The Gibsons

Family Vay-Cay

September1

Liam and I just got back from spending almost three weeks back east with my family. We flew out at the end of July to hang out in Pittsburgh and then a week later, Tom joined us and the entire Schirtzinger clan headed up to Mackinac in Michigan. I had such a wonderful time seeing everyone and already miss them terribly. It is so great to see how much my family loves Liam. I am so blessed to have such an amazing and close family.

I know it seems like a random place to go, but the Zingers have been vacationing in Michigan since my grandfather was a little boy. I don’t know how it started then, but my childhood is full of summer trips to the lakes. We stay in the upper peninsula where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet. There is a tiny island called Mackinac Island where everything is done in the Victorian fashion. You can only ride bikes or horses on the island as they don’t allow cars.

Because there were so many of us, we had to take four cars. I somehow started refering to us as the Caravan of Chaos before the trip and the name stuck. How could it not be chaotic with six young children and such a crazy clan?! Jessica, Tom, Benjamin, Liam, Mike and I were the last to leave because we had to wait for Mike to finish his rounds at the hospital. We didn’t leave until 9 at night, and were foolish enough to assume we could drive through the night. I was confident because I have twice made the drive from WV to UT in one shot, but I am not as young as I used to be! The babies slept but the adults arrived in MI exhausted!

It was fun to be able to share such a large part of my childhood with Tom. We took him on the boat out to the sanddunes where we explained that you hike up to the top only to run down as fast as you can. He looked at us like we had lost our minds and later asked me why you would want to do all that work and get sand everywhere only to tumble to the bottom. I laughed and realized that the sanddunes are much more fun as a child. I think only children can appreciate running down a mountain of sand for no reason!

We spent the night on Mackinac Island which I had never done before. I was able to run the island twice, which isn’t bad considering it is only 8 miles in circumfrance. Tom and I were able to have a date night at the 1852 grill and it was amazing. I got the butternut squash ravioli and was in heaven. I loved being on the island in the morning before the ferries come with the crowds. Everything is so peaceful and Tom and I biked the island with no one to share the road with.

We found out that Liam is a waterbaby and loved playing in the water. He is also starting to cruise around more and stand on his own. And he has picked up waving “hi” and “bye,” although he hasn’t learned to turn his hand out so it looks like he is swating flies. He also loved hanging out with all his cousins. They are tons of excitement and you never know what they will say. My favorite “from the mouths of babes” moment had to be from Sam. He is four and has no verbal filter. We were having lunch outdoors and a table away was a Muslim family. There were two women in full black burka and when Sam saw them he told my sister, Katie, “Look Katie! Those are girl ninjas!” I think that its time to limit “Boone County Ninja” for Sam!

Tom finally got to see what it is like flying with Liam on the way home. In the past I have always flown by myself with him, but Tom and I flew back together. I hope now he has a greater appreciation for what it is like when I travel! Although, Liam is usually great on the plane, but that day both he and I had the misfortune of getting a cold and were both miserable on the ride home. We are recovering, but he is still out of sorts. Hopefully lots of rest and his own bed and house will help him get better. Miss you all and loved every minute of the visit. Well, almost…I did NOT like the humidity (who knew that gum melted?!) and I did NOT like being attacked by horseflies on my morning run. Those guys are nasty and hurt like a mother!