RV adventure: Michigan: dunes

pool time

bald baby

s'mores

fire watching after the kiddos were sleeping

playground

Little Glen and Big Glen Lakes

Dunes and Lake Michigan

sand and more sand

Lake Michigan

pizza and tater tots.

dune climbing and RV in the lot.

Running back down.

Eva taking a rest.

On the road.

Back on the road.  We left Holland, stopped for dinner, grocery restocking and headed to our next campsite.  The next stop was Duck Creek Resort.  We thought by now a day of relaxing would be good, so we picked a RV resort with a really nice pool and huge playground.

We were hooked up pretty late in the evening, so we took a quick swim, snacked and headed to bed.  The next day we spent all day at the playground and pool.   We grilled our dinners and the kids caught marshmallows on fire.  I did teach Michael how to just toast a marshmallow, slowly, until is was gooey and brown (not black).  He had never had a non-scorched s'more before.

We headed out early the next morning for Sleeping Bear Dunes. The views were amazing.  We climbed the huge dune and raced back down.  It was a trek, especially since I had Helena in the carrier.  The kids screamed and laughed the whole run down and Eva climbed again just so she could run back down.

After a long day exploring - we hit the road for Traverse City.

RV adventure: pit stop

We are going all the way around.

Shoe slide

Feeding all the animals.

Swings!

Helena's first carousel.

Trains

Clogs and dancing.

Dancing lessons.

We left Indiana and headed north.  Off the side of the road in Holland, Michigan we passed a spot with bunting, little houses and a ferris wheel.  We had no idea what it was, but it looked like a lot of fun.  We turned the RV around and found ourselves at Nelis Dutch Village.

This place was so stinking cute.  Rides, music, animals and ice cream.  We spent a few hours there, had fa snack back in the RV and then drove on.  Gotta love a good pit stop.

RV adventure: Indiana

Getting loaded up.

Lunch stop

Walk to the beach.

Lake Michigan - Indiana Dunes

Exhausted....

times two.

Dinner

Hanging around the campsite.

Dirt and sticks for days.

Practicing her standing and walking skills... she would have it down in a few more days.

Sunhat for the win.

At the very end of July and beginning of August we set out on our RV adventure.   Driving all the way around Lake Michigan. Michael came up with this idea over a year ago and to be honest - I never thought it would actually happen.  Three kids in a tiny house on wheels?  Sounds pretty crazy right?

There we were booking a RV and planning out our stops.  I was nervous, really nervous and excited.  It had such great potential for greatness and for catastrophe.  But then we were on the road and having a great time.  Everything was easier than we thought it would be.  It was seriously our best trip with little kids so far.

We left Ohio, headed to Indianapolis to pick up the RV, found a local burger stop, grabbed some food from the grocery and drove up to Indiana Dunes State Park where we stayed two nights.  We fell into a pretty quick rhythm and the kids had a blast.  Beaches, forest, trails, the lake, playgrounds... it was a good start.

the beach

The Bixlers at the beach.

We spent a week in South Carolina at the end of May.  We stayed in the same place we did when Theo was a little guy and Eva remembers it now.  She calls it "our beach" and all other beaches are considered a new beach.

It was Helena's first beach trip and she was a fan.  We swam and ate and swam some more.  Met up with some of our favorite friends, found new parks to play and explored the ocean.

There was a jellyfish sting and all Mr. Theodore had to say about it was, "Ouch that hurt."  Seriously, he's a bruiser.  Eva was pinched by a crab and was a little more upset by it.

We had a babysitter and we went out to dinner, alone, for the first time since last summer.  Other than a few trips to meet up with our friends, we barely left the condo.  It was a great way to start our summer.

beach

I only took my big camera out of the room safe once.

The rest of the trip we were toddler chasing, hole digging and splashing in the ocean.

I wondered why I even brought it...

 but I am so glad I did.