The day I put Journey in a wedding dress on the beach

Our last day at Warren Dunes was spent at the beach. I have been wanting to do a quick shoot of Journey in my wedding dress ever since I saw the shots a friend posted of her daughter. It's a cute concept, however Journey has refused the few times I have asked her to do it. Now I saw my chance, "Hey, want to dress up in Mommy's princess dress for Grandma and Grandpa?" My excitement transferred to her and she agreed.

The beach was pretty busy that day but that didn't stop me from pulling out the dress and getting some shots while people watched. Despite it being bright and her squinting, I captured some great shots that I will treasure and will give to her when she is planning her own wedding someday. 

I also managed to catch come great shots of Asher playing in the sand. 

Afterwards Grandpa and Grandma swam in the brisk water of Lake Michigan while Asher and Journey ran in their undies thru the sand and waves. Good thing they're only 3!

Before heading out we decided to fly our kite for the first time. The kids had fun holding the string. 

Journey kept swinging her arm forward and back to watch the kite rise and fall.

Newaygo State Park, Michigan

We spent three days here in this densely treed park with only a one minute walk to the small lake overlook.  Here's the trail from our campsite:

This is a small town and it took us awhile of driving to find a place to eat that was not a biker bar.

Our second day here, we said goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma, but we will be back to their house in a few months!

The park has a frisbee golf course running thru the campground which Asher and Journey were very interested in. While watching a group playing near our site, a player let them hold a disc to see what it's like. We hiked a trail along the lake to the beach and boat ramp where we let Asa swim. Asher is getting really good at throwing a stick for her to retrieve.

We drove to the dam and found a nice beach and playground.

 On the way back to the truck we were playing hide and seek behind the trees when Journey found a cicada shell.

 Then we all found a bunch on the trees around us. I remember looking for these with my brother when we were kids.

Blueberry Picking in Michigan

Just a few miles from our campsite at Warren Dunes, we found a fabulous blueberry patch. We actually made two trips as the fun of picking combined with the attractive price of $2/lb was too much to resist.

Asher picked a few green ones his first time out, but on his second trip, he was very discerning and could have been hired for the job.

I'm fairly certain none of the berries Journey picked ended up in the bucket.

We still ended up with a couple pounds of fresh, delicious blueberries!

Warren Dunes State Park, Michigan

My dad and Helen joined us for a few days in Michigan, this makes them our first houseguests in our RV! Our first stop: Warren Dunes. The draw of this state park is the 260 ft sand dunes on the shore of Lake Michigan.

The lake itself holds gorgeous shades of blue with waves breaking white onto the smooth, tiny stone beach. Past the layer of rock was soft light sand that continue all the way to the top of the dunes. The views from the top are beautiful and only from the very top was a glimpse of Chicago's skyscrapers in the far distance.

We spent time relaxing at the top before running, rolling and sliding down the large dunes.

We dined at Greenbush which was an impressive brewery with delicious food and (the most exciting part) a LEGO table!

Why have I never seen this in a restaurant before? It's pure genius!

With full bellies we returned to the beach to watch the sunset while the kids threw rocks. The sky turned the most amazing shades of pink before the sun finally dipped into the water.