SNOW IN MAY IN MICHIGAN?

Trees in the Willow family shed little white seed puffs in the spring time.  At Haas Lake Park there are lots of poplar and cottonwood trees which are part of the willow family.   It is so thick it literally looks like snow on the ground.  While it is not uncommon to have cold weather on Memorial Day, this year was unique.  We have had a week of 80 to 90 degree temps. 

On Friday we headed over to St. Clair shores for lunch with our daughter Melissa and Granddaughter Ella.  After a great lunch at a local deli we headed south along the lake enjoying the views of the grand old mansions in Grosse Point. 

We made a stop at the local Trader Joes  before returning in time to pick up Ella's older sister Emma from school.  They were going to have a sleep-over and Grandma and Grandpa's RV so with all their stuff in tow we headed back to the RV stopping first at Whole Foods to pick up a few items for our evening cook out.

When we got to the RV the girls were anxious to go swimming in the lake.  So before dinner it was off to the beach.  Both Emma and Ella really enjoy the water.  I'm not sure it was all that warm but when you're a kid it's never too cold. After about a half hour of swimming we headed back to have our cookout.  Supper included the mandatory hot dogs along with Mac and Cheese.  Then it was time for a few cartoons before bed.

Both Emma and Ella are early risers, so Saturday came early.  After a quick breakfast they wanted to head back to the beach for more swimming and swings.  Later that afternoon, their Melissa and Todd joined us for another cookout.  This time we had grass fed steak, and shrimp that we brought back from Mexico.  For dessert Judy baked the frozen apple pie we had in the freezer that we bought at  Julian Pie company in Julian, California back in March.

Emma decided to spend another night with us and the three of us went to church Sunday morning.  Our new friends Randy and Pam had recommended we try Oak Pointe Church in Novi and we really enjoyed the service. After the church service everyone is invited to hang around and have coffee, bagels and donuts that are available in the foyer.
Emma liked her Sunday School class but she really enjoyed the strawberry frosted donut.
After church it was back to the beach with Emma.  I think she is growing gills.  Her sister and Mom and Dad joined us mid afternoon for yet another beach trip and of course one final cookout.  I suspect both girls were asleep in the back seat before they were even out of the park.

This morning we got packed up and hit the road for our short 60 mile trip to Jackson, Michigan to visit my Mom.  We hadn't seen her since last October when we left to go out West.  We took her out for lunch and just spent time visiting.  We had a rainy drive back to Grand Rapids but we arrived safe and sound and are now back in our same site at the WoodChip Campground for the next week.

Until later.

CAMPING IN DETROIT?

Harrison's arrival was of course the highlight of last week.  We made a couple of trips to the hospital to hold Harrison and watch our son learn the art of diaper changing.

Sunday it was time to move further east.  We wanted to visit our two grandchildren who live on the east side of the state and John was going to attend a Photoshop workshop on Monday.  Our daughter Melissa lives in St. Clair Shores with her husband Todd and two daughters Emma and Ella.   The closest campground is in New Hudson, a western suburb of Detroit, about a 40 minute drive to their house.

Melissa was to chaperon Emma on a class field trip on Tuesday so we had Ella spend Monday night with us.  Normally Mollie sleeps on our bed, but when we made up the couch for Ella, Mollie curled up at her feet and settled in.  I think she thought Ella would get lonely, or needed protecting. 

One of the benefits of our modern "connected" society is that we learn about other "full-timers" through their blogs.  For example right now our friends Bob and Linda from Sacramento, who we met 3 years ago as a result of Bob's blog , are on their way to Alaska.  Although Linda does more of the blogging now we get to stay in touch as their journey unfolds.

We have been following another couple's blog, Pam and Randy Warner.  Sounds like we are stalkers, but we really aren't.  They have been full-timers for about a year and live in a beautiful Allegro Bus.  A couple of months ago we noticed that they were headed towards Michigan.  Like us they have family in the Detroit area.  They also have a daughter who graduated from the same college as one of our daughters.  And yes they are in the same RV Park as we are.  So yesterday we invited them over for coffee.  Because of our unusually warm weather we settled for something cold to drink instead.  They couldn't stay long, because of previous commitments, but we continued getting to know them at their RV last night.  I must say that one of highlights of traveling is getting to know other people.  We are not big group, big party type people, but do enjoy getting to know other people in smaller settings.

We had a great time sharing info about our RV"s and this lifestyle.  And best of all, just enjoying their company.  We look forward to our paths crossing again.

We are spending the rest of the week here.  Emma and Ella will spend Friday night with us, giving Melissa and Todd a night out and then they will join us on Saturday for a cookout.  We plan to head back to Grand Rapids on Monday, first stopping in Jackson to visit John's mom.  Next week John travels to Indianapolis for 3 days of business meetings, Judy gets to visit with Harrison, and then we start packing up to head NW towards Portland.  So I guess we'll be blogging more often as we head out on the open road again.

A BIG DAY FOR HARRISON

Today Harrison Paul Randall entered this great big noisy world.  He was born at 1:01 am this morning.  He weighed 7 lb 8 oz and measured 21 inches.

Mom, Dad and Baby are all doing fine.  This our 5th grandchild and 2nd grandson.  Harrison is the first child for our son Jonathan and daughter-in-law Laura.  This the first grandchild for Laura's parents.

Laura had a few complications when she was pregnant with Harrison, and we are so thankful that she is doing well.  Once again we have been reminded what a miracle life is, and how blessed we are.

CONGRATULATIONS LAURA AND JONATHAN ON THE BIRTH OF YOUR SON HARRISON.