Our Family Vacation 2020

We were at Erwin Apple Orchard 🍎

Hi, Lovely Readers!

I hope everyone is having a nice Labor Day! We are enjoying our time at home as a family. It is nice to just relax and take time to unwind from everything. We just got back from a wonderful vacation.

Do you and your family like to go on yearly vacations? Our family doesn't really go on vacations. We usually want to go somewhere special, but we usually just stay home and go somewhere fun near by.

This was our second year away from family & friends in Michigan. It has been really hard on our family. Since I am not quite half way in my pregnancy with baby #4, Aaron and I decided to drive our family to Michigan. The whole plan was to buy a nice vehicle to drive up to Michigan and visit family and friends.

That in itself was a huge accomplishment. The Lord blessed us with a nice van that will fit our whole family even when baby #4 arrives next year. We went through a lot to find the right vehicle. We wanted to make sure it was affordable and reliable. I am so thankful that we have a van that holds each child safely and comfortably. This is a testimony for us because we prayed for the Lord to provide, and our prayers were answered.😊

We hardly take vacations as a family. So this was a huge experience for us. It was our last chance to go before it got harder with baby #4, and my body can't handle long distance driving. I wanted to try one last time. This definitely was not an easy task for us.

Arrival:

We left Thursday, August 27th at night. Aaron drove the whole time, and we reached Michigan on Friday, August 28th at night. We drove over 800 miles with our 3 kids in the van. I thank the Lord that we had the van because we were able to take a nap half way through and not have to stop at a hotel. This would not have been possible with our other vehicle. It would have been so uncomfortable and crammed.

Here are some things I learned & did while traveling with children:

• You have tons of bathroom breaks.

• Get matching sets of crayons & coloring books to prevent fighting.

• Bring a cooler for snacks & drinks.

• Bake a dish for breakfast on the road & make sure you have paper plates, napkins, & plastic silverware.

• Organize your vehicle to have change of clothes, diapers, & wipes readily available.

• Keep hand sanitizer handy.

• Make sure you have a portable dvd player with batteries instead of the cords & DVD's (if you have a built in one, don't forget DVD's).

• Get fun activity books, reading books, & wipe clean books.

• Get a specific container for shoes & a bag for activities to keep organized. My kids kept wanting to take their shoes off.

• Get a designated garbage bag.

• Most of all, have patience with the little ones.

We had a great time seeing many people in Michigan. Lily's birthday party was Sunday, August 30th. We had some family & friends meet us at a park. We celebrated Lily's 7th birthday, which was the next day. We went to a splash pad at a park, had pizza & dairy queen, & we visited my grandma. We stayed with my mom in the beginning. Then, we stayed with my mother in law the rest of the time. We also celebrated our nephew's birthday. These are just some of the things we did.

Family Tradition:

Every family has a special tradition they do every year. Erwin Apple Orchard was a place we went to every year. I am so glad we got to go. It was sprinkling a bit in the beginning, but it cleared up while we were picking apples. We picked 3 different kinds of apples, ate donuts, & had apple cider. They also have some goats you can pet. Our kids love petting them. We also fit in some time to do our yearly family photo. We missed doing it last year since South Carolina doesn't really have apple orchards.

Jude's first time eating an apple whole

Aaron, Lily, and Seth playing around with apples

Departure:

We left in the morning on Saturday, Sept. 5th. We got home at 2 am on Sunday. We expected to stay longer, but it was best for us to leave earlier. We started missing our home & plans changed.

Our vacation in Michigan was very nice. I am so thankful Aaron thought of taking our family. I really missed everyone in Michigan. It helped me get closure on the fact that we got to see the ones we love. A big shout out to my husband for driving there and back. He is amazing, and I appreciate everything he did to make this trip such a success. Thank you, Aaron.

I will end with this. Life is so unpredictable. If you don't take chances in life to do the things you desire to do, you will miss out on life changing opportunities. If you have family that is near by, go visit them. Not a day goes by that I don't get home sick. I miss Michigan, but I thank the Lord for providing us this opportunity to live in South Carolina. We are so blessed here with a new home and a church family. Please pray for our family as we continue to raise our family here in South Carolina.

Thank you for reading about our adventures to Michigan. I hope you all have a blessed week!❤

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