Michigan

Everyone around here vacations to two spots-Florida and Michigan. So we wanted to see what all the excitement was about. For our anniversary, Mike got us a little getaway in Holland, Michigan.

It was just a little overnight adventure, but it was still a lot of fun. Look at these cute little geese following their mother...tender.

We went on a ride through some sand dunes. It was like a ride on an outdoor Indiana Jones ride. It was really fun and our tour guy was really funny too. 

It was a pretty bumpy and crazy ride.And to think all that was keeping us in were these little ropes.

We walked on the pier for a little bit. Got something to eat and got to see all the cute little shops.It was like a rustic Laguna Beach. Very cute and lots of people for the holiday.

Since we were in Holland, there were a lot of little Hollandish things to see like a little Holland village and some windmills. We brought our bikes and rode through it all. It was the perfect weather for a little ride as well.

We got to hang out on the beach quite a bit and get a good base tan for our summer in La Jolla! We also got to longboard down the beach and go canoeing. The wind was so strong when we were canoeing-we really didn't get too far.It was pretty funny.

We read about this ice cream place online. It was called Captain Sundae and it was delightful! Such good mixes like fudge, reeses and chopped up pretzels.
Next trip: Florida
I really want to start hiring a professional photographer to come on our trips with us-I am getting so tired of these too close pics...oh well. 

Oh I forgot to mention! We had the most amazing pie!! It was cream cheese blueberry and it was soo good!

Bike rides!

Since I got a new bike, we have been able to go on a ton of bike rides. The weather has been so beautiful. We have gone to different parks and beaches and Yesterday we got to even ride to the tennis courts to play and then ride back home. It's been a lot of fun!

NATO summit

The NATO summit was held just a few miles away from us. The whole Chicago world seemed to shut down. They blocked off major roads and freeways and when you finally found your way downtown it was like you were in a rat maze trying to work your way out with cops and batons trapping you in on every corner. Simple 20 minute trips became an hour of your life People were told to stay home, downtown businesses were asked to have their workers work from home and schools were closed. 100's of cops were pulled in from different states to keep the protestors protesting everything imaginable quiet. I heard there were some instances of unrest but I personally thoroughly enjoyed the bucket beats on the side of the road today. I have also never felt safer when there is a line up of cops waiting for someone to get out of hand so they can drop their coffee and grab their tazer. I don't think I'll ever see anything like this again.
This is the first time the NATO summit has been held anywhere else in america but in Washington. Obama wanted to show everyone his hometown I guess.

Cubs!

We got to go to a cubs game with some of our friends. The stadium is right in the middle of the city. I have never seen anything like it. They even used an old score board with someone inside changing the numbers If you look at the picture of the field you can see that there are actual seats on the tops of apartment buildings that look in to the stadium. That would be neat to try out one of these days. Our friends dressed up their little boy in a baseball outfit and drunkards all around us were taking pictures of him. He looked adorable! The cubs lost, but apparently they are pretty used to that around here.

Food!

I'm not a chef by any means but every once in awhile I nail it. :) I give credit to the crockpot on this one.
Enchilada soup with a crisped tortilla on top and Texas roadhouse rolls.
I have really been working on my bread making skills for a year now but to no avail. I have even been to classes and FINALLY- I got it right! They were beautiful and delicious! (usually i get one or the other right) Especially topped with some honey cinnamon butter. Don't even try making this if you are on a diet. ;) it wouldn't be worth holding back.
Thanks to pinterest for the recipes!

This is my new bike! Mike loves riding bikes but I've never owned one so we saved our pennies and finally got me this cute schwinn!

Meeting Elder Oaks

Mike and I got to go to a meeting with Elder Oaks tonight. He was being presented some law award from the University of Chicago since that is where he went to school. Although we didn't totally understand his law jargon I was very impressed by his resume. I knew he was big into law but it was impressive the career he surrendered to become an apostle. There were only 60 people there so we were able to chat with him after and take a pic. Who knew it would take going to Chicago to meet an apostle.