camping!

So, last week was Brad's first week back to work...which turned out to have a four-day weekend! We had planned to camp, so when I did the weekly grocery shopping I included food for the overnight trip. But, Friday the forecast didn't look so good so we thought we wouldn't go. After checking the weather again, and a phone call to make sure there were sites available we decided to risk the rain chance... and off we went. Here's Walker at our campsite... Walker was intrigued by the campstove. This boy loves fire... (yikes!)

Wilson smiles for the camera while Walker continues to check out the campstove...

Of course, what is a camping trip without S'mores? Wilson begged for them immediately following dinner...

Walker approved of them as well...

We were the only ones camping in the tent section so it was kind of nice having the area to ourselves. We walked over to the playground after the smores. Everyone got in on the fun, including the big girl...

After the playground we cooked up some Jiffypop before bedtime...

It was over 100 degrees on Friday, but it started to cool down a bit after the sun went down... however, with the rain fly on the tent, the hot air wouldn't dissipate. After sweating it out awhile, we decided to take the rain fly off and really take a risk. You can kind of see the sweat glistening on Walker's face... and I don't have any idea what Wilson was looking at!!

The boys slept great. Brad, Muskoka, and I did not. Mostly because Mussy had to freak out about every sound - or pant like she had just run a marathon. The sunrise was lovely though.

The combination of not sleeping well and the sinus pressure made Brad and I decide to pack up first thing in the morning. Good thing too, because shortly after we had started tearing-down, a unit rolled up to the group site to prepare for a "Fun Day" (or some such); Koka would've been growling her fool-head off at the soldiers all morning, so we were thankful to be almost done.

The boys were anxious to help set up camp, and we had a good time overall. They kept saying things like "awesome!" and "best ever..." Basically, Brad and I had garnered some high praise for our last minute decision. It was memorable for sure!

We went back later that day to swim at the lake... I'll post those pictures later. =)

riches upon riches...

...here are the pictures I promised of our Michigan treasures... But first, Mom & George, somehow I missed out on getting your picture with the boys this trip... so, you'll have to plan a trip out here to make up for my oversight. Sorry about that.

Here are the boys with Aunt Rene, Uncle Bob, and cousin Jack. And with Grandpa Carl, Meme, and Uncle Nate.

And Grandma and Grandpa Lutz with (L to R) Aunt Victoria, Uncle Blake, Uncle Colson, Aunt Jacqueline, Uncle Brennan, Uncle Scottie and Uncle Brett. (Uncle Ben was in East Lansing, we should've got a picture with him too, when we stopped to say good-bye. Darn!)

And on to the GREATS!

Grandpa and Grandma G

Great Grandpa and Grandma Rose

Great Grandpa and Grandma K

Great Grandpa L

and Great Grandma L.

We are so grateful for our families, thankful that God has granted good health for the greats and the grands. He is good, all the time. You would think after being away for over three years that the good-byes would get easier each time... its not true. We are just a little better at presenting our good-byes in front of the boys. But even in the good-byes God is good to give us peace, and to remind us that we are exactly where He wants us to be. He is such a caring Father!

yes, Michigan!

...the feeling's forever.

I know, that is the super old commercial campaign, but it is forever stuck in my heart. I do like the Pure Michigan ad campaign, but it just doesn't have the childhood memories attached to it to anchor it in me.

We had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful two weeks in MI. We really didn't plan much prior to getting there, and more or less, let the days unfold without a lot of forethought. Which resulted in lots of fun times with family and very little stress. Here are a few snapshots from the trip... (I'll post about Wilson's birthday separately). Again, they are in a completely random order, I am going to have to be more thoughtful in how I upload my pictures I guess! Sorry about that!

Uncle Blake and Wilson driving the tractor at Grandpa and Grandma G's... Walker and Chance playing

Aunt Rene helping Walker out in Aunt Lori's pool... he was just chillin'

Uncle Brennan, Walker, Wilson and Uncle Colson down by the lake at the reunion...

Uncle Colson and Wilson had fun at a playdate at the park. They were Transformers. I love the great imaginative play!

This might be my favorite picture of the entire trip. Oh how I wish I knew what Wilson was saying to Aunt Rene! That face!!!!!!

Uncle Nate serving us up some ice cream at his new job!

Uncle Brad helping Jack out of the lake after an impromptu swim =) Jack loves the water as much as his momma does, I think!

Brad and Wilson fishin' up at Budd Lake.

Great Grandpa Fritz strolling with Walker and Victoria.

Brad and the boys going four-wheelin' at Grandpa and Grandma G's house.

Grandma hosted a lunch for all her granddaughters. We had a great time hanging out together, and I think Grandma was thrilled to have us all together. It was especially sweet because my cousin, Lindsay, and her husband just moved to the Dominican Republic this week for two years. So it will be awhile before all 6 of us are together again. It was really important to Grandma to get us there, so I am glad it worked out with everyone's schedule.

Brad, Wilson, Jack and Walker along the shore.

Great Aunt Lori read the boys and Jack a story, they were all hanging on every word.

We are so blessed by our extended families. Honestly, words cannot really express how good we have it. Everyone was so flexible with their time to accommodate our visit. Although we were ready to get back to our own house, space and our big puppy; it was hard to leave. We have a tremendous treasure of family in Michigan and its hard to drive away from that. The boys had a great time, and I am sure they will be looking forward to our next visit, whenever that may be... I plan to actually print some of our pictures this time to hang around their room... I have some pictures with their grandparents and great grandparents that I'll post this week... they are priceless!

Disney!

This trip was a long time comin' There are two incidents I really remember that laid the groundwork... So, I am going to tell you a little story before you begin the feast of photos... Shortly after Walker was born, I remember sitting in the living room at our rental off-post. It was before we had cable or satellite and ABC was one of the two channels that came in on our TV. They were playing a lot of Disney commercials that summer. And I had a three-year-old little man whose eyes would get as big as saucers as he watched those magical commercials. I remember Brad telling Wilson that we would go there someday, when his brother was bigger like him; when we didn't owe anyone any more money. I don't even know if Wilson remembers that conversation in that living room, but I never forgot it. Another time we were at Wal-mart in the toy department and Wilson asked for a Dale Jr. car - the kind he could drive. I remember Brad putting his hand on the car and telling Wilson, "We could buy this for you, but it would make it really hard to save our money for trip to Disney if we always bought everything we wanted." I really doubt Wilson remembered this, but I never forgot it.

When we crossed the threshold into "debt freedom" our first thought wasn't "Let's go to Disney world!" Honestly, that still seemed like a really far-fetched idea. But shortly afterwards, I got an email with some details about Disney's Armed Forces Salute, and let me tell you it was an incredible deal. The kind of deal that made me read all the fine print because there had to be a catch! So Brad and I began discussing it, and we prayed about it. A lot. Prior to Brad's R&R he had emailed me a brief article by John Eldridge about family vacation which helped focus our prayers for this much-anticipated vaca! I can say with certainty once again... God is good, all the time. We had a splendid trip with lots of memories to treasure. God even allowed some rainfall each day to ensure that we would rest while in the midst of all the fun!

Sorry, these pictures are all out of order, and I can't move them around right now... so I'll just caption each one. Here is Wilson in the middle of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. He loved it, Walker did not.

This might be the first time since early infancy that this boy has slept while out and about.
Here are the boys being silly at the Swan Hotel. The Swan also had a great discount for military which was the deciding factor for us to stay there...

Mickey's Philharmagic... a 3-D delight!

The ONE thing that Walker wanted to do at Disney World was see the Playhouse Disney show. Here he is waiting to see Handy Manny, the Little Einsteins, the Super Sleuths and of course, Mickey Mouse and friends!

Sometime between telling the kids we were going to Disney and getting there, Walker developed an admiration for Mickey Mouse. So we waited (an hour!) to get a picture with him and Minnie. Hard to believe, but it was worth it. He was thrilled!

Of course, we had to get a picture with Lightning McQueen!

Daddy and Wilson on the jungle cruise.

Wilson on a giant ant at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

Here we are in the lobby of the Dolphin hotel. A kind man offered to take a picture of all us after Brad and I had taken turns taking pictures... (my hair looks wild in every single picture of us at Disney... can't wait to see what it looks like when we move to GA)

So its a magical place and all, but that doesn't mean there aren't any grumps or attitudes while there. Wilson did NOT want to see this parade. Can you tell????

Epcot. See the storm clouds brewing? That was our cue that naptime was on the horizon ;)

The Disney Train. This is the ONE thing Wilson wanted to do there. Well, they were both pretty fired up about riding this train. It was our very first adventure at The Magic Kingdom.

Dancin' with a giant rhino at the Animal Kingdom.

We met Buzz Lightyear right outside his ride the first day.

Can you find Brad and Wilson? Well, you can't see Wilson really, but he is right next to Brad... Those two rode all the rides together that Walker was too short for, and Walker wasn't too disappointed about not riding, he liked watching for them...

After the Kilimanjaro Safari - our family favorite ride!

Of course, they had to pose with one of the life-size Army guys!

Outside the castle. Love the bangs...

the boys taking in the view from our hotel balcony. When Brad checked in, they upgraded our room to a balcony view... because I had requested that we were close to an elevator! How crazy is that? We enjoyed the little bonus!

family vacation...

...Brad snapped this picture of Walker a day or so before we left for our trip. When Brad asked him what he was doing, he replied, "Getting ready for Michigan!" Our trip was a little spontaneous with a lot of planning. Depending on your definition of "a lot of planning." Our friends, Jenn & JC, ended up taking care of our big girl during the trip, so we decided to take a day in New Orleans on our way to Disney. I read a little online about family highlights in New Orleans. Good thing too, or we probably wouldn't have known about the streetcars there. I think it was the highlight for Wilson.We wandered a bit in the French Quarter on our way to lunch. We stopped by Jackson Square and snapped a few pictures in front of the Saint Louis Cathedral. Did I mention how hot it was there? We knew it would be hot, we left triple digits in OK, but wow, the humidity really gets you. Oh, and it was the 4th of July, plus there was some jazz festival going on. Jackson Square was a nice diversion from the crowds on the sidewalks. Wilson snapped this family picture for us... you can see Walker there in the bottom corner... We made our way to Bubba Gump's for lunch. I achieved one of my goals of eating a Shrimp-Po-Boy while in N'Awlins. (Sadly, I missed out on beignets, so I guess we may have to go back again someday.) Walker was cheesing it up when we got in the AC at the restaurant!
At our hotel the night before, I picked up a brochure for a World War 2 Museum. When I mentioned it to Brad, he lit up and I knew we should try and stop there. After a bit of a mishap on a streetcar - that turned into a one hour detour - we made it in time for a brief stay. I know Brad could've spent a lot more time there, I am not sure Walker could've. Maybe when we go back, Walker and I will get the beignets, while Daddy is at the museum ;) Here are the boys in front of a landing craft in the lobby.

Overall, it was a great stop. We found a great free parking space, and learned more about a place neither of us had ever been. It was a good kick-off to our memorable summer tour.

On the way to our hotel, we saw some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. From the highway, we could see neighborhoods that either had newly-renovated homes or boarded-up homes - there was no in-between. We saw the shells of former apartment complexes and a whole shopping district that was left boarded up. We saw the Superdome too. I've typed five sentences to try and describe how it felt to see it, and my words just aren't coming out right. I guess its hard to describe.

We are thankful that it worked out that we could add this stop to our trip. Thanks Jenn, JC, Brendan, and Cam for hanging with the Big Girl!

well, would'ya look at that...

...the Lutz family still has a blog. Will wonders never cease?

We made it home safely. I am hoping to start blogging about our little trip tomorrow (or so...) Today we are tired, but most of the unloading and what not is finished, so hopefully after a good night's sleep, we'll all be back to ourselves.

Stay tuned ... and as always, thanks for your prayers for us. We had a super trip! God is good, all the time.