Saying Goodbye to July

 July was quickly coming to a close, and the kids had just a few weeks left before they'd be heading back to school.  Time to make the most of this summer!

Of course, there was more horsing around with Penny, who happily wore her fly mask to keep the pesky critters out of her eyes.

Lucie came for a visit and immediately claimed the very back seat in the van.

Jason took nightly walks around the property with Koda.

The goats made it their mission to not only look super cute, but also eat all the bark off of this tree that they could reach.

Big storms rolled through...

and left us with beautiful rainbows.

My favorite plant bloomed, gifting us with its amazing scent!

Jason's friends came to town for some much needed bro time and they had fun golfing and catching up.

Our neighbors held their annual summer bash where there was an epic Cornhole tournament.  Brady and I managed to come away as the big winners!

And Nash played outside until he was completely played out.

Flint Junior Golf came to a close, and Nash ended the year in sixth place in the top division.  To celebrate, we brought his scooter along so he could check out this awesome urban skate park in Flint.

We hadn't been blueberry picking in a few years, so we headed out one morning to fill our buckets.  In less than thirty minutes, I think we had more bug bites than blueberries, and we had to get out of there!  We did manage to pick enough to make a couple of pies, though!

While we were playing the days away here in Michigan, Owen was at Camp Lejeune, learning how to drive one of these!

It was another week filled with lots of little things, but we all found ways to have fun.  If you know me, it was time for a change of scenery, so I packed up some of the kids and made it to the lake, just in time to catch one of those Northern Michigan sunsets.

With that, we said goodbye to July and August was here.  That was fast-wasn't it just the Fourth of July?

Summertime Slowdown

 Now, just because I call it a slowdown, doesn't mean it was a slow week.  There were no big trips or adventures, but life on a farm never really comes to a standstill.

Summertime is for sleeping in late, and then riding horses all day, right?  Well, that's a perfect day for Alayna, and she did a lot of both.  Penny the horse was a bit of a project, but Alayna continued to work with her every day.  Penny was definitely a feisty girl, and also a little unpredictable at times.  

Sometimes, Alayna would stay so long down the road working with Penny that we'd have to drive down and escort her home.  If only horses had headlights!

And while we're on the topic of Penny, she also had her first visit from the farrier this week.  She stood like a champ while he trimmed her hooves and made sure all was well with her feet.  He did remark that maybe she had had a past injury and did we know anything about that?  We did not.  The goats were also quite interested in the farrier services and spent their time jumping in and out of his trailer, and getting right up in his business while he was working!

Aside from horsing around, there were still other things to do here on the farm.  Our spring-hatched chicks were getting bigger and would soon be ready to explore more of the yard.

There was also the business of collecting not only eggs, but apples from our nearest tree as well!  We don't always have a great apple crop, but this year seems to be a winner!

And since we're talking about all things farm, let's not forget a tractor!  Alayna uses this little one to transport bales of hay and straw to the goats and horse as needed.

This week we also celebrated my mom's birthday with our family a little bit late.  Of course I had to make her favorite chocolate cake for the celebration!

After dinner, we took a nice walk around the tall corn that is growing on our property.  Lucie especially liked the giant mud puddle and couldn't resist barreling through it several times.

We even had a chance to visit a neighboring farm, and of course Alayna found a horse there to love on, too!

On July 20th, severe storms were predicted to come through our area.  Although our farm missed the worst of it, our city suffered severed damage from tennis ball sized hail.  Roofs, windows, siding, and cars were damaged beyond repair.  Driving through town in the aftermath of the storm was like driving through a battle zone.  It will be some time before everyone fully recovers from that storm.

The weekend came, and with it, golf!  Jason, Nash, my dad and I hit the links for a fun afternoon.  The highlight of the afternoon was when Jason somehow managed to lose his ball IN a tree!

Flint Junior Golf also continued, and Nash and I were loving our Monday mornings together.

We stopped at a candy store on the way home, and Nash scooped up an iconic Mr. Beast chocolate bar.  He doesn't even like chocolate, but sometimes you just need some bragging rights, you know?

So, in a week where not much happened, things still happened.  And although none of these things were big, we held on to all the little things.

The Third Week of July

 Are you ready for a week of adventures?  I started this week off by heading to the cabin.  As my parents and I were waiting for our table at a local restaurant, my mom and I realized we were wearing the same shoes...

I was up early the next morning to once again run those Gaylord trails I love.  My motivation for getting out early is to not only beat the heat, but also to get to this part of the forest before the sun gets too high in the sky.  I love catching those tall trees in just the right light.

With no kids to entertain, my dad and I made our own fun.  I finally got him out for a kayak paddle and we had a good time!

My aunt, Kristi, flew in from Colorado, and Uncle Scott drove up from Linden, and we all met at a cool little place in Gaylord for fancy drinks and delicious little small plate appetizers.  It was nice to see my aunt, if only for a little while!

I snuck out at sunset on the kayak because I just couldn't resist the calm lake and cooler summer air.

On Friday, I said goodbye to the family and headed north.  Up and over the bridge and west to Marquette.  I was driving my gigantic 12 passenger van and pulling our camper.  I was headed for another North Country Trail run, and the camper would be our home the next few days. 

I arrived at Perkins Park Campground, and easily found a helpful guy more than willing to back my big rig into its resting place.  This campground is on Lake Independence and I had a beautiful spot, nestled in underneath the trees.

Matt, Dave and I headed to the Maritime Museum in Marquette on Saturday morning to meet up with Josh, and began our run before 9am. I had been excited to get to this section of the trail for quite some time.  I had run portions of the NCT in Marquette during the Marquette 50k, and always got excited when I saw those blue blazes.  We were shooting for about 25 miles on Saturday, and had a lot of ground to cover. 

The trail was flat as we made our way through Marquette and headed away from town.  Soon enough, we hit the rocks and roots and the technical trail that would be with us for most of the day. 

After a couple of hours, our first big climb took us to the top of Hogback Mountain.  We took some time to take in the views from the top, and then feasted on wild blueberries as we headed back down.

Water breaks were taken as needed, sometimes pumping directly from the streams, and sometimes we were lucky enough to find a big pump!

The trail continued on through tall trees, atop boardwalks, across sheer rock, and to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.

We stepped out to Lake Superior whenever we could to take in that shoreline, and even snuck out to the point near Little Presque Isle, where we took off our packs and shoes and socks and waded in the icy water.

Those blue blazes continued to show us the way and then, we came to a sad point.  This where the trail turns away from Lake Superior and heads inland, and this is our last look at that Great Lake for many, many miles.

After some road running, and a little rain, we were on a magical section of the NCT that runs along the side of the Little Garlic River.  The guys stopped to filter water and I continued on ahead.  I loved this section of the trail and the time I had to myself there.  

Soon enough, the guys came along, and it was time to get this day finished.  We were approaching 5pm and we were glad the end was in sight.

And then, we had made it back to our car.  It was a long day, but a really great section of trail, and I think we all enjoyed the mountains and rivers and lakes along the way.

Day two came, and we ran into a bit of an issue getting to where we needed to be to stage a car for the end of the day's run.  The "road" we were on got skinnier and skinnier until we were forced to turn around.  There were a few anxious moments as we turned our vehicles around and found a safe place to park for the day. 

Today's run was to be about 17.5 miles, and we were ready to get going!  

This section of trail had a pretty remote start and was quite overgrown.  It definitely took some time figuring out the correct path.  And just a few miles in, we riled up some ground hornets who stung both Josh and me.  Those things HURT, let me tell you.  Thankfully, just down the hill from the swarm, there was an icy river and we both got in without even pausing to take our shoes off.  The cold water really helped with the initial stinging sensation.  

We continued on down the trail, and I pouted for a little bit.  The hornets had ruined my fun for a few minutes.

The trail continued to be a little confusing, but we did come across a waterfall, and the pain in my ankle slowly subsided.

And then the trail spit us out onto the road, and that's when the real misery began.  Endless dirt roads, and it was hot, and the biting flies and other flying things tormented us.  I wasn't enjoying this, and I couldn't wait to be done.  There were some gorgeous views as we crossed some bridges, but I sure was glad when we made that final turn down the trail to our vehicle.

The last section of trail was re-routed due to a logging project, and our final views were of big machines and cut down trees.  Hopefully by next year, the trail will be ready for use.

Finally, we made it back to Dave's truck and I was very excited.  Not as excited as Matt, clearly, but still, I was happy to be done.

While I was out adventuring, things were still happening with the rest of the family. Nash did some fishing in the neighbor's pond, Alayna and Jason bought a new horse trailer to fix up, Jason's name was on the sign for a free cone, and Owen leveled up in Marine Corps Martial Arts to green belt!

I stayed an extra night at Perkins Park that Sunday, and I lounged in the camper while the rain poured down for several hours.  It was so peaceful there all alone and I was glad I had made the choice to stay.

On Monday, it was time to leave the Upper Peninsula.  I drove my big rig east and then south over the Mackinaw Bridge to the cabin.  I unhooked the camper and stayed the night there before MORE adventure.

Early Tuesday, I headed east to Hoeft State Park along Lake Huron.  I hadn't run with my girls in forever and it was time!  The Lake Huron Shoreline was gorgeous as I neared the park just before 7am.

First, we headed north to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse.  The park wasn't open to cars yet, and we had the grounds to ourselves.  We jumped in the sand, rang the bell, visited with the chickens and took allllll the pictures.

Then we headed back south, refueled at camp, and continued on further south.  We were headed towards Rogers City, but found a little trail along the way to explore and it was quite nice!

The day was warming up quite a bit, and Kara and I were happy to indulge in ice cream cones in Rogers City before heading back to camp.

Thankfully the geese were kind enough to let us pass, and we had a great day running together and catching up on each others' lives.

This is where this week's adventures end.  I left that day completely exhausted after so much running both with my NCT friends, and my girls here on the northern east side, but my cup was full.