It's been a while

It's been a while since...

1. I blogged

2. We Visited Leland

3. We caught up with family members

4. We visited Grammy

5. I updated you on our little girl

That's quite a few things that have not been not in some time, and all were completed this last week!  So...I'm warning you now, that this could be a very long post, but I'll make sure to interrupt all the writing with pictures  (some courtesy of my cousin Sean) from our week.

Let's start....

Well, #1 is taken care of as I write, now on to #2.

In past posts, Andrew has slightly introduced you all to Leland.  Leland is a small town situated where Lake Michigan & Lake Leelanau meet.  It's a place where my Grandmother (dad's mom) spent her summers growing up.  Then, when she had children of her own, she brought them to Leland.  Now, for the past 8 years, the children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren of my 

Grandmother are experiencing Leland.  

Of those 8 years, I have only been 3 times (2005, 2007, 2009), but I love it.  We try to come as often as we can.  The two off years

 (2006 & 2008) were due to weddings, my own & my older brother's.

  

It's a week long (now some families are making it two weeks) vacation of family gatherings!

If you're a person who likes to be on the go all the time, this might not be the place for you.  I'm not sure Andrew was quite a fan the first time he went, but he has come to realize that it's one of the only vacation spots where you can truly relax.  We aren't relaxing as much since we are bringing a child of our own, but with all the family around there is plenty to keep Landon occupied & happy! 

All the families rent homes for the week throughout the town, but we are all in walking distance of each other, for the most part.  Here's where we stayed.

We spend our days relaxing at Nedow's Bay (Lake Leelanau) or 

Van's Beach (Lake Michigan). 

 I dare not go in the water, for it is much too cold for my southern liking!  

We gather a few nights for family dinners, one to celebrate Father's Day &

another to celebrate family at Good Harbor.  

Andrew & I enjoy walking around Fishtown 

or eating sandwiches from the Cheese shop.

Fishtown is situated right in the heart of Leland.  It's a working fishery lined with shantys for shopping.  

You can also spot two historic fish tugs sitting in the canal, the Janice Sue & the Joy.  

{Janice Sue courtesy of www.boatnerd.com}

Also, in town is the Merc (local grocery store).  This is where my Grandmother spent her summers, since it was owned by her father at the time.  

{Leland Merc past & present courtesy of www.lelandmerc.com}

We also venture into town for ice cream from the Harbor House.  

{courtesy of Harborhouse.com}

Collecting rocks on the beach is another way we like to spend our time.  

The rocks we're searching for are the Petoskey 

{courtesy of  Kay Smith Photography}

& the Leland Blue.  

{photo courtesy of farlane @ flickr}

Both of these are turned into jewelry that can be seen around necks & wrists. 

{Petoskey paired with Leland Blue courtesy of Auroa Borealis Designs}

Others like to spend their time, canoeing, climbing Sleeping Bear Dunes, 

Visiting the Manitou Islands, 

{courtesy www.Michigan.org}

or shopping at surrounding towns, Suttons Bay & Glen Arbor.  Leland is an amazing place that we all cherish!

On to #3 & #4.  

Catching up with family & Grammy.  Well, we covered most of that while in Leland, 

but there were a few others we were able to spend some time with.  

This family, who we saw a few weeks prior at our own home, housed us on our travels to & from Leland.  

Leland is about a 13 hour drive, which we can do in one day, we just don't like to. We drive to Cleveland, stay the night then finish the drive to Leland the next day.  We also do that trip on the way back form Leland.

On our way to Leland, we made a pit stop to visit Grammy (my mom's mom). Brian, my brother, & his wife, Debbie made the stop with us.

On the way back from Leland, Andrew, Landon, Danny (my youngest brother), & I stopped by to say "hi" to this family.  This is my Uncle Jimmy (mom's youngest brother), Aunt Sharon, & their two children Megan & Danny.  We hadn't seen them in probably 7 years, so this visit was way over due.

Lastly, #5... our baby girl update.   

There has been no progression with the name, though I am leaning more to Libbie, I'm just not sure where Andrew stands.  However, we do know where my Grandma (Libbie, herself) stands!  She even sent us a letter letting us know what name she's voting for!  It made us laugh!  Anyways, I had another appt yesterday.  I'm 27 weeks along & everything looks good.  The cysts that were found on the 20 week sonogram were not present on the 24 week sonogram, which is good news!  Also, we talked about the delivery, whether to have another C-section or not.  I have quite a few options and time to think about it.  After my next appt., August 3, we'll schedule another sonogram to get an idea of how big she is & then narrow down my options.  The doctors seem to think that I have big babies, Landon was 8lbs, 5 oz & 3 weeks early (according to the charts), so the likelihood of me having another big baby & possibly bigger, is looking quite good!  Here are my options as of now:

1. schedule the C-section in my 39th week

2. schedule the C-section on my due date, to give me the chance of natural childbirth

3. schedule the C-section  a few days past my due date to give even more of a chance

4. don't schedule the C-section & see how everything goes

All options, except #1, give me the chance of going through natural childbirth, but there is still the chance that she won't descend & I'll have to go into surgery, just like with Landon.  It's alot to think about, but we have some time.

That's everything we've been up to during my absence.  It feels good to be all caught up.  

Here's what's brewing for the future:

1. Andrew's work picnic 

2. Ice Age with Landon

3. Visit from Aunt Mindy (Andrew's sister)

4. 4th of July

5. Our trip to Jacksonville (Landon & I are there for 2 weeks, Andrew will be with us for the first 4 days)