St Joseph, MI aka The Beach

This summer when Mom and Dan were visiting, we thought it would be fun to take a day trip to Lake Michigan.  I have had my eyes set on the town of St. Joseph for a few years, but we haven't made it up there yet.  So we decided to have ourselves a little adventure.  Spontaneous trips like these are the ones cemented in my mind and memories I hang on to for a life time.

First stop, Rise' n Roll Bakery.  This has to be my all time favorite Amish bakery. 

They make the most amazing pastries!!!!

After 2 1/2 hours of driving, we are here and completely stunned at the beauty of our surroundings!

What a day to remember!!

My beautiful bunch!

On our way down to the beach.  It was quite a walk, but we found free parking...so worth it!

First time in the sand

loving the feel of it!

We've got the sunscreen caked on!



Can you sense his excitement?

Trying to keep those eyes open in the beautiful bright sunlight.

Into the water we go!

First things first...seashell hunting!

Stop and let your silly mother take the picture that she holds in her head! Thanks kids!

Action shot!

Checking out the water.



 

It didn't take Nate long to dive right in and

 start burning some serious energy.

One of my favorite pictures of Luke...I can feel his excitement! Luke loved the waves.

He would laugh and giggle every time they would crash against his body.

So happy!!

Deep in concentration, building your very first sand castle is a very important task!

Trying to get it just right!

Rather than building, Cari found digging to be her style.

Nate helped some, too.

Mr. Smiley again.

Just BEAUTIFUL!!!

Popo and Nene soaking up some beautiful sunshine while enjoying their grand babies!

Finished and proud!!

They all loved the sand!



What a sand hole!

The goofy side of Noah.

My mom loves the ocean and this is as close to the ocean as we are going to get for awhile. You can imagine her excitement getting to be with her grand kids for their first trip to the "ocean".

Looking hard for some seashells!

One way to cool off!

Out to the water again!



Cari is very excited to be about as tall as Nene.  She has been

waiting for this moment for the past couple of years!

"Sand" tanning

My beautiful girl all ready for middle school.

Well if you are reading this, you endured my many pictures.  This was a very small amount of what I took, but I couldn't help myself.  There are days that seem to be as picture perfect as possible.  For me this is one of them.  We had so much fun at the beach!