After a great 4th of July birthday party for Philsie at my mom’s house, we left for the other side of the lake. It’s always a treat for us to visit Michigan, not only to see family, but because Renee’s folks are still taking care of our dog, Jack, until we actually live in a place that allows pets. Jonathan loves to talk about Jack, so he is always super excited to see him (whether or not the feeling is mutual is still up in the air.)
We were also excited to be in Michigan at this time because my Freshman roommate Mark just had a baby. Well, his wife did. He wasn’t the Oprah sex-change dude who was pregnant. Mark and I were placed together by the Res Life staff at Trinity and didn’t know each other going in. We lived with each other 3 out of our 4 years together at Trinity and were in each other’s weddings. It’s been a great and providential friendship, and it is really cool to be on the other side of it now–the ones making decisions on who should live with who and where. Here’s Gabe and I with Mark and Eddie. (They are also The Brinks over on the right if you’d like to see many more pictures of the little dude.)
We also spent a day with Renee’s extended family out at Muskegon State Park and partook of some excellent boating adventures. Jonathan went tubing for the first time and loved it. I celebrated my Third Annual “Get Drug Out of a Lake on a Wakeboard 30 Times Until You Make It Up” Ibuprofen commercial. And Renee didn’t get in the water at all. We always have a great time hanging out with the Van Den Berg crew and mooching their boat. We had a blast up at Renee’s brother Jon’s land one evening as well. A picnic outside and 4 wheeling around the property was a fun and relaxing end to the trip. We made the treck back down to the South and survived the 14 hour car ride…barely. Of course the kids both finally fell asleep when we were driving up the mountain to the college…
More pictures here.