Summer Vacation: 1st Family Trip {Cedar Grove, WI}

We spent the entire week vacationing at a beautiful lake house in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.  Marcus' parents rented the house for the week, and we were so excited to have our first family vacation all together!  It was the girls first time at the beach, and our first time vacationing on Lake Michigan.  We were all shocked at how beautiful the beaches were.  If I had no idea where I was, I would have guessed Florida!  The sand was so pretty and nice for walking/playing, the water was beautiful and the waves were really big.  We just couldn't believe that this perfect vacation spot is only 2.5 hours away from Chicago.  It's really too good to be true.  We had such a fun week walking the beach, playing in the waves, catching fish, kayaking, eating popsicles and ice cream, having campfires, and enjoying this beautiful place!

This was the view walking out of our back deck and right on to our beach.  None of the beaches are private, but this one basically was.  We were usually the only ones out!

Little Miss Cora B really enjoyed herself.  We were going through a major heat wave last week, so she lived in her diaper and swimsuit.  She definitely ate some sand, and perhaps a few shells, but that's part of being a baby at the beach, right?!

I think she brought some attitude home with her from the beach!

Sonoma turned in to quite the little water baby.  Every day she caught fish ( dead and alive! ) and by the end of the week she was catching them with her bare hands.  She jumped the waves with all of us, and built sand castles.  

Sonoma caught her very first frog!  She was so proud of it, but then decided to quickly release it back into the water.

I kayaked for the first time and absolutely loved it! Such a great workout!  And being on the water was really the only way to stay cool last week!

Dixie enjoyed herself too!

We are so thankful that we were able to all be together for a few days.  Daddy could only stay Saturday-Tuesday, and then he had to go back to work.  He came back on Friday night to spend one more night with us and then drive us home on Saturday.

How sweet is this?!

I never got tired of waking up to this every morning:

Sonoma kayaked with me:

All the girls!

This is one of Sonoma's classic "lets ruin the picture" faces

A HUGE thank you shout out to Grandma and T for the wonderful vacation!

I See the Moon

Cora out ate everyone on vacation and has a new obsession with popsicles!

First time all walking into the water

The house was so kid friendly - a playroom in the basement, a crib in one of the bedrooms, high-chair, beach toys, a swing-set, a baby swing....so much stuff!

Holding up a live fish she caught:

Evening out to dinner one night!

It wouldn't be vacation without ice cream! :-p

I got the greatest joy out of watching the girls play in the sand one afternoon together.  It was one of the best moments.

Now that we are back home, it's sadly back to reality, and LOTS of laundry.  I am STILL finding sand EVERYWHERE.  And, if any of y'all have any suggestions for getting millions of sand specks out of swimsuits, please let me know!  All of our suits look like oatmeal was spilled on them!