Snapshots: Up North with the Family

Alex and I spent last weekend Up North (here in the Midwest, we capitalize it... it's a thing) at my parents' house in northern Michigan. It was so wonderful because all of my siblings were there, which doesn't happen too often now that we are all getting older. It was especially bittersweet this time around because my brother is in the armed forces and will be away from his wife and daughter (and the rest of us too) for the next several months on assignment. So, this was for sure the last time we'd all be together until sometime in 2015 so we tried to make the most of it.

As always, it was a great time and I wanted to share a few photos from the weekend with you here...

We ate a lot of Grand Traverse Pie Company pie... and usually, we ate it for breakfast. Pie and coffee is an excellent way to begin the day. This cherry pie was the unanimous favorite in the house!

Alex's goal for the weekend was to get both of my parents' dogs on a boat. He got Sully out on the paddle boat on Friday....

... and then on Sunday, it happened. He got both Tucker and Sully out in the fishing boat. They were excited and terrified all at the same time, but Alex was having the time of his life.

Oh, and then Sully became famous in the Twitterverse. I tweeted this sweet photo of him working his doggy eyebrows and staring (somewhat pathetically) through the sliding door and Purina tweeted the photo back with some adorable embellishments. SO. CUTE.

There was a super inappropriate game of Cards Against Humanity...

... and the guys set off some dangerously close fireworks in the front yard...

... and I made the most epic 'smore of all time in the fire that night: a toasted jumbo marshmallow and a York peppermint patty sandwiched between two homemade chocolate chip cookies. WOW. Just wow.

Alex, my sister Emma, and I took all 4 dogs (2 belong to my parents, the other 2 to my brother's family) for a long hot walk out on the surrounding dirt roads.

On Saturday we took a quick day trip out to Mackinac Island and it was the perfect weather for it.

It was my sister-in-law Danielle's and niece Maeve's first ever visit to the Island. How adorable is that little peanut? She loved the ferry ride over!

Mom, me, and Emma

Alex & me

Of course, we stocked up on homemade fudge, Mackinac's claim to fame. After buying a ton of fudge at Ryba's last year only to find out that they have a location in Chicago at Navy Pier (seriously!). This time, I sought out JoAnn's Fudge and we picked up some amazing goodies here! I loved their Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel, German Chocolate, and Pumpkin fudge varieties.

We also stopped in for a bite to eat at The Gate House and had a nice leisurely lunch on their patio. Restaurants can be hit or miss on the island: there are a few that are expensive and more stuffy, but most of them are super casual pubs and cafes with mediocre food. We were all pleasantly surprised by the great lunch that we had at The Gate House. I had a roasted veggie and goat cheese panini that was chock full of vegetables and really flavorful. Oh, and one more fun fact about this restaurant: my mom waited tables there during a summer break in college, so lunch came with a little trip down memory lane!

We did a lot of cooking at the house too. One night we grilled bison steaks marinated in my mom's tried and true marinade recipe. We also grilled some fresh Michigan whitefish that was amazing! I'm thinking of sharing the recipe with you tomorrow as it is made with super fresh ingredients and is really easy to put together. The only issue is that I don't have any photos of the final product.

Once we go to the table to eat, this scavenger was ready to pounce so the fish was eaten quickly-- so quickly that I didn't get a photo before it was gobbled up. Although, I guess that's a testament to how delicious it tasted!

 As always, a big thanks to my parents for the invite and the tickets to come visit!

How was your weekend?