Year 2, Day 232: And This is the End

Well, vacation has come to an end.  It's interesting to note that when I posted yesterday's blog post (which was 10 days after the fact), Shauna commented that she enjoyed the Nova Scotia vacation better BECAUSE we were squished together and we were forced out into nature more.  Definitely different perspectives! I guess I, personally, need the space (as do Keturah and Justin) from any and all people often, and although I appreciate nature and I do my best to enjoy it, things like swimming, hiking, biking, even walking around a touristy area are all so physically exhausting to me.  I think that's why I enjoyed having several things on our "to do" lists so close by.  And we planned our far away visits well, leaving enough time to rest.  It's all good though.  I'm glad we have had many different experiences and seen so many parts of our continent.  I know some like to go to places like Disney World every single year, or Florida in general, or a cruise, or hike a 10,000 mountain every year like Gary does (but they are different mountains), but I think it would be too boring to do it every single year.  I love seeing new things and exploring and learning.  I know that Gary, Leah, Aaron and Jared have been to several of the places we have now gone to on vacation as a larger family, so it is a second or third visit for them, but they seem to still enjoy it and enough time as passed that things in those areas have changed and it's fun to see the differences.  For example, I LOVED comparing Macinac Bridge and Island from 8 years ago to this trip this year.  And maybe I did enjoy it more because I knew what to expect.  Knowing what you are getting into, at least on some level, is extremely helpful for us with anxiety issues.

So, vacation is over.  Aaron and Shauna and the girls arrived safely Friday night back to NOLA.  Ron, Nina, the boys, and Donna and her family left when we did today.  We already miss them all.  But we had some driving to do and more family to visit as well.  And for the first time in many years and many vacations, we did not attend a church service at all this weekend.  Oh the shame!  Just kidding!  We always make it a point to find at least some kind of protestant church to attend while on vacation, but we found it was more important to see Grandma Cook and Uncle Ed at a decent hour and get home to our own beds before the kids' bedtimes.  Everyone has work or school first thing on Monday as well.  It always feels extremely weird to miss church though.  It made the day feel more like a Friday (for those who go to church on Saturday like we do) or a Saturday (for Sunday church goers).  I'm sure we all did our personal Bible study and/or listening to our audio Bibles anyway.  We need our community of believers, but that's not the point.  Having a vertical relationship with God is and that can be done wherever we are at and whatever we are doing, right? So there's that.  The Johnsons skipped church! Lol.

And we did make it to Lansing for lunch and then back home to Indianapolis in time to unpack eat some supper and get the kids into bed.  Jared and Gary were our drivers (two vans) and drove the whole way themselves.  I had to sit in the middle seat with Abishai because he was stir crazy most of the way.  And I know we started out with the other 3 kids and Gary and Leah in the other van, and I think we finished that way, too.  They got home a little bit before we did because Abishai needed an extra stop or something.  I was a bit antsy, too, and didn't get as much done in the car as I wanted to, but oh well.

Aww, Grandpa got some time with Baby Josephine and I think Abishai was a bit jealous!

Last look at our gorgeous vacation spot!

The private road the house was on.  Ah, I love the forest!

Near the end of the private drive, on our side of the main highway, there was a bit of the state park.  I love how there are no leaves/ needles on the trees when the sunlight can't get to them because the upper canopy is so large.  It's just makes for a different view of the forest.

We passed this building every time we "went to town."  It was some kind of church or community hall and was well decorated with red and white trim and flowers and outside decor.  Pretty!

Good-bye, Boyne City!  We had an awesome time!

Just like their mama, the kids always fall asleep after they are given traveling medication.  So, we took naps at 10 am again.

One of the interesting lamps in our bedroom at the cottage that goes alone with the cabin theme.

Abishai thought it was his job to drive us home.  He was so stir crazy kicking away at the console and making car noises.

Abishai had lots of great sleeping positions.  He's looking so big in his carseat, too!  Thankfully, it's built to go up to 45 lbs or so.

We might have only gone one state away from our home state for vacation, but it was tourist season and we went through tourist places so we saw 39 different state license plates!  And since we were near the Canadian border, we saw 3 provincial plates, too!  I think that's the most anyone has gotten on any Johnson vacation trip before!  We did combine our results from both vans though.  But there were only a few states the other van got that we didn't.

Our first bathroom and gas stop was at the Tim Horton's we stopped at on the way up to Boyne City.  But unlike a week ago, there was only one Tim Horton's mug left!  I'm super excited that I was able to snag it!  A great combination of my favorite coffee and doughnut shop with a state that reminds of our former home that houses 1,000's of these coffee shops.  Ah....

Aw, a little hand across his chest.

Hanging with the baby since there were no other children in the car to help keep him entertained.

"No get me!" - Abishai says when Jared reaches back to tickle his feet.  Abishai plays this game all the time in the car or at home basically asking us to chase him.

The road has some owies, so it made for some interesting driving.  I can't remember exactly what Abishai said, but it has something to do with that and fixing it.  Something he learned from his Tayo the Little Bus show.

We met at a nice restaurant and pub that had some super sized portions of food with your average mid range prices.  Apparently it's a hot spot for church goers, at least in the dining area.  They do have a huge brunch buffet as well that is very popular on the southside of Lansing where Uncle Ed and Grandma Cook lives.  I had some rice/quinoa mixed with Asian veggies and chicken, and a side of the yummiest, crunchiest (in a good way) sweet potato fries you've ever tasted!  Yum!  Jared and Benaiah both got a wet burrito, but Benaiah got the bigger version.  Both of them finished off their plates, but barely.  The other kids got their normal chicken nuggets or cheeseburgers.  And yes, I finally had some awesome fountain pop, Diet Pepsi.

Stir crazy Abishai literally climbing the walls of the restaurant and peeking over at the booths on the other side.  There was a glass wall between us and them though.  The restaurant's music was very soft, and I was grateful for that so we could actually hear each other talk.  It's a huge restaurant but very well laid out so it wasn't loud at all.

Grandma Cook did fall and broke her arm/elbow or something recently.  She is also consistently using a walker.  Her home nurse accompanied her today as well.  But her mind seemed to be all there for the most part.  Grandma was pretty quiet soft spoken as far as I could tell.  She did eat just fine and drank her coffee and listen to Leah's stories.  I say it was a lovely meal!

I told you there were some interesting sleeping positions for this guy today!

Aww, hand in hand!

Big truck! Wop, wop, wop!

Abishai got a special treat at the gas station: an apple juice with a Thomas sippy top!  We used to get these "bug juice" things as treats for the kids when we were on long trips, but they are full of chemicals.  I was happy to see the regular juice in a special container for the same (bloated) price.  And now he can reuse it!

Bwahahahahaha!  This was totally Abishai's idea!  Oh my goodness!  What a goof!

Then he was so bored he was also eating his dirty toes!  Ew!!

When we got home, we were treated to a close up look of our resident bunny!  He is a big, fat one, too!  Mama bunny is only slightly smaller.  They are very bold, especially since there are tons of dogs in the neighborhood including our own.

Not exactly a view by the lake, but it's still our view.

Apparently, my favorite sovenier from a place is either a 3D heavy clay magnet, or a totally flat print on a sheet of magnet.  The first two on the left are from friends who went to Italy as missionaries for 4 yaers.  Then there's PEI, Nova Scotia, Michigan, a general USA one, anther PEI one (Cows Ice Cream), and the Grand Canyon (not sure who/when this one came from either).  Neat!  And they all have to live on the side of the fridge because the front is made of non magnetic metal!  Ah!

Woot! Woot!  It's not the very first piece of college mail for Benaiah, but it's one of the first!  He said he asked for information recently at maybe a college Bible Bowl tournament or at the CIY conference.  He wants to go to Ozark though.  Anderson University is a Christian school just about 1 hr north of us.

Again, since it's been 10-16 days since most of these events happened, I don't know if I've talked about Socks or not.  Two lovely ladies, who are sisters and college students, and whom I've known for quite some time since their mom and I were in MOPS and both of their parents where in our first married couples group 16 years ago, where in charge of the gorgeous beast and his domain.  I had forgotten that they moved a few years ago, and had no idea it was just a few street over from us!  (and over a creek bed, too).  I know they have babysat kids and animals for years and years and love them all, so it was a no brainer when I put a call for a dog watcher and their mom tagged them in my post.  I also knew I could cut them a deal instead of sending Socks to a regular kennel. Socks had a grand time with the girls because they took him to their house to play with their dog, took them for walks, brushed him twice a day and he loves having new people to pet him.  Socks is an extremely easy dog to take care of despite the 2 page document I created for him and the house.  I just like to be very detailed because when I babysat and pet sat, I always had a million questions or hoped that I was doing the right thing.  And since our house has many quirks, I wanted to be sure to share those, too.  The girls did wonderful and everything went very well.  I will definitely use them again! Although, one just got engaged, so who knows where she'll be at next time.  Sweet!

That's it! The next 10 days of blogs will be super short because I purposefully took less pictures because I didn't want so much to process and catch up on.  And I'll probably combine some of them or put 2 or 3 posts out a day, something like that.  Life has been pretty straightforward over the last couple of weeks, so there's not much to report.  But away we go!  Good bye vacation and hello real, everyday life!