Grand Haven - Mom's Project Weekend

While Dad and the kids went to Family Camp, Mom & Lacey headed to GH to take care of business.  Remember that green kitchen and unstained deck?

Green kitchen

Unstained deck

 Yeah, well I killed them both.  It was not fun, but I get one opportunity a year to enjoy a full weekend to myself, and I had to make the most of it.

Sayonara, green kitchen.  Hello, grey kitchen.

Ah yes, much better.

The red stools look so much better now that they don't appear like something straight out of the North Pole

Bring on the deck

Make no mistake, she was of no help with any of these projects

It was right around this point that I realized this was the worst project ever

Done.  And while I unfortunately don't love it, it was definitely an improvement from the unfinished wood, and will hopefully sustain the life of this front porch I adore.

Disaster on Coppergrove Drive

In January, we noticed a small black spot above our kitchen sink.  We called a plumber to check it out.  He was hesitant to cut open our ceiling to diagnose, but suspected that the door to the shower in the master bedroom was not sealed properly.  All the comfort we felt from this diagnosis was quickly lost when we saw the black spot reappear in June.  

We called a different plumber out...who quickly smelled trouble...and called out a general contractor and water damage specialist.

Next thing we knew, our kitchen looked like this...

and we were told we couldn't use it for several days, while they dried out the BLACK mold!

One long weekend later, I was thrilled to have access to the sink and trash can again.

The culprit?  A bad drainage system in the master shower.

You see that mold around the floor tile?  Yeah, that's not good.

After a couple of weeks of arguing with the insurance company, they got around to demolishing the shower.  With this, came the realization the problem likely extended into the bathroom flooring...

...and there went the floor...and the toilet...

Goodbye, shower!

Yes, that is a toilet in my bedroom.

I'm glad someone had a sense of humor about it.

Ok, I will admit this is cute, despite my frustration with the lack of master bathroom

Reconstruction!!

Seeing progress!

The only change we made, since this was a totally unplanned project, was to add inset shelves to the shower.  Previously I had some shelves in the corner, but this was a major improvement.  

The driveway looked like this for much of the month of August.

Ahhh, happiness is a fully tiled shower.

We're getting there!!

FINALLY - construction is done!!  

We worked with the greatest contractor ever, and thankfully, our insurance covered almost all of the damage, but it still took nearly two months from start to finish.  We were very, very happy to have access to the master bath, and most importantly, the kitchen!!, when this was all behind us.

Kruse Park with the Neighbors

While we were hanging out in Grand Haven for the weekend, we got an invitation from our Grand Rapids neighbors to join them for a cookout and bonfire at Kruse Park in Muskegon.  Though they love Grand Haven, the girls always like an excuse to play with their friends from home, and we thought a night on the beach could be fun.

 

The Copperwood Gang

It was a beautiful night on the beach - and even warm enough to go in the water

...although maybe not for long

Hard at work in the sand

Rand, Claire and Megan

Proud of their accomplishment

This was their second beach and fourth hour of sand play that day.  Not bad.

 

S'mores time!

A little sand in the s'more never killed anyone

Happy snacker

We saw a lot more of this one when it was s'more time

A run in the dunes after snack

Hazel, Megan & Norah.  (I promised them I would chase them through the dunes if they posed for a nice picture.  This picture cost me dearly, but they are still super cute)

Momma Day - Duck Lake State Park

Our schedules being what they are, our last Momma Day for the summer has arrived.  As such, we chose to celebrate by doing what we do best:  the beach!  We were in Grand Haven for a nice long weekend, and took advantage of our proximity to explore a new park - Duck Lake State Park, which is rumored to be perfect for young kids.

We've arrived!  Better take a snack break.  (Sidebar: these kids are crazy about their snacks)

Getting down to beach business

 

The channel is what makes this such a popular spot for little kids.  It is just over a foot deep, but you still have access to the big lake.

Splashing about in the channel

Time to explore the dunes

I'm pretty sure they only slowed down for my benefit

 

And we're running again... 

Despite the dune racing, I had a lot of fun being their Mommy today.

Grand Haven - Our Third Weekend (notice a pattern here?)

I will keep this brief as I understand that the novelty of actually going to our weekend home on the weekends will probably soon wear off on my audience, but sure enough, we found ourselves there once again.  And, once again, we had wonderful weather, beautifully behaved children, and it was nearly impossible to leave on Sunday afternoon to return to real life in Grand Rapids.

We can sum the weekend up in just a few pics:

Beaching

Biking

Megan is too big for the trailer but not quite riding independently yet, so we got one of these tandem riders for her.  While we feel a bit ridiculous, she LOVES it, and it's way better than trying to haul 90 pounds of child behind us in the bike trailer.

First Pronto Pups - girlfriend was a fan.