78 Michigan Parks: Muskegon State Park #50 -- And a Doctor visit to Grand Rapids

I've embarked upon a new* family picture goal here in our adopted state: to visit every state park!  

This project is less rigid, in that our entire family, or even all five children, need not be present to count it as 'visited.'  I just need a picture, preferably of the person who visited it, in the park!  We may go back and visit those first 7, in order to get consistent pictures, but for now it feels like we have a good start, since this will be #8!

On our most recent visit to Grand Rapids, WGJ's appointment was not until mid-afternoon, so we decided to visit the beach early, then backtrack home.  Alice opted to stay home with Billy, who had to work, but Avia joined us instead!

And as a bonus, this particular beach trip has an "I spy" element to it!!!  Every picture has the bird field guide in it somewhere!!!

I was really glad that we took the picture at the start of the day, because by the time we left we were windblown & sandy!  (For this first picture, the bird guide is leaning against the base of the right pillar. ; ))

It was so windy, the seagulls were not flying around, they were just hanging out on the beach.

There were no footprints, aside from the bird tracks, on the beach!

My children were quick to remedy that!  (okay, so this I-spy is really hard, but Emily does have it in her right hand)

The waves were so tall, that I had them come back in and just sit on the beach, if they wanted to play in the water.

Emily liked how the wind caught in her towel. = )

Our beach adventure was a little short lived, because of the wind, and low temperatures.  It was in the 70s, but the chill coming off of the water made it feel much cooler.  By the time we left, there were lots of footprints on the beach though! (In this one, the guide is under the water cooler!)

Our lunch had some sand mixed in, and it always makes me think of a poem from a book Alice had when she was little:

Sand in the sandwiches,

Sand in the tea,
Flat, wet sand running
Down to the sea.
Pools full of seaweed,
Shells and stones,
Damp bathing suits
And ice-cream cones.
Waves pouring in
To a sand-castle moat.
Mend the defences!
Now we're afloat!
Water's for splashing,
Sand is for play,
A day by the sea
Is the best kind of day.

-Shirley Hughes

Below is a list of previous visits that have been retroactively checked off.  The state park mention may be buried, since it was not yet part of this project, but it is in there somewhere!

Tahquamenon Falls #15

PJ Hoffmaster State Park #52

Grand Haven State Park #53

Ionia State Park #54

Holland State Park #61

Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Van Buren State Park #73

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Since we spent less time on the beach than planned, we had time to visit a thrift store in Muskegon (after a failed attempt to tour the USS LST 393.)  They were expensive, and all we found was a book, but Emily had fun putting William in a pet cage!

We hopped back in the car, and made it on time to their appointment.  The appointment went well, it was just a check-in.  They did have to have some blood work as well.  While we were in the hospital, Avia and Emily walked down to the Gerald Ford Museum.

While we waited for their return, we walked around the area near the hospital, and climbed on some of the landscaping, then finally went to the car to snack. lol.

We stopped at another thrift store on the way home, but it made for a long day with some fidgety children!!

It wasn't the most exciting trip, but we did our best to make it fun!

later days

*sadly, I was unable to finish my 254 county courthouse pictures in Texas, maybe one day....

Endocrinology Check-up, Turned Adventure

This is the latest post in the series of William, grace and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia.

On our previous trip, we arrived with only a minute to spare before our appointment time, due to a construction delay.  This was a stressful enough event for me, that this time we left 30 minutes earlier than we usually would. Alice made the decision to stay home with Billy, since we were planning a beach trip afterwards.

Since they had reopened both lanes this trip, we were an hour early for our appointment.  Instead of killing time at the hospital, my mom spotted a playground from the interstate, that was nearby the hospital.  It was a little rainy, but the kids managed to have fun.

The appointment was just a check up, and they all look good.  We have bloodwork and xrays the next time we go to Grand Rapids, but it was a nice smooth, quick appointment.

Avia and Emily were in charge of monitoring the weather and seeing what beach would have the least chance of rain.  Since we'd visited Grand Haven back in 2019, we opted for a new park: Hoffmaster State Park.

On the way, we wanted to stop and grab some buckets from a dollar store, but none were convenient.  We did stumble upon a thrift store in the tiny town of Fruitport.  I scored two planter buckets and a funnel!

It was a very empty parking lot and beach.  We were there with only 20 or so people, coming and going, our entire visit.

The wind was cold, and the water was colder.

The kids all played in the shallows, such is the siren of water for children.

The sun did peek out for a bit, making our day look bright and sunny!

The park itself is massive.  It has onsite camping, and runs about 3 miles of beach along the lake!

Once we were finished with the sand and water, we explored the park. The visitor center was much more than I could have expected!  There were many interactive displays and some seasonal dioramas.

Emily found "Goldie's" relative, from when we went to visit the Atkinsons in Indiana.

Our final park activity was hiking to the top of the dunes.  The stairs seemed endless, but were well done with lots of platforms and a zig zag staircase.

Once you got to the top, there were more stairs!

Not too shabby of a view.  Pretty sure we were on a hind dune looking at a foredune. We learned some neat trivia in the visitor center! ; )

Down was much easier than up!

We spied a burger drive in joint on our way in, so we made that our dinner stop on the way home.  I think it was called Whippy Dipp, but we'd called it Whip and Dip all day, so maybe it was the other way around?

Everyone was tired and slept before we even made it back to Grand Rapids.  Between full bellies and the late hour, we had passed on the ice cream at Whip and Dip,  so we stopped in at our little village ice cream shop for a sundae to share. = )

It was a long, busy, fun day.  And, our next scheduled appointment with the Endocrinologist is a telemed!  

later days 

<what happened previously

what happened next>

Edited 7/18/2023: This post is now a part of my project: 78 State Parks! #52

Tahquamenon Falls #15
Grand Haven State Park #53
Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Van Buren State Park #73

Beginning of December

274th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 54F

For dinner I laid out a simple charcuterie spread of meat, cheese, fruit & crackers.  I've been doing this since the kids were little, but now it is super en vouge and has a fancy French name and everything!

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273rd

The high today was 43F.

Billy and I are watching our way through the twilight saga.  It's been several years for me, and with the new book release I had a renewed interest.  Billy had never seen it and is enjoying it enough.

I got a call from Eaton county that 3 years ago they never came to do a 'final inspection' on our carport and someone will be out next Tuesday.  I just have this terrible feeling that they are about to make me very angry.

I heated up leftovers for dinner.

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272nd Day of Quarantine. 

54F was the high.

In nature study we decorated solstice cookies!  We found that on our winter solstice, we will only have about 8.5 hours of sunlight. = (  So, each of us decorated two (12 hour) cookies with 4 hours marked on each, to represent our tiny window of sunlight.  I'm already ready to start heading out of winter, and we haven't even officially started yet.

And, with the extra (homemade) chocolate icing, they were able to make an extra Natural History 'cow spot' marshmallow!

Since we are studying the Iroquois in American History, I finally pulled out the boats and teepee that Aunt Wanda sent us.  The kids were delighted!

 For dinner we had Spaghetti.

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271st Day of Quarantine.

47F.  It was very chilly, but not as bitterly cold as yesterday.

After school finished up today, we played pig mania.  We even talked Alice into playing a round with us!

Billy bought another gun. I bought a water filter system that just uses needs two buckets.  Preparation in the fear of the unknown is comforting.  What exactly we are preparing for I couldn't say, but it feels nice to have several contingencies planned out (interrupted utilities, temporary food shortage, etc.)

I made sugar cookies in anticipation of nature study tomorrow.

For dinner we had chicken teriyaki with rice.

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270th Day of Quarantine.  We are still, mostly, mostly, self isolating.  There are some guidelines in place, so some things like movie theaters and indoor dining in restaurants is currently not 'allowed.' but most thing are open, there are no curfews and no one official is enforcing things on the average citizen.

37F was our high.  No snow outside, but it is cold, so I made a marshmallow/popcorn snack scape & hot cocoa for my crew when they came inside from recess. = )

For dinner we had a late cheesy chicken and rice casserole.  It was late, because I was late in leaving for the pharmacy and bank, since when I went to roll William's trundle bed away, it wouldn't collapse, because the kids were jumping on it and bent it. grr.

So, Billy and I spent time fixing that before I left, and even though I started on dinner practically straight away, the chicken needed adequate time to cook.  It all worked out, and we were able to eat before Ms. Charlie cleaned the dining area (but she had started on the kitchen already.)

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269th Day of Quarantine.

36F was our cold high today.

Our morning was the usual subjects, but a little faster.  I left a checklist for the big girls with all the work that they needed to finish in our absence.

We made a trip up to Grand Rapids for an ultrasound for Juliet, bloodwork for all three, and a 6 month follow up with the endocrinologist.  We brought school work, and I envisioned us sitting in the cafeteria, but we were not allowed in. = (  Since I always pack a lunch, this was not a huge blow, but it was not nearly as comfortable working on their lessons in the car.

The drive home was uneventful, and Emily defrosted the hamburger meat for me, so that I could make up hamburger helper for dinner.

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268th Day of Quarantine.

30F was the freezing high today.

The kids enjoyed their nikolausstiefel treats.

Emily came with me to the grocery pick up, and then we went to the thrift store.  We shopped for a long time, but didn't buy much.

Grace helped me address all the Christmas cards today.  I was thankful for her help putting on the stamps (and drawing special pictures for all on the envelopes!)  Sadly, this unexpected task cut into my reading time, and I did not finish Midnight Sun.

For dinner we had chicken noodles soup from a can, so that I could have a little leisure reading time.

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later days