Escanaba 2011

Our time in Esky was good. We left on Saturday morning and made the trip with 2 stops. Once at McDonald's in Iron River (I wanted French Fries) only to realize that we were still in Central Time so they were still serving breakfast. So I got a sandwich and Lila got a baby ice cream cone (she learned how to eat and love those in Ironwood). Then we played in the grass with her for a while. Then we stopped once more to nurse her because she was hungry and wouldn't eat food.

She didn't get a good nap that day so she was a little cranky when we got there, but my family was sure happy to see us and I was happy to have Jake there for the evening and night. Aunt Jackie and Grandma came to visit.  Grandma and I looked at pictures online that Ann Trotter uploaded a few years ago... lots of old family photos.  Some of my great-great-great grandparents.  Really cool.  Gram had never seen some of those pictures.  There were quite a few of her father, brothers, and family when they were my age.  She still calls her dad "daddy."  She thinks this is her "last hoorah."  That she probably won't have another summer.  She's grateful for the chance she's had to see so many of her grandkids and great-greatkids this summer, her "babies" she called them.

Saturday evening was really nice, after Lila went to bed.  Mom, Jake, and I sat out on the deck and talked for a while.  It was relaxing.  We played cards too and ate some awesome popcorn.  I really enjoyed having Jake there with me, even if it was just for one night.  Meant a lot to me.

My mom had a blast with Lila, as usual.  I got a lot of time to myself, to read and rest and relax.  She'd take Lila for walks in the stroller and to play in the yard.  Lila's favorite thing to do was open and close (and go in and out) the sliding screen door.  So she did that a lot and would kind of throw a fit when we'd make her stop.  She ate well.  Lots of ravioli, mashed potatoes.  Mom introduced her to M&Ms one morning while I slept in (I guess that's what grandmas are for?).

Jake left Sunday after church.  My mom didn't go, of course, but the rest of us did and sat in the front row.  Lila did pretty well for the first half of the meeting but was pretty tired/cranky.  The speakers didn't take long enough, so President Wilber (Kevin is now the branch president!) asked Jake and I to speak.  I spoke briefly about how we've been blessed and guided in our marriage so far... being "sent" to Kalamazoo.  I spoke as long as I could, but looked up at the clock and there was still 15 minutes left of the meeting.  So I said, "Well, I'll leave Jake the rest of the time because I know he likes to talk."  So he talked a lot, but also ran out of things to say, so the meeting ended early.  Cindy Lowry was there, first time I've seen her in years.  She looks so grown up now, older and more mature.  She has one more year of college left.

I cried when I said goodbye to Jake.  I think mostly out of habit... because I knew that the time apart would go by fast and that Lila and I would have a lot of fun.  Skyping helps a lot, too... though we didn't  talk to each other a whole lot while we were separated.  We were both pretty busy.

One afternoon, Mom, Lila and I went to ShopKo.  We ran into Mallery Fisher and her mom, Cindy, there.  I don't think I've talked to or seen Mal since we graduated.  She looks exactly the same.  Just graduated and is taking boards to become a Registered Dietician.  We brought Lila to the shoe section to try different sandals and clogs on her, but she chose out a pair all on her own that she wanted.  Mom bought them for her.  She took a giant poop there too, which was fun. :)

Stopped at Aunt Rose's after that and saw her, Uncle Steve and cousin Buck.  Good to see them, they haven't really changed.  Her and Mom are such Trotters and Yoopers.

Wednesday the 13th was my grandma's 86th birthday.  The summer that Jake and I were engaged, we had a big family birthday party for her 80th, and last year was the party for her 85th.  Mom, Lila, and I went to her house.  When we got there, so did Uncle Dave and the Bruinsma's.  Uncle Dave brought Gram flowers and also bought her a new set of phones for her house (hers are really old).  He was showing her how to use them and she burst into tears and cried for a while.  Said he was too good to her, lol.  Poor Gram.  Cousin Sam brought his new little kitty and Lila liked that.  Then we sat outside for a while and did bubbles and took some pictures.  Uncle Dave went to pick up Jan.  She's just finished cancer treatments and went in for a PET scan to find out if the cancer is gone, but she didn't have the results yet.  Poor Janny.

That night we went to the Bishop Noa Home where Emily, Jenna, and Haille played music (violin, piano, flute, sang) to the old people there.  Gram came too for the "concert" -- it was their birthday gift to her.

We watched True Grit one night (my 3rd time seeing it), but I read the novel The Help through it.  Em bought and read it the previous week and really enjoyed it, and I loved it too.  It was so nice to be able to read a book again.  I also was able to read from the scriptures a lot, and I loved that too.

We took Lila to Ludington Park one evening.  Got to see the birdies by the lake (birdie is one of her new favorite words) and she played for a little at Harbor Hideout.  Mostly she just loved climbing and descending all the steps.

I think those are most of the highlights.  Dad likes to watch TV and go out to eat still.  He got an iPad 2 to help with all of his music and lyrics for his job, which is a great idea.  It was the first thing he told me though when I saw him, lol.  Mom is good too.  She still nags at my dad a lot, but I think they're pretty fond of each other when all is said and done.  She's gotten wayyy attached to animals... she checks the Delta County Animal Shelter Facebook page all the time and comments on all the pictures.  She's obsessed with watching live bald eagle webcams and calls them her "babies." lol. oh boy.  Anyway, they're doing well.  My mom just adores Lila.  She's going to like having another baby to dote on in December.

We left on Thursday at 12:30.  Emily had a doctor's appointment that morning, or we would've left earlier.  It was pretty good timing... Lila fell asleep right away, but only slept for 30-40 minutes and then cried and was super cranky.  So finally I stopped 45-50 miles away from the bridge and we got out and walked for a while at a rest stop on the shore.  Then we stopped again at McDonald's at the bridge for a while and I stuffed my face.  There were some old people next to us who were being friendly to Lila, and I overheard them say, "Oh, she doesn't look at all like the mother."  After that, Lila slept for an hour and a half or 2 hours, which was amazing, and then was very happy for another hour, so we didn't have to stop for 3+ hours.  We got a lot of good driving done in that time... I did all the driving on that trip, I figured I probably drive faster (and safer) than Emily does.  We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Big Rapids for dinner at Subway and let Lila happily walk around the store for a while.  In the car, she was entertained by snacks (she ate a lot of crackers, thankfully), and M and Ms for when she was really cranky (worked like a charm) and books and our phones.  I wish we would've had some Sesame Street episodes with us, she would've liked that.  We had to stop again before Grand Rapids because she was screaming and crying; I'd forgotten to nurse her.  So I got a milkshake and played with her for a while, and she was happy.  Then we got back into the car for the final stretch.  She screamed and cried for 30-45 minutes and fell asleep just as we were getting to Kalamazoo, of course.  We got there at 10:00.

Jake was so happy to see us.  He'd just started making cookies for me, which was really sweet of him.  We quickly unloaded Emily's car and then played with Lila till 11:00, and then she went to bed, and Jake and I were up for another hour visiting.  I missed him and he missed me.  I was so glad to be together as a family again, in our own house.

So, overall a great time.  I told my mom though that that's the last trip to the UP till after the baby's born! That drive is too insane for me right now.