Well…I’ve finally unpacked and finished the laundry and…now I’m repacking. Yes, we are jaunting down to San Diego for a few days of comic nerd-i-ness with Daddy and Uncle Jeff. Well, the girls are heading to ComiCon with the boys and Mommy is heading to the spa, beach, pool….all three maybe?

But before we pop off on another quick little vacation, I wanted to wrap-up the last vacation which was, as Emma said, “the best cousin vacation EVER!”

I have to admit it was so great to get some sister time.

And the girls got their camping ya-yas all out while they stayed with Meesh for the week.

There was a lot of beach fun…

And these two were as thick as thieves the whole week….

Although these two gave them a run for their money once they got into their groove…

I left the happy campers for a few days and met up in Ludington with my best college friend and we celebrated our birthdays and 22 years of friendship.

Ludington…is gorgeous.

We stayed in a lovely little cottage, hiked to a beautiful lighthouse, kayaked around the lake, ate good food, and just talked, and talked, and talked, and then talked a little more. It was the perfect catch-up and getaway.

(Lots more Ludington photos over on Flickr!)

Then….it was back to camping! S’mores, campfires and more beach time. How cute are all of our hosts?

And we celebrated a certain someone turning NINE.

Addie was tall enough to drive the go-carts by herself. I think she was terrified, but she powered through bravely and made it around the course a few times.

My favorite photo of the Newman family before we left them…

Then the girls and I trekked downstate and melted. Literally. Whew…it was H-O-T.

We went to to the 4th of July parade. Papa gave the girls an empty bag and told them it was for the parade. Em looked very confused and asked, “to sit on?” “No, for all of the candy” he explained. OH. MY. CANDY. Manna from heaven. My poor candy-deprived children.

The parade was a hit despite being 100 degrees, and it was nice to see Papa and his guys sing too.

Our second week was a little more laid back. Lots of swimming, visiting with friends and family and catching fireflies. Yes, there is still a definite fascination with fireflies.

And fireworks.

Thank you everyone in Michigan (and our Wisconsin family too!) for making our vacation spectacular.