Mackinac Again.

I know I said that Sleeping Bear was next but as I was looking through pictures I found more that really give a great picture of Mackinac. So this photo montage may be a bit scatter brained but it is what it is.

The garbage buggy. They really mean no vehicles. Only emergency vehicles.

The lighthouse you see as you are coming to the island.

Kites, who doesn't love kites. Everyone loves kites. 

More from the butterfly house.

The oldest church on the island. Beautiful windows and a tall, tall steeple.

The Island has an old fort located high on the hill. We spent a morning there reading and learning about this place. It was very interesting actually, my dad would love it. 

Because we were still pretty early in the season for that far north things were just starting to fill in. I can only imagine how lush and green everything is now. 

People loved making these towers. You couldn't have paid me to wade out in the water to get to this bank. The water was still ice cold. But they made for pretty picture opportunities. 

Finally the houses. So full of color and history. This house had beautiful stain glass windows for color. But others were periwinkle, peach, lavender, red. You name it-there are no rules on Mackinac. And I for one appreciated that.

Blessings!

Hello to Mackinac Island

Picture Heavy Post!

Hello. I do still exist. I am still wanting to blog but finding the time has been much more challenging. Coming out of the 4th hectic week in a row has left me reminiscing of our idyllic stay on Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island. I actually look back and think, "Did that really happen?"

It did though, I have the pictures to prove so.

The day after our wedding we drove up north and found ourselves in Mackinaw City. From there we got on a Sheplers ferry. We opted for the bottom deck. I still hadn't gotten warmed up from the wedding. It was a wonderful ride, complete with the most darling little girl who was enthralled with the water splashing on the windows.

That's the Mackinac Bridge. It connects the mitten of Michigan to the upper peninsula of Michigan. It makes for a pretty view while on the ferry and on the island. 

The Island is located in the straights of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 

In a nutshell the Island is 8 miles of perfection.

There are no cars on the island. Only horse and bikes. 

You have seagulls cawing, horses clip-clopping, ferries coming and going, the sweet smell of fudge and...road apples. It is an experience that engages all the senses. 

We visited a butterfly house and tried to clear Jerrel of his insect fears. However, I think we may have made things worse once we went into the pinned insect section.

Let us all take a minute to thank the Lord above that we don't live in Malaysia...unless you live in Malaysia. In that case-good luck. 

But we came out alive. Probably a little grossed out but that didn't last long.

Because how could it when 90% of the time you have a view similar to this. Everywhere I looked for our whole visit I was awestruck. It was like no other place I had been. 

One of the best things about this place was the families. It was refreshing to see families playing frisbee in this park area, having picnics together, renting bikes for adventures on the island, getting a mid-afternoon fudge treat. It was so nice. 

Essentially the Island is one 8 mile wide hill and so things are built up, and up, and up. Every time we were up higher I took a picture and thought "This is the best view I'm gonna get." But then we'd get to another level in another spot and I'd have to snap yet another picture. 

Speaking of 8 miles. Remember the horses and bikes? We decided to rent bikes and take a joy ride on the Islands highway. Seriously it's an official highway. The views were spectacular.  And the joy ride felt like a race much of the time because of Jerrel. We also went off roading on some trails-again his idea not mine. I was perfectly content to be on the highway. The things we do for the men we marry.

Senor Smarty Pants did let me stop a couple times and take pictures. After a week in the forests of Michigan I was refreshed to see a horizon for more than a couple seconds. Let alone the beautiful blue of the water. 

Thank goodness for timers on cameras. This is in front of Lake Huron.

Everything about Machinac was wonderful. The food, the people, the recreation, our Inn.

I would HIGHLY recommend the Market Street Inn. Here are 3 good reasons:

1. Location, location, location. The Inn is close enough to Main Street to get there quickly, but far enough away to have some peace an quiet. 

2. The Innkeeper is the BEST. Kristen is friendly and helpful. 

3. They bring your breakfast to you at the time you specify. By day 2 I was spoiled. 

4. They have cookies and fudge in the afternoon. 

5. The Inn has ranunculus growing in the front beds.

Ok that was five. Oh well. 

See what I mean about the views? You can see a peek of the highway in this picture. And this is officially the highest point I got to on the Island.

There were so many things to do. We could have spent a week there and not been without something to do. This is Arch Rock. The island is mainly composed of limestone and this rock formation was made because of how water ran across this portion of the island. All that is left and making the arch is the harder type of limestone. 

And then there was the Grand Hotel.
Holy time travel.

Home of the largest wooden front porch and gaudy decor(my words not theirs). But it is beautiful in it's own right.

The hair salon. I feel pretty oh so pretty...

The porch is done on such a massive scale. It makes you want to just sit and appreciate the whole scene, so that's what we did.

The hotel has been a summer destination since 1887. It's a tourist spot in it's own right. Thankfully we had passes so we didn't have to pay to simply sit on their porch.

Grand Chess anyone?

They have a pergola so we made our way up there. Because in Michigan, height is always key. 

But after our little rest in the pergola it was time to catch the ferry back to the mainland and head to our next destination. We were ready to see what was next but not tired of Mackinac. It just might be one of my new favorite places.

Next up Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes!

Blessings!

mum's the word monday

Blessings! 

Wedding Wednesday

Well it's time to post my last Wedding Wednesday. And while I'm thrilled to be finally married and to have some time to do other things, I'll admit I'll miss the wedding buzz around here. 

Sure, there will be posts about wedding things. Like how I made my own garter. How my mom made my birdcage veil, and many other DIY things that made up our special days. But there won't be new updates. This is it. 

Warning: This weeks post will be a bit of a hodge podge.

I have a bridal picture to share. I just adore how Leah captured the moments and then how she edited them to perfection. 

Dress by Jcrew, Shawl by Jerrel, Veil by Linda (Mom), Flowers by Kalkaska Floral...and Mom and I, Bracelets by Helzbergs, Earrings by Red Poppy Company. Yet it all looks like it was born to be together. No? 

This was my view as I was waiting to get married. This image is sealed into my brain, the sight of Jerrel and his Mama putting on his boutonniere, my brother figuring out the camera, the sound of the wind rustling the trees, our brothers laughter as they wait to take pictures, the smell of pine trees in the air. All of them mixing together into one exceptional class of memory.  

This week I've been busy with projects for the reception. I'm ready for Saturday to be here so I can see my pieces put together and my family and friends around me. One of my projects includes pictures of our parents, grandparents, and Jerrel's blessed great-grandmother, who is still spry and witty, we have images of their wedding day or one of the earliest photos of them. It has been a fun week of learning about my new official family and Jerrel learning about his own family with the gathering of these images. All of them have made me catch my breath. Wedding photos are special photos. 

I've decided to share our parent's images. 

My parents.

And then Jerrels Parents.

Cute huh? To see the finished product you'll either have to come to the reception or keep tuning. into the blog. I'm not going to give it all away right now! What's the fun in that. But I have really taken to heart how blessed we are to come from the tradition of marriage we do. Our parents have a combined 50+ years and our grandparents have all hit the 40+years landmark respectively. My own Grandparents hit the 60 year landmark last summer. We have such strong examples and so much love around us.

So that's this weeks' Wedding Wednesday.

I'm Married. Have been for 2 whole weeks. Whoa!

Blessings ! 

Blue Beaver Lodge on Little Blue

After 2 days on the road we finally found our way to Blue Beaver Lodge on Little Blue Lake. As soon as we stepped into the cabin we sunk into vacation mode. No time schedules, lots of food, campfires, and sand between our toes.

It was only a few moments before the boys were out on the paddle boat and a fire was started. 

One of the most peaceful views I've witnessed. It actually helped make the mosquitoes irrelevant. 

Finally the boys let me have a turn with the water mobiles and I was able to go out on our basically private lake. We never once saw one of the neighbors. It was wonderful. 

We were amazed by the clearness and stillness of the water.

Isn't it beautiful? I know that people love tropical locations but to me this is much more relaxing.

Fishing licenses were obtained and much time was spent on the lake. Jerrels dad reeled in the first...and possibly only catch. It was a catch and release kind of deal this time around. 

We all spent plenty of time on the water and were able to get a hold of another kayak so Jerrel and I could explore the lake, the lake next door, and that lake's neighbor. 

And would ya look at who's in the paddle boat? It's Jerrel's brother who doesn't like water and his Mama who also isn't a big water fan. Paddle boats are their thing apparently! 

I made Jerrel trade me Kayaks during our time on the water-I just thought he might like more of a challenge, something the yellow kayak provided. We had to boogie back from our lake adventure because of impending rain clouds, only for them to go around! Us Nebraska people just have that effect on rain. But we did get to see rain during other times. It was wonderful too, the weather was cool but not cold-except for the wedding day, it was cold then!  

Aaron and Jesse were captains of the paddle boat most of the trip. Lord only knows what they were talking about. I was happy they got some guy time. 

Then there was the food. Having two families with the majority being boys, you can only imagine how much food we lugged along and bought.

But my favorite food purchase is the milk in the glass bottle below. Because of the glass bottle.

This is Jesse, Jerrel's middle brother. This is Jesse with real whole milk. Milk from cows that "Aren't on drugs, but are on Grass." Jesse has the funniest expressions, I'm sure you will see more of em. 

I'm sure I've never laid eyes on Jesse so happy. And the bottle is oh so cute. 

We went to a nearby town one day and bought carmel apples. This one has carmel, dark chocolate, and sea salt. Tasty, tasty. 

Have you ever watched someone eat a carmel apple? It's painfully entertaining. 

Just look: 

See what I mean?

And the boys even cleaned up the kitchen one night.

Let us all relish in the sight of these young men in the kitchen and they aren't eating!

It was a wonderful time spent with the family at the lodge. I would go back in a heartbeat, even if the boys wanted to come along again.

Blessings!

mum's the word monday

Blessings! 

We Are Home

We are home. After a week an half away it's a little surreal that the wedding happened. It was spectacular and special. The vacation was relaxing and fun. Kayaking, paddle boating, biking, hiking, shopping, eating, and playing in the sand made for visions coming true. Only a few hiccups that all managed to get worked out. 

So yes, we are hanging out at my parents until the house is ready and back to projects for the reception. Now with rose gold frosting on our left hands and new titles for each other. I will be posting about our trip, the adventures, the beautiful views it included and sharing more pictures from Shutter & Snap Photography as soon as possible. Thank you everyone for the calls, texts, and notes-it meant so much to feel and come home to so much love.

Blessings!