July 4th Weekend: Day One

We spent the holiday weekend with Nate's family up in Beulah, Michigan.  It was lovely to spend the days sitting in the yard, playing at the beach, and watching the rugrats run around.  (There are 12 in all, although not all of them can run yet.)  We got up there about 24 hours before the rest of the group did, so we spent the first day with just our little family.  First we did the Pierce Stocking drive, and it was a perfectly glorious (albeit windy!) afternoon for it!

Livvie peers over the 450-foot bluff from the #9 Overlook.

(Would you just LOOK at that hair!)

Ellia & I at the Dunes bluff, with Lake Michigan in the background.  That water doesn't even look real!

Family Photo Op

After the scenic drive, we headed over to Otter Creek so the kids could get wet.

Livvie is in love with her arm floaties.  But since the water was so cold, she never got in deep enough to need them.

Brienna was stunning in her bathing suit.

But the other pose is what makes me smile...

...yep, that one!

(Not the swimsuit wedgie so much as the thunder thighs.)

In a rare display of affection, the big girls hold hands for a walk down the beach.  This might be my favorite picture from the whole weekend.

Since it was our first day on the beach, Ellia wasn't too thrilled with the sun-&-sand sensations.  She got into it later on.  But Olivia loved it all!