each other as much as we do. It's perfect.






And speaking of perfect..the very next day I watched three perfect beauties start school;










Did ya know? I have a middle schooler now;





6th grade, a whole new world...and I so much wanted to walk her in, and hold her hand and say,
"hey, I can stay with you all day if you want me to...because I really want to" but I opted to take a picture from the van instead;


(side note: I did end up chasing her in, but it was a sixth-sense-mothers-instinct sorta thing.... there was a literal SEA of kids and she somehow found me, arms wide up in the air in frustration saying "NO CLUE WHERE I AM GOING"...so I nonchalantly helped her and then slithered out like a navy seal)






There she goes, my big girl......this was two posts in one, but it all went together.....a perfect end, to a perfect beginning.