Vacation....All I Ever Wanted.

What an amazing two weeks!! I had such a good time visiting with all of my friends and family back in Michigan. As always with my life it was a whirlwind and there was never a dull moment. I will give you the run down.

Ruffus and I drove 12 hours from Philadelphia to Grand Haven, Michigan all by ourselves. I was worried about making it all of that way without anyone to drive with me. I tried to talk a few friends and family members into doing the drive with me but no takers. I made it in 12 hours flat and had the best time road tripping alone. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think I talked to half of you during my journey so a big thank-you to all of you that kept me busy chatting for most of the drive. The cabin we rented was beautiful and so relaxing. We were only 100 yards from the beach which was amazing. The only catch was the 100 steps you had to climb down to get to the beach. Down wasn't so bad. Up was a killer. Every morning and evening I would take Ruffus to the beach where he had the time of his life. I love watching that dog run. It warms my heart. I also had the privilege of meeting two of my cousins for the first time! How did I go 37 years without knowing them? They were so much fun and I can't wait to see them again sometime soon. A week went by fast but we plan on trying to make it an annual event.

I left on Friday and headed to Saginaw. It is weird to be back in Saginaw and not really have any of my family living there anymore. I can not even begin to describe how much fun our 20 year high school reunion was. It started out on Friday night with a happy hour that went on until 4 am. After sleeping in the next day and a quick trip to the Fashion Square Mall, we got ready for the reunion. It was great to see everyone together. We have such a great group of people in our class. People say that you will be shocked at how bad people look at their 20 year reunion. Well I guess our class is an exception to the rule. Everyone looked fantastic. Most people stayed until the end and then we had a big group continue for after hours until 5 am. I have not stayed out this late or have had as much fun in a really long time. It was really nice to connect with old friends. I just hope I can do a better job of keeping in touch this time around. A big shout out to the class of "88" I think the only thing that was missing from our party was some Led Zeppelin. Gumby's Group knows what I am talking about. : )

I then went back to my sister Stephanie's house and got to spend some quality time with her and the kids. It was nice to be there with them all to myself. Usually I float into town stay three days and have a crazy schedule. Kids usually don't warm up to people when you are only there an hour. This time I got to hang out with my nieces. We went to the water park one day and Kate and I got to go down the big slide together and Sarah was sitting on my lap by the end of my stay. They are such good girls. I can't wait to see them again.

Then I got to pick Ryan up at the airport and headed up to my parents cabin. It is truly an oasis there. They have 130 acres of land with no neighbors and a large fishing pond. We finally got to just relax and play lots of cards. If you know me at all you know I love to play cards. I could play from the minute I get up until late into the night. We usually played until midnight then everyone would be exhausted and head to bed. I somehow talked my mom into staying up every night an extra hour and playing a card game called Golf. I am still undefeated. Sorry mom, maybe next time.

Then last but not least we drove back to Stephanie's house in White Lake where we hosted an appreciation party for all of my friends and family that have supported me through the last year and a half. We had the most amazing blow up slide and pool for the kids, tons of food and lots of laughs. The only bad part to that day was the weather refused to cooperate. It was raining and 65 degrees. That is ridiculous weather for Michigan in August. However, we didn't let it get us down and had so much fun just catching up with everyone. I was truly amazed at all of the people that took the time to come. Some of you even drove as far as three hours to join the party. Thank-you so much for making the effort and taking the time out of your busy lives.

I could have stayed another week in Michigan. The trip was a whirlwind, which is in true Kristine fashion. I wish I could have just stayed still for a moment or two but then my leg would have started shaking and I would have had to dream up some adventure. As most of you know I can't stay in one place too long. I got home on Monday and I am already talking about where I am going next. Stay tuned.

Kristine