Mackinac Island Trip - Part 1

We had a PERFECT trip to Mackinac Island to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary (June 21 - yesterday) this weekend. There's so much to share that I'm going to have to divide it into multiple posts. I hope that you enjoy!

DAY ONE - FRIDAY

We rolled out of bed at 5:45am and were on the road by about 6:45am. I was exhausted! I drove though, so that I didn't sleep through the car ride and leave Travis with three and a half hours of driving by himself!

We arrived in Mackinaw City and boarded the ferry for the island. It was a cool day and the lake was pretty choppy. I didn't have a sweater (of course!) so we sat on the bottom level of the boat.



We made it to Mackinac Island just after 11am and strolled down to our hotel - Mission Point Resort - where we checked into our fancy suite.



We took a stroll around the resort grounds and then headed into town for some lunch and a beginning of vacation cocktail!



After lunch we took a private guided carriage ride up to the Grand Hotel and around the island, which was really interesting. The sights were beautiful as well, despite the hazy weather.




After a quick nap, we showered and got ready for the evening. We ate at one of the hotel restaurants where we enjoyed live music, great food, and a little peg game that I was obsessed with! We both had Parmesan crusted whitefish for our entree and split bread pudding for dessert. Yum!

The day before...

It's funny that I'm taking the time to write today - I really shouldn't - I have so much to do! BUT, I wanted to give you a heads up about my absence for the next few days.

You see, today is the day before my big work event, our annual fundraiser Dia del Sol. You can find out more about it by going HERE. So today I'm running around like a crazy woman, of course, and tomorrow is destined to be even worse. I love special events - but the run up to them is hell!

But then, after the event is over and torn down, Trav and I are busting out of town heading for Mackinac Island for a long weekend. We're celebrating our one year wedding anniversary, which is this Sunday - the 21st of June.

...This is the part of the post where I reflect over the past year and get all sentimental about my wedding and marriage... but we're going to have to save that for a later post...

So I'll be back next week - Monday or Tuesday - with photos and wrap-ups of Dia del Sol, the Mackinac trip, and our anniversary. I'll leave you now with a few photos of where we'll be staying over the weekend. Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Weekend Wrap Up (a little late...)

Local First Street Party with Seth and Kelly Beat...

Sweet Bella feeling MUCH better!

Ice cream in East Grand Rapids...

Wonderful weekend... : )

Doo doo doo doo doo doo Just Dance!

Mariah's dance recital was last night - and it was all kinds of awesome. You see, not only does Mariah dance, but so does her dad - our good friend Anthony! So while Mariah busted a move in her hip hop class dance to "Four Minutes" by JT and Madonna, Anthony busted out some mad tap skills in two different dances. Made me want to drag my tap shoes out of the back of my closet...

We rounded out the evening with a little Roehm-Family fun at Applebees. A fun night!

I'm Back!

I know... it's been awhile!

Hopefully this will be my last blog-absence for a good long while since I'm all wrapped up with the dance recital, and all things YMCA! I'm enjoying my first week as a single-job woman and appreciating the time at home in the evenings to do... well... whatever I want!

That's not to say that work isn't demanding right now. Our annual fundraiser is coming up next week already, so I'm busy busy busy with all of the logistics for that event. I love special event planning though - both personally and professionally - so I'm having a good time with it and trying to keep the stress at a minimum.

Okay, I need to catch you up on everything that's going on around here... where to start? The backyard of course! Since it's been awhile, let's review what it looked like BEFORE...


And I'm proud to show you what it looks like NOW!





Incredibly exciting, right?! The landscaping finally got finished, despite a few setbacks, this past Thursday morning. I still have to throw some trellis on the side of the garage to cover up the stucco that needs to be redone (we can't fix EVERYTHING all at once, after all!) but other than that we're finished!

Saturday was the big dance recital. It was a crazy busy and sometimes stressful day - but everything went really well. The kids were excited and the parents seemed pleased. It sure was a relief for it to be over, though! That night we hosted a BBQ to celebrate the end of my Y career (for now...), a successful dance recital, and the new back yard! Thank goodness for Travis, Mum and Dad, Heather and Anthony, and Alison and Noah for being so incredibly amazing all weekend and pitching in with everything from costume-making to backstage working to ticket taking to house cleaning to BBQ set up to cupcake making and beyond.

I was blown away by the support of my family and friends this weekend. I am truly blessed to have you all in my life. Thank you a million times over! I love you!

I don't have photos from the dance recital yet - but will share them with you later in the month. I'll leave you with some great pics from the BBQ (note what good folks we are by staying off the sod so that it can take root REALLY well!)... unfortunately some of my favorite pictures from the evening won't upload to my computer because my camera is dying and files keep getting corrupted, but these few give you a little taste...