There was so much I wanted to “do” while on vacation “Up North” (That’s what we Michiganders call anything north of Lansing, but particularly the Upper Peninsula…) but all I managed to do was learn to ride a motorcycle, perfect homemade pizza dough, and spend a lot of time sitting on the beach while the kids splashed around in freezing cold water.

(Okay I did get some work done, but I didn’t want to do any.)

Unfortunately, we managed to squeeze in only a couple of hikes which everyone loves, including Ellabella.  It was very good to discover that she can hold her own for a couple of miles, and I plan to continue our nature discoveries when we return home at our local State Park.  We explored the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and some of AuTrain (a rainy hike on the Songbird trail was quite wonderful), and looked for property to buy, because we can never seem to say goodbye to this part of the state.

I read a few books, and finalized my Tailored Mini Dress for Fall, and a new raw-edged raglan with long sleeves, (photos when we get back) but despite bringing 3 bags of fabric, and having more shipped up while I was here, I didn’t manage to make very much.

I’m going to head down and join the rest of the family as we finish watching season three of Arrested Development.  (All sorts of inappropriateness for 11 year olds in there, and we even watched Ferris Beuller’s Day Off with them – what kind of parents are we???)

I’ll share some photos of the “nothing” we did.

We spent a lot of time together, and none of us want to leave.