How To: Take The Longest Trip Back To The Cottage...

We took a mini break from the cottage to return home for a couple of reasons:

First, 

I had my sister's two girls up with me, and it was time to take them home.

(My second favorite title after "mom" is "Aunt Lolly" to my sister's four kiddos-) 

(THIS  is my girl! My niece and I have particular affinities for: lip gloss, high heels, big flowers on our clothing, nail polish with some sparkle, and glittery things. Lots of glittery things! She also shares my temper -oops!-but offer us gum: bubble for her, cinnamon for me-and things will end well.)

I had the privledge to keep the girls for a few days at the cottage while one of her boys had minor surgery. It was perfect having them! They played with our Tennessee friends, who they have played with many times before, so this worked out to be just like the most perfectly planned play date! For days! 

At our beach:

At the State Park Beach:

(8 kids, 2 moms, 1 guinea pig, and 1 incorrigible dog in a 1,400 square foot cottage IS possible...in case you wondered...a giant tent, and an outdoor shower do assist greatly, however-.)

Second,

Our Tennessee friends were on the tail end of their trip to Michigan, and a few days stopover Downstate with plenty of bathrooms, bedrooms, and toys is always a good idea. 

So, we all headed home, Downstate, dropped off the nieces, and my friend and I spent the few days shopping. In Novi, Birmingham, and Ann Arbor. (I am officially broke until payday..) and we dined with our hubbies at a few of our favorite restaurants (What Crepe-Ann Arbor-, and Station 885-Plymouth-), played euchre late into the evenings (the girls continued to dominate, yay!), and spent the last evening celebrating the 'last night' with Trader Joe's appetizers before dinner with a third couple.

Oh. Right. I was supposed to be telling you how to take forever to get back to the cottage...

After church downstate (the guest speaker Harvey Carey was exciting, amazing, and challenging!),

I packed up some food, the guinea pig, the dog and six (yes, 6) boys to bring up to the cottage. Our friends, who have a cottage down the way, had a packed out car, and needed me to bring up her boys, and she brought her stuff, and her sweet daughter. (I wanted to ride in that car!)

It should take about 2.5 hours to get up north, but this trip (this scary, crazy, completely unusual trip-) took nearly 4.5 hours...

First there was the giant marble-sized hail storm that had rain beating down so hard I had to pull off on the shoulder along with everyone else. With my hazards on- (Never. Before. Has. This. Happened. I. Was. So. Scared!)

Next, after a brief reprieve from the rain, it started up again with the scariest looking clouds I have ever seen that were not on a television show about storm chasers. (!!!)

Even the boys looked up from their video games at this point and commented, "Wow. I think Jesus is coming back right now!

(Yes, the boys-all six of them-played through the hail and rain storm, and the scary clouds, except when I demanded my oldest to stop and take pictures for me-. So I guess I was the only one freaking out on this most unusual drive back Up North. Even the dog and guinea pig seemed unfazed...)

Finally,

We exited the interstate, and drove the last hour or so (after the three previous hours, ugh!) on the 2 lane country road and made three more stops:

One: At the cheese store (where all except my allergy son) ate all the cheese samples and crackers that were out on display while I was buying the cheese curds they demanded. (I did not know they did this until after we left. Oops. That is the trouble with 6 boys...)

Two: Franks Outdoor, where you can buy six fishing thingys for 1 dollar! -Yay!!!

Three: Northwoods Outlet, where (it smelled really bad!) you can buy more fishing thingys for more of your money!!! -Yay!!!

Finally, we arrived at the cottage.

...where we did not have any power, due to the storm...Perfect. Just Perfect...

My friend (who did not have a 4.5 hour jaunt, but did take longer too due to the terrible storms-) had unloaded at her cottage up the way by this point, and realized she was out of power too. She graciously picked up dinner to bring to my place, so we all had a "romantic" candlelight (if there is one thing I have here, it is candles!) dinner at my place, while the sun set, and the power finally came back on.

Now, you may be wondering one thing about our longest ever drive back to the cottage. How many times did we stop for a restroom break? That would have added some time to this trip, wouldn't it? 

Well, thankfully, not a once...

(Teachers can hold it, and boys playing video games most of the way don't realize they may have to go...)

So ends this particular saga.

(...Who will be enjoying her last three weeks of summer vacation at the cottage!)