Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island...July 4th Holiday!

Better late than never, right?
I know this is a July 4th holiday post...and I'm a little ok, a LOT late.

But I wanted to make sure I got this trip posted before our NEXT one, LOL!

So anyway, we went up north for a week's vacation.

We started our trip in Mackinaw City for one night.

The boys always love playing on the beach/in the water and getting carried away by the big waves from the ferries.

This is what it's all about.

Ahhhh!

Shhh, don't tell him I posted this.

He hates his picture taken!

Ha!

Chillin' on the beach out back of our hotel.

One of my favorite pics, LOL!

Pausing for a pic...

After they played in the lake, the boys went and played in the pool

They were two little prunes by the time they were done playing in the water!

One of our all time favorite stops...Moody's Ice Cream.

Very inexpensive...and VERY large portions.

Just the way we like it, LOL!

Chocolate...and stilettos...what could be better?

One of these days, I'm going to actually buy one of these giant caramel apples.

The next day we headed over to the island for our week's stay!

On board Shepler's!

Every year we say we're not going to do it...

And every year we do it again.

We hike around the entire island...BY FOOT.

It was unseasonably hot!

Nate always likes to stop at Sugar Loaf Rock.

(Jam and the boys.)

And so we stop!

(Me and the boys.)

I found this adorable sun hat while there and it was such a bargain!

For the first time ever in all the years we've gone to the island, my scalp didn't get burnt!

Me and the boys...with a freighter going by behind us.

Dinner at the Round Island Bar & Grille.

Nate and his chicken.

Devil's Kitchen.

We always stop here for a family picture...every time we come up.

But they cut down our favorite shade tree!

Boohoo!

The boys love skipping stones.

Arch Rock.

I never tire of seeing it...or anything on the island for that matter.

It was kind of a crazy trip.

All in all, we ended up staying in FOUR hotels/inns!

Due to timing/booking issues...we had to move around a bit, LOL!

We started at the Hamilton in Mackinaw City.

On our first night on the island we were at the Harbour View Inn.

Then we moved to Main Street Inns and Suites.

Most of our week was spent there.

But our last night, we had to move down to the Inn On Mackinac.

We love all of those places and have stayed at each before.

I love the turn-down service at Main Street Inns and Suites!

Fudge from JoAnne's every night!

The babes on the beach.

My Natee...ever in motion.

The boys LOVED the game room at Main Street Inn.

They played pool several times a day, every day!

I caught this blue jay on a fence and thought he was pretty.

Beauty.

Never mind the wind-blown hair...this particular day, the winds were outrageous.

I took SOOOOO many pictures of flowers!

They were gorgeous...and too many to post here.

These are just a sampling of a few.

I took them mostly for "cover photos" of my Facebook page.

We went biking one day.

LOVE IT!

 

It was Nate's first time biking alone on the island.

Usually, he and I ride a tandem together.

But he did great!

Again, don't tell Jamie this picture is here, LOL!

Technology is never far away from our family, LOL!

July 4th was an awesome day!

We always wear our red, white, and blue!

Playing a game of pool before the picnic!

Carry on, don't mind me and the camer!  Ha!

One of my favorite stores downtown is Caddywampus.

I LOVE all of the signs they have in there!

LOVE YOU MORE!

We bought tickets to the All American Picnic put on by the Grand Hotel at Ft. Mackinac.

This also includes admission to all of the buildings downtown.

The boys love watching the blacksmith.

They always take a penny for him to "pound" flat and put his "stamp" on.

Soldiers at the fort.

This was a first for us...we had never seen British soldiers at the fort before.

Do NOT even ask how many calories I consumed at the picnic.

Needless to say, I ignored my diet during our trip.

This was our second year taking the Shepler's Fireworks Cruise!

They always take us under the bridge, which provides a new prospective on things.

Nate had earned some glow bracelets at school and had all of us wear on for July 4th.

I love these pics of our glowing arms.

The family that glows together...stays together!

Fireworks!

I had gotten a new camera and hadn't had time to read the manual and figure out the fireworks setting yet.

So needless to say, these photos aren't the greatest!

More of my favorite signs from Caddywampus.

Keep calm and carry on.

Now panic and freak out.

I love you more than cupcakes!

Hiking our favorite trail!

The Winnebago Trail.

The boys bought Mackinac-opoly...just like Monopoly...

But with local appeal.

Dinner at Horns.

Nachos!

We always take our kites to fly!

Reeling it in!

LOVE MY HAT!

The most adorable momma duck and her babies were waddling around the golf course while we golfed at Mission Point!

One last game before heading home!

I was kind of sad leaving the island...knowing it would be our last trip this year...

HOWEVER...

As fate would have it,

We were able to squeeze in one more trip at the end of the summer!

So...

We'll be back Mackinac!!!

Until next time!

See ya in a few weeks!