Sara who has been with us this last week. It is beyond lovely having her around. She is so much help with the kids, a great exercise buddy, a skilled addition in the kitchen, and a favorite friend. The best part-we've got her with us one more week!Maybe you'd have to know my dad and my husband better to appreciate the humor captured here.
These are some other pictures I found in the same folder.
A Full House I really love having lots of people over, fixing ridiculous amounts of food, cleaning the house in preparation, and the general merriment that comes from crowds of friends. I think this passion came ingrained in my DNA, as my parents have always had a flare for entertaining others. Our house was always a gathering place. Everyone was welcome with or without notice. When I was a little girl, my mom would host these huge slumber parties. The bathtubs were filled with ice and beverages, the kitchen was stuffed with munchies, and we were promptly ushered to Grandma's. My parents were always really supportive about any hair brained party idea we would come up with. I want our house to be like that for our kids. (Mostly because having them and their friends playing on our territory will make it easier for us to keep a vigilant eye on things. I suspect this was the source of my parent's acquiescence.)
The little downtown strip is full of boutique and gift shops, mom and pop restaurants, and naturally, tons of fudge shops. Apparently, Michiganders and those who visit Michigan love their fudge.
We really enjoyed touring the historical sites. Our introduction to the island's history was Fort Mackinac (it is actually pronounced--and sometimes spelled-- Mackinaw. This applies when referring to the Mackinac City, Mackinac Island, and Fort Mackinac). The Fort was originally built buy the British, then lost to the Americans in the Revolutionary War, then taken back by the British in the War of 1812, then regained by the Americans shortly there after. The story is that it was an important hub in the fur trading route, and that's why everyone wanted the territory. But once we were up in the fort, I was left with a different impression. It is completely beautiful. The Fort saw very little military action. It was probably the most coveted and cushy post assignment in the history of British and American military bases. It has been preserved pretty nicely. I always enjoy seeing authentic architectural details like the stamped bricks and ornamental shutter stops.
We were able to use the ticket we bought for the fort to get into the other historical sites in town. The sites are all of the living history sort, where there are people dressed in period clothing, doing the work with the very tools used in the day. At the Biddle house, the women were spinning wool and making strawberry and rhubarb pie with produce out of the garden growing behind the house. We had a lovely visit with the smithy. We saw the famous general store where Alexis St. Martin was accidentally shot at close range by his friend. The wound caused by the shooting cauterised an open hole into St. Martin's side exposing his stomach. It was through this whole that Dr. William Beaumont conducted years of research that yielded countless discoveries regarding the functions of the stomach and the digestive system. Gross, but fascinating.
Cori is working on a puzzle called 'the devil's needle.' These puzzles were made and sold by the smithy's and accompanied families on long voyages in the day before DVD players.
The kids didn't mind the rainy weather. Cori and I donned our rain coats and let Gracie hold on to Cori's golf umbrella.On our last day, we took a horse drawn carriage tour of the whole island. It hit a few sites in town which we had seen already, but then we got to see the inside of the state park. If we had it to do again, I think we would rather rent bikes and see it all on our own. The tour didn't spend very much time at any of the stops. But the horses were amazingly huge, and the tour guide was totally cheesy and entertaining. The park is wild and beautiful. It is so green and lush. There are wild flowers everywhere. We were warned that if we picked any of the flowers we would be charged a hefty fine of upwards of $500 a flower! Crazy.
Clockwise from upper left: skull cave which is now collapsed; the huge horses; Post Cemetery which is protected within the state park; the arch.
Clockwise from the upper left: the elusive and endangered yellow lady slipper; white trillium; a close up of the biggest bleeding heart plant I've ever seen; I don't know what this is, but I think it looks pretty.
Yikes. I really want to get back there. The whole experience was fun and so interesting. I think we really need to see what it's like in the Fall...
The Grand Hotel from the ferry
There are no automobiles permitted on the island, excepting a few emergency vehicles. All transportation is accomplished by foot, by bike, or by equine. We did a lot of walking. With so many beautiful things to see, it was a pleasure taking in the sites at a walking pace. This was especially true around the hotel grounds.
The Parlor, just outside the Salle a Manger (Dining Room) 
Every room is decorated differently. You may wonder how such a thing could be possible with 400 plus rooms. But the color scheme of our room will make you a believer. Pink faux drapery wall paper with grass-green gingham accents. No combination was off-limits. Some things I loved about the room: the four poster beds, the hand painted geraniums on the head boards, a real key on a key ring (as opposed to a programmable slide card), large windows, and our garden view. We got to see the hotel inside and out in all kinds of weather. We had one glorious perfect sunny day followed by a couple grey drizzly days. The power on a lot of the island went out a couple of times our last day there. I love the above picture of the Grand in the fog.
I know that Grant has bare feet. I have a hard time putting shoes (and socks during the Summer) on my kids before they are walking. I would have loved to have had something more formal to dress him in. But the nearest non-Walmart, cute-baby-clothes, affordable place is 1 1/2 hours away. So there are all my excuses. :)
The table was packed even before they brought out food; the downstairs parlor; this horse drawn carriage motif is everywhere--this is a picture of the embroidered shower curtain in our room; this sign is out in front of the hotel.
And dinner was the fanciest part of staying there. In the evenings, there is a harpist in the parlor. And then the Salle a Manger! It was like walking into a scene from Hello Dolly!. Servers in bow ties and tails bustled covered trays of food in every direction. The tables are set with formal etiquette. Our first dinner there, escargot and another shellfish dish were on the menu. We had 13 utensils set around our plates. Needless to say, this became quickly cumbersome once Gracie was set up to the table. Though she did become proficient at using a butter knife. Little lady. There is a jazz quartet that plays in the dining room for dinner. It was 5 courses of delicious, entertaining bliss every night. After dinner service, there are a couple of places to go for drinks (if you are so inclined, which of course, we were not) and dancing (something for which, of course, we were inclined). There is a little orchestra with a vocalist that plays in the Terrace, and a jazz duo that plays in a two story bar that occupies the cupola. It will come as no surprise that Gracie was always game for a turn around the dance floor.
After dinner and dancing, we would take one last stroll on the porch before heading upstairs. There is a wonderful turn down service, complete with a chocolate mint. We would kiss our babies, put up our weary happy feet, and smile ourselves to sleep.
We also toured the Brigham Young Summer Home historical site. This was so interesting. We learned more about the founding and history of St. George as well as lots of interesting little tidbits of how these great saints lived back in the day. We ate delicious nuts from Brigham's majestic pecan tree. Learning, seeing, touching and tasting history. I love this kind of stuff.
There were so many things to love about this wedding day. 
