Lauren enjoying one of many "fashions" on display along Michigan Avenue
Time for a quick snack at the Hershey's store. Check out the frosting on those cupcakes
How much fun to hit the beach in the middle of the city!
Scott and his girls, after braving the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier
Found this big anchor at the end of Navy Pier
Our future astronaut (Museum of Science and Industry)
Waiting for our dinner at Rainforest Cafe. We were feeling a little silly after a day of exploring the city.
Syd and Mom being silly, too
Came upon a family event at Millenium Park. The girls loved the hulla hoops
Syd swinging those hips
Checkin' out the bean
One of our favorite stops in Chicago was at the fountain in Millenium Park.
The girls got brave enough to sit down in the water.
This could have ended badly, but they were just having too much fun
You can see the wet-factor has increased substantially at this point
Wet and tired, we hopped a ride back to the hotel on the trolley. The girls were thrilled to get to sit in the back
We arrived in St. Joseph, Michigan, just in time to catch the end of a carnival. Two pink ponies - perfect!
Lauren was a little frustrated with the workings of her bumper boat
We found these floaties in a dime store in downtown St. Joseph. And so continued our swimming fun (did not get a picture of the pool in Chicago, but it was very nice)
A statue at the top of the bluff in St. Joseph. You can see the entrance to the city beach and the lake in the background
Posing with our friends on a pile of cannonballs
Blueberry picking was a huge hit
Our harvest...it was great fun to get over 12 pounds of blueberries home!
Beach fun...Sydney loved the waves
Jumping the waves was a favorite passtime
Beauties preparing for the next big wave
There's a Sydney under all that water!
Once again, this vacation found us at the foot of Tower Hill. We're psyching ourselves up for the climb
The girls got a quick start, at least compared to Mom and Dad. That's them in the lower right corner of the picture
The final upward scramble
Mom with two girls who were far too busy to pose for a picture at the top of Tower Hill
Down we go!!! Check out the expanses of sand in front of us. There's another downhill run ahead off to the right
Beautiful scenery and a beautiful girl
Sydney spent most of her beach time scouring for shells. As you can imagine, they are not plentiful in Michigan
Sand castle factory
This year, St. Joseph had a street display of boats. One of our very favorites was the candy land boat
Visiting a nature preserve - Mom and the girls.
Along the boardwalk at swamp level. Which is also mosquito level (they found Syd particularly tasty)
We are told that dragonflies eat mosquitoes.
A train passing by a local pizza place. Notice both girls covering their ears
A vacation full of elevator rides. They liked to have a contest to see who could predict which elevator would arrive first, and kept track for the whole trip
Pool time. The life vests were wonderful
Jumping in
Fun times with the floaties
Racing mom the length of the pool
Most of the time the hot tub was too hot for even mom (which is saying a lot)
Syd perferred to sit in the little foot wash
Recycling on our heads
Another boat, just outside the candy shoppe
Syd the beachcomber
Lauren spent her beach time chasing the gulls
How could you not love a vacation like this?
I couldn't have posed her for this pretty of a shot
Still beach-combing...
Lauren writing her name in the sand. Syd making sure she didn't dig up any shells
Pretty Lauren on the pier at St. Joesph
Lovely Syd before our walk to the end of the pier
We watched as the man caught and brought in this big fish
Daddy and his girls at sunset near the lighthouse
St. Joseph lighthouse
Back to the beach
Lauren took this rare pic of mom and dad together
Lighthouse at sunset
The following pictures were all taken on the same evening. It was a sunset that changed with every passing minute, each more stunning than the last. Enjoy!
South Haven pier
We saw a number of statues, and this was our favorite. Must have been the floatie she was carrying
View of the marina and South Haven lighthouse pier
Building a castle with no buckets, no shovels, and no water. Only the drink umbrella we saved from lunch to mark the little sand pile as a castle
