This photo probably gives the best view of the sheer size of the dune. Every other photo I took makes it seem like an easy hill. It was super steep, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath.
I should say this at the start: my family never, ever goes on vacation. We did a bit in the past, but our vacations always seemed to include a trip out to visit relatives. Or a wedding. Early “vacations” to me were always events that pulled us out of town. I think of my family as one that rarely travelled just to travel together, for the sheer sake of taking a trip.
Which is why it was great that my sister, on a whim, decided to rent a house for a few days in Sawyer, MI and invited my parents, me and Liz up for a few days. No agenda, no relatives to visit, no events to attend… just show up, relax, and hang out.
After our big outing to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, all of us went over to my Auntie Vickie’s house to visit Grandma Phoebe for a little while.
Small historical note: In the 3rd grade at Spring Mill Elementary, my teacher Mrs. McKenna gave a challenge out to the students. For anyone who could remember all the presidents and vice-presidents in order, and could recite them from memory… she offered up a special treat. I was one of the kids who did this, and I can’t remember who the other two were. I think Aaron was one of the other ones, but can’t remember for sure.
We continued the early Christmas tour by visiting my sister’s family in Indianapolis. We all went out to Maggiano’s for a family dinner, then back to Stacey’s house to open gifts.
Fast forward a bit to the Museum of Science and Industry! On the main floor, we spotted the room for Month at the Museum 2. We didn’t catch Kevin, but I checked out his schedule and made a note to swing back later in the day.
I was expecting a big line, but there weren’t all that many folks (it was in the middle of the day). Guess I’m too used to weekend traffic. After buying my tickets underneath a giant whale, I set off to find my niece and nephew. I got a call from Stacey saying they were in some kid’s play area, but couldn’t reach her via phone. Once we were inside the museum, our cellphones were pretty much shot.
Stacey let Liz and I sleep in a bit, and by the time we got out to the living room… the opening of presents was fully under way. After a while, it was hard to spot the toys underneath all the torn paper. Shane, Stacey and Liz watch on as the kids get more and…
Liz and I left for Indianapolis late in the morning (a little later than we intended), but made decent time along I-65. While in the car, Liz was working on some hand-made presents: two knitted dinosaurs. These were gifts that she had started a few weeks ago, and was finishing up the legs and eyes…
On Saturday, the Hutte family (Stacey, Shane, Jasmine and Jahnu) made a trek up to Chicago for the day. They were planning on meeting some Chicago friends at the Lincoln Park Zoo, and Liz and I joined up with them around noon. L to R it’s Jasmine, Shane and Jahnu. It was a beautiful day…
Amazingly, given the late night we all had last night… everyone slept in on Christmas Day. I figured the kids would be up at the crack of dawn, but it was closer to 11:00 AM before everyone slowly started to rise. I heard some rustling in the hallway, and found Jahnu sitting patiently by the…
The first night in Indianapolis, Liz and I worked on cooking a big holiday dinner. For several days prior to this, Liz did a ton of work prepping food, as we had a pretty good spread planned. In the kitchen, Liz and Jasmine prepare the green beans. Nesta is also helping out, keeping everyone’s ankles…
Jasmine, Stacey and Shane are heading to see Shane’s family tomorrow, so we decided to have Jasmine open some of her presents a little early this year. Fun time, hanging out and just watching her reaction to each gift. Jasmine, who apparently doesn’t need to learn how to unwrap gifts. This Elmo bean bag game…
The next day, a bunch of the family were invited out by my uncle Charles for an early lunch. A ton of folks set out from the hotel down to Fisherman’s Wharf – we expected a brief walk, but ended up walking a good thirty minutes or more, before we got there. Along the way,…