A Visit from Grandpa and Grandma

We love when grandparents visit! Ryan’s parents arrived on Friday and spent five days of quality time with us. The chilly, dreary weather didn’t stop us from outdoor adventure either! Read on for a recap of their visit:)

Friday

The boys came home from school, and grandpa and grandma were here! Everyone was very excited. We ate dinner at home Friday evening since Ryan’s parents traveled all day. After dinner, we decided to take a walk at Veronica Valley, a park I have mentioned before that is just down the road from our house. We looked closely along the path for morel mushrooms, but it’s still too early so no luck yet. However, we found lots of evidence of beavers at work which the boys tend to get very animated about!

Saturday

Our weekend kicked off with a hot breakfast of bacon and eggs prepared by grandma and grandpa. Then we set off to explore a hiking trail along the Boardman River. The boys were pretty enthusiastic to get close to the river. Thankfully, no one fell in!

After our hiking adventure, we stopped in a used bookstore called Blue Vase Book Exchange. If you love books, this is the place to go! It’s clean and organized, with a wide variety of books at very fair prices. Grandma and Grandpa generously bought the boys a boxful of books and we enjoyed reading them during their stay. I also picked up Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover so looking forward to reading that one in the near future.

We were all getting hungry, so lunch was next on the agenda. Ryan had been wanting to try a new brewery called Loco Boys Brewing Company. We secured a table in our own private nook which was perfect with three lively boys. I ordered a raspberry sour (the Sour Senorita) which tasted fruity and refreshing. The food was also delicious, and the boys enjoyed reading their new books.

After lunch, we discovered Owen was missing his beloved werewolf toy. He already had lost his original one from his birthday when we were in Ohio. Grandma had just gifted him that one the day before and it was already lost again!

We backtracked our steps from the day, first driving back to the trailhead. No luck there so we called the bookstore. The woman on the phone was very kind and took our number in case it was found. Ryan decided since we were close to head back to the bookstore anyway. We remembered Owen sitting on the sofa reading with grandpa, so Ryan lifted the cushion to check. And what do you know, it was there! Thank you, St. Anthony!

Sunday

On Sunday morning, grandpa and grandma cooked us breakfast again! We were spoiled!

After breakfast we got ready for the day and headed downtown. We visited some shops, including the infamous Cherry Republic. This store offers free samples so that is always fun to navigate with the boys. We also walked down to the boardwalk along the river. The boys were enamored with all the fish in the water!

With a little time to kill before a house showing, we decided to stop in Incredible Mo’s since we had some credit left on our game card from a previous visit. Incredible Mo’s is an indoor amusement center with a restaurant, bowling, and arcade games. The boys enjoyed some Mario Kart!

After the house showing, everyone was pretty hungry. We drove to Little Traverse Inn for an early dinner, which none of us have ever been to before. The gastro pub is tucked inside a quaint bed and breakfast and they offer lovely outdoor seating during the summer months. I enjoyed a glass of Pinot Gris and a delicious perch basket.

We were pretty close to Shalda Creek so decided to make a stop. The boys found lots of beaver chewed trees! You can read about a previous visit to Shalda Creek here.

Of course, we had to check out the beach and the beautiful views of Lake Michigan. It’s a short walk and the perfect spot for rock hunting.

I was obviously hot for Petoskey Stones that day, because I ended up finding eight in the short time we were there! Ryan found a handful too. They are fun to look for and usually not so easy to find, so we were pretty lucky.

Exploring the beach and rock hunting is one of our favorite things to do up here. Grandma loves it too so it’s fun to share that experience with her when she visits.

Monday

Andrew and Lucas had school on Monday, so Owen got grandma and grandpa all to himself. The sun decided to make an appearance which was welcoming even though it was still pretty cold outside. We visited French Valley Vineyard, the same winery we went to on Ryan’s birthday. I ordered the Pinot Noir Rose and ended up buying a bottle of it. Owen enjoyed playing at the playground and one the staff members kindly gave him some feed for the chickens. They sure were hungry!

After school, grandpa and grandma took the boys to a unique rock store called Nawbin. They each got to pick out a cool rock and left the store happy with their new treasures. Grandpa and grandma actually bought them each a treasure box, so they were very excited to add their new rocks inside. These boys sure are lucky to have grandparents that love to spoil them!

I had soup cooking in the crockpot for dinner along with some salad and breadsticks (basically an Olive Garden copycat meal). Grandma and Grandpa bought the boys Harry and the Hendersons and they had fun watching that together before bed.

Tuesday

All three boys had school on Tuesday. Grandma and grandpa enjoyed some time in Leelanau together while I ran errands. We all met Ryan for lunch at North Peak Brewing Company.

After school, Andrew and Lucas had their very first soccer practice! They were so excited and jumped right into the action. Ryan and I were not sure how Andrew was going to do, but he exceeded our expectations. He followed directions and truly made an effort to do what the other kids were doing. This is why inclusion is so important!

Since it was their last night, we decided to go out for dinner. We were already in Suttons Bay for soccer practice, so we ended up at VI Grill. We did not know it was Trivia Night, so didn’t think we would get a table. However, right after we walked out the door the owner came out and graciously offered us a table in their private dining room. It was perfect and we enjoyed a lovely meal.

On Wednesday morning, we said our goodbyes which is always hard. The boys are so lucky to have two amazing sets of grandparents. Like I have said before, moving away from them was the most difficult part of making the move to Michigan. We remain thankful they take the time to visit and make sure to have that special quality time with their grandchildren. It’s been such a blessing!

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week! I am going to get caught up on some house chores and I have few appointments. Nothing too exciting, but that’s okay!