Sketch Contest

Anyone up for a contest?
Check it out here or here.
But hurry..the contest ends June 30th @ midnight pacific time.

We had some wonderful food today!
First we ate at Mabel's around noon..we slept through breakfast..and Mabel's serves breakfast anytime of the day. I had the Stuffed Hash Brown Breakfast (Fresh hash browns, stuffed with American cheese, sour cream, onions and bacon) Served with 2 eggs and choice of toast or pancakes...and 1/2 of a Reuben sandwich (check it out below). I asked the waitress if she had wheelbarrows to wheel us to our truck..ha! Mom..you gotta eat here when you visit!

We visited another winery/vineyard yesterday. I could look at vineyards all day long..they are so beautiful!

We also took the kids to watch a baseball game yesterday. The Traverse City Beach Bums. The stadium was packed!

Then for dinner tonight..we ate at Tuscan Bistro. We accidentally found this place..and we are glad we did! The food is delicious..mom you gotta eat here also:)

Ok..time to check on laundry again.

We have a surprise for the kids tomorrow..so stay tuned!

I see the Moon and the Moon sees me. God Bless the Moon and God Bless Me.

We ate at the House of Doggs yesterday. They have almost 20 different ways to build a hot dog. It was the bomb! We will probably go back again before we leave town. We ate outside..the weather was perfect! The high was 67 and sunny.
We also went to see Kung Fu Panda at The Cherry Bowl Drive-In Theatre. We all snuggled in the back of my truck and watched the movie. The price included a double-feature (What Happens In Vegas)..but it would of been 2:00am before the second one ended..so we just left after Kung Fu Panda. We all had a lot of fun!


Next door was a little vintage shop called Penny Lane. This is the side of the building where Mattie is getting ready to have a seat on the little fence. Yikes! I thought she was going to break it!
I found another cute sign for the house here (I love signs) so Rich bought it for me:)
This little saying is from one of my very favorite movies..Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.
Scroll down to see my new sign!


Cherry Tree Inn
This is where we are staying until Friday.
I am doing some laundry on the second floor right now..see the little middle connecting piece between the two sides? That is where I am right now. It is a beautiful sitting area with white wicker furniture. Izabelle is down the hall in the game room..next to the laundry room. I think we are the only people up right now:)
1:09am


The view from the 4th floor. Rich and Izabelle decided they would check the temperature of the water yesterday..it was a little chilly..so they played some golf instead. We have our own little green!

Today we visted the Old Mission Lighthouse. Old Mission is a cute little city..quiet..not a lot going on. We looked at a house for sale on the lake there today. Rich & I would love to have a second home here. So we have been looking at lake houses here..checking the prices out..they are very reasonable..so that is our next goal. Maybe 2 years?

Wouldn't that be fun..mom? We could drive up here together with the kids and hang out for a month or two!

We also visted some vineyards & wineries today. The views are beautiful! Chateau Grand Traverse bottles an ice wine. Here is some information on it. Scroll down until you see 2005 Riesling Ice Wine. You can read about the process..it is very interesting.

And last..but not least

I did some scrapbooking this morning!

More JBS June 2008.

Good night..sleep tight..and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Somewhere over the rainbow..

On our way to the "Cherry Capitol of the World" today..we ran into a little storm that was producing some strong hail. I was worried about my truck getting damaged..but there isn't any..thankfully!
During the storm there were people pulling off of the road..I kept driving..slowly. I told Rich that if I just keep driving..we will eventually drive out of it..and we did..and look what we ran into.
Isn't it just beautiful!

5 years ago..today

Rich and I were married.
We celebrated the day today with a game of miniature golf @ The Congo River.
Here is a photo of us that Trae took to remember our 5th.


Mattie's 22 month {officially on the 16th} photo..I wanted to wait until we got to Illinois to take it. Here she is..modeling another A.C.T.G.F. outfit..so cute!
Photo taken on the front porch of our hotel.

Mattie taking a little nap..she got up early {6:30a)..so she took an early nap today.

Guess what!

I created a lo today. I used JB June 2008 kit.

We ate lunch today at:

Portillo's

I had the Portillo's Beef Hot Dog with mustard, relish, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle and sport peppers piled onto a perfectly steamed poppy seed bun.

yummm!

Mattie enjoying a piece of Chocolate Eclair Cake.

We stopped just to take a picture with this giant grill @ The Weber Grill Restaurant.

Mattie's first game of miniature golf.

Our hotel..

I give it ***** {5 stars}.

Izabelle and I bought paper dolls today in the gift shop inside our hotel. Here is a picture of Miss Sophie {Izabelle's doll}..my doll's name is Miss Emily.

For dinner we ate at Five O'Clock Steakhouse. It was our official anniversary dinner. The food and service was perfect!

Gotta go check on the laundry..good night:)

Hello...from the "Windy City"

Mattie catching a ride on the cooler. She rode it all the way to the ice machine and back. We brought a cooler with us to keep some milk and juice cold for Mattie.. (We have a little microwave and fridge..but it doesn't hold much)..plus a few other items: 2 lbs. Boar's Head Turkey, 2 lbs. Boar's Head Ham, cheese slices, 4 loaves of bread, tortillas, mustard, mayonaise, tomatoes, Pringles, dill pickles, Wickle pickles, diet coke, bottled water..we thought we could save a little money by eating the free hot breakfast here at the hotel..sandwiches for lunch and then enjoying dinner out. Oh..last night they had a {free reception} from 5:30p-7:00p..they had tacos, fruit, chips and salsas, cheese and crackers, etc. and free drinks. So we took advantage and just ate here for dinner.



We visited the Sears Tower today..I took this from the 103rd floor. We had to keep swallowing in the elevator..otherwise our ears would pop..we gave Mattie juice to drink. It took us less than one minute to reach the 103rd floor.

I took these on our way to eat pizza at Gino's East.

More of the Chicago Riverwalk.

Lake Michigan. I popped my head out of the sunroof for this one.

We also visited {The Navy Pier}..very cool!

We paid $8.25 for 3 churros..we asked if they were fresh..they said, "Yes" but they were old..yuck!

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

I had to take a picture..this just made me laugh!

Ryba's Fudge Shop.

It is 11:23p..I was going to scrapbook a little {yes..I brought scrapbooking supplies}..but I am getting sleepy and Rich has the A/C on 67..so I am bundled up under the covers right now and I don't want to get up..Brrrrrrr!