January recap

Is it really February 1st? Where did January go? We had so many wonderful memories to kick off the year!

My youngest nanny kid and i are so happy to be back in the groove with library activities and school once a week!

Karalyn had a friend spend the night. They did typical tween girl things and we had fun listening to them laugh and be silly!

John, Jimmy and i went to the boat show. We had fun walking around and seeing all the different style of boats. The second day just the boys went so they could sit through fishing seminars! They are very dedicated tournament fishermen!

We were all super happy to have Cally spend the night! A lot of times when she stays here, karalyn is not with us, so this time we were lucky enough to have both our girls together!

John surprised Karalyn and i with tickets to Disney Immerse Experience. It’s set up in a warehouse in Cleveland. The first area is all about how Disney movies are made. Then they take you inside a “vault” and the entire room is lined with walls that have Disney images projected on them. From their website….

Disney Animation: Immersive Experience is an innovative celebration that takes you inside the greatest films of Walt Disney Animation Studios, from their very earliest, groundbreaking features to the beloved hit movies of today.

Imagine stepping into the Casita with Mirabel from Encanto, being at Pride Rock as Rafiki presents Simba – surrounded by the animal kingdom as the sun rises. Imagine hopping on a train with Judy Hopps and going into Zootopia or taking a magic carpet ride with Aladdin and Jasmine, and so much more….

After an amazing show we went and had dinner at Fat Heads. They have a wonderful gluten free menu!

Lastly we end the month with our first baton twirling competition. We did not take our teams because they were not ready. However four of my soloists competed and they did amazing!!!

Fall Walleye Fishing 🎣

Every fall we all participate in the Walleye Fall Brawl and the Walleye Slam. Anyone can participate but weigh in stations are in areas along Lake Erie in northern Ohio! I finished 16th in the women’s division but as my niece says “I’m 16th in the world” which i think sounds much better 😉. We didn’t win any money, or trophy, or even a boat, but we had so much fun and we caught so many fish. You wouldn’t believe the large “fish Ohio” we were throwing back because we were hitting our limit and searching for a bigger fish! John and Jimmy fished as often as they could. Liza and i joined them on the nice days 😉 but i think they learned quickly they needed us for the big fish! My dad didn’t get out as much as he would like, thanks to a torn meniscus, but after a quick surgery he will be ready to go in the spring!!!

My dad snuck in some perch fishing!

Elf on the shelf or John on the rocks?

Saugatuck, MI

What a cute small town on Lake Michigan! Very artsy area! We walked along the lake and stopped at an outdoor art exhibit and around the farmers market. We also walked their downtown area and went in all the adorable shops!

I found Mary Poppins

My husband found an area to hike. He heard the views at the top were amazing BUT you had to climb 200 steep stairs to get there. I thought he was nuts but of course I’m always down for an adventure. The stairs were intense but after a few quick breaks, we made it!!! The views were stunning and I’m so glad we did the hike up!

Holland, MI

Ok full disclosure this city was way bigger than i expected. Our hotel was located in an area of the city surrounded by many stores and restaurants. We were about 10 minutes from the lake. Our first evening there we went out to eat, at Boatwerks, and then headed to the lighthouse. This is one of the top attractions. The lighthouse is referred to as Big Red and sits at the entrance of the channel connecting Lake Michigan with Lake Macatawa. The beach area is the largest beach we have ever seen. It is surrounded by bike paths, marinas, fishing piers, a playground and many areas to have a picnic. The area is absolutely beautiful!

Boatwerks where we ate dinner

Air you can wear

When it’s 100° outside you either play in the water or on the water. We made sure to get our morning workout in bright and early to beat the extremes heat! The morning views were gorgeous! We quick grabbed some coffee and a breakfast sandwich from our favorite shop in town and then it was time to play!

We opted for fishing on the boat, of course. It was hot hot but once you were in the middle of the lake it was tolerable. Sadly I think the fish were hiding from the heat , but a day on the boat is never a waste of a day!

We returned home to a delicious home cooked meal that mom had prepared for us!!! After a nice dinner, we headed home BUT not before stopping for some ice cream at our favorite place. “It’s on the way” 😂

She’s so good during meal time

Lake Girl Forever

That truly does describe me. Today i was so happy to spend the day on the lake and in my favorite town. My husband and dad went fishing for the day. They set out for perch but ended up catching sheephead, catfish and walley!

Mom and i walked around downtown Vermilion. We stopped at my favorite coffee shop and ran into Allie LaForce. She is from town but she was also miss teen USA, a sports anchor and a sports journalist the NBA and college basketball. She was there with her husband Joe Smith who is a pitcher for the MLB. We talked to both of them for awhile about her pregnancy and their fight to find a cure for Huntington’s disease. They were so sweet and we enjoyed talking to them!

After our breakfast stop we walked around town. We walked through the farmers market, shopped at a local boutique and checked out the chalk walk.

This evening i spent some quality time with the most needy sister ever 🤣. Luckily she is super cute!!!

After a long, but fun day, we all decided salads, pizza and subs sounded like a good idea for dinner. I was so happy to be at the lake for a million dollar sunset. As we were walking back to the house i also noticed the vibrant first quarter moon!!! It’s very rare that i catch a gorgeous sunset and a gorgeous moonrise! It truly was a wonderful day!

A small town on a Great Lake

My happy place…..

Nothing brings more peace to my heart then spending time up at Lake Erie. I am blessed that my parents live in a small community at the Lake. They are in the middle of two small towns that have so much to offer.

We started our day in Vermilion. We grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffees at Brewed Awakening. Oh how i wish i could start my morning there everyday.

The city businesses always do different themes throughout the year. Current it’s a Alice and Wonderland theme!

How cute is this kids meal at Woodstock’s Cafe? I wanted to order one for myself!

In the afternoon we decided to go fishing. It was hot and nothing sounded better than being on the boat. We headed east of the Huron river. We marked a lot fish and i was just hoping they weren’t all full of mayflies. It started off a little slow but soon we were catching…..sheepshead. Ugh the rats of the lake. They were big and put up quite a fight. Never happy to reel in a sheepshead but it was better than not catching anything. We did end up catching about a half a dozen walleye. A few small that we threw back and we kept 4 of them. Good size eaters!

Wonder how long this crane has been there?

In the evening we ate dinner with my folks and headed back to clean up and close the boat. It was another wonderful day at the lake!

When the mayflies attack

The mayflies have made their arrival in Vermilion, Ohio. They say this is a sign of a healthy lake, but no one loves the days when they are here. The houses and buildings are covered. As cars drive down the streets you can hear the crunching of the mayflies that cover the roads. The first few days are always the worst and after about a week they are usually all gone!

It also makes things tough as a fisherman. The fish eat the billions of mayflies and are now full and don’t want anything you have to offer them. That didn’t stop us though. We enjoyed a beautiful day on the lake, but of course we only caught catfish.

LEWT tournament #4

Well Jimmy and Johnny fished in their fourth tournament today. They found tons of fish, but didn’t find the big ones. It’s apparent they need me 😂! I’m just so proud of them for competing and i love the smiles on their faces!

My parents brought niece, Cally, to watch weigh ins. She still isn’t to sure about this fish world, but she does love to eat the walleye. Like a typical 9 year old girl, she would just rather not see what her food looks like before it is cooked 😂

Tournament 4 standings

Standing totals for all 4 tournaments

Girls fish too!

This morning started off a little gloomy and raining so we cleaned up the house a little and went grocery shopping. By late morning the sun started to come out so we decided to head to the boat for some afternoon fishing 🎣!

The water was pretty calm and the winds were coming out of the south! We fished off of Vermilion on the west side. Our rods were busy. We caught white bass, catfish, sheep head and walleye. John and i kept 5 walleye and threw the rest back. I caught a 5 pound 26” walleye! One of the biggest I’ve ever caught. I think it was a pretty good start to summer fishing!

Afterwards we stopped at Main Street tavern for some dinner. John had the cheeseburger soup and the Philly burger with fries. I had the chicken cordon bleu sandwich and fries.