A Weekend Up North [in Pictures]

Last weekend Alex and I took our annual trip up to my parents' cabin in Michigan. It's the second year in a row so that makes it an annual trip, right?

We had so much fun up there and this time was particularly special since ALL of us were there-- my parents, all 3 of my sisters, my brother, his wife, and their adorable little girl. The 3 days went by super quickly and we spent the majority of it hanging out at the house cooking (like the steak recipe I shared yesterday and another that's coming up next week!), eating, making fires, and lounging on the lake. I always wish we had more time when we were up there! Here's a little summary of the trip in pictures...

After our first 7.5+ hour roadtrip from Chicago to the cabin last summer, Alex and I learned (the hard way) that we shouldn't drive up to the cabin unless we are spending a week there. Luckily, we discovered Lakeshore Express. It's a fabulous little airline that flies from Chicago to Pellston, MI-- a short 1-hour drive from my parents' place. The planes are tiny, the service is fast and friendly, and the cocktails on board (including Alex's Petoskey beer) are complimentary. Hooray!

My cute husband spent the majority of his time out on the paddle boat with his pants rolled up Huck Finn-style doing some fishing. Poor guy caught a lot of seaweed, but no fish...

A boy, his dog, and their fishing worms.

... and when he wasn't busy fishing, Alex built a fire for us every night where we enjoyed some drinks, s'mores, and general family nonsense.

My adorable little sisters.

And speaking of adorable, let's take a quick brag break so that I can share some photos of my sweet little niece Maeve. She's quite the independent little lady and she kept us in line and entertained for the whole weekend.

Just lounging.

Walking her bear around the house.

Hanging with Grandpa or as she calls him, "Wawa."

Taking a ride on Sully.

And pestering Sully's less patient brother Tucker.

This is what Tucker and Sully spent the majority of their days doing when they weren't entertaining Maeve or hunting for gross things like grilling scraps, cattails, and wildlife skulls on my parents' property.

I keep mentioning all of the cooking that we did over the weekend and here's some proof... this totally amazing strawberry shortcake icebox cake that my mom and sister Libby made.

Mom did most of the legwork in the kitchen, but Maeve was happy to help with some of the cleanup.

And this was one of the only photos I got of Alex and me from the entire weekend... he really knows how to ruin a moment, doesn't he?

Let's end with the view... Not a bad sight to wake up (or say good night) to at all.