The Fahnestock Family Blog: Capler Vacation UpNorth Charlevoix

The Crazy Capler Family

Back row:

Uncle Tom, Kim, Uncle Jim, Aunt Mary Jane, Liz, Lisa, Aunt Leslie, Mom, Tommy, Uncle Greg

Front row:

Brody, Brian, Bailey, Jenn, Amy, Lucas, Cory, Uncle Mike

So there they are. The people I call family. What started out as a tradition which most Michigan families have of going Up North for a week in the Summer, has turned into an adventure. We started last year in Traverse City on Lake Leelannau in a beautiful home but not enough room to accommodate 15 adults and 3 children. Well OK Uncle Tom can be considered a child too i guess, but we hoped he would leave Fido home this time. Oh yeah and one pet fly. So after a few meetings and a lot of Internet searching we decided on a 5000 square foot cottage on South Arm in Charlevoix. The beach was nice, but the cottage needed a bit of work. We managed though. Al Frost (the owner) will not be getting a Christmas card this year.

But all in all the week was really enjoyable. The food was so good, which is a given when you are getting Kimmy's Ribs, Jim's meat balls, and Cathy's macaroni salad. Oh yeah and did I mention Mary Jane's potato salad. So we all ate like royalty, even though the palace hadn't been dusted since the 14 century.

The cottage was filled with lots of laughs, which is really the only thing you need on a vacation. I for one am looking forward to next years spot, but we will need to do a drive by before committing. I am so grateful to have such a great family and that my children get to experience some of the joy I had as a kid going to Houghton Lake.

The First night we got in we enjoyed every bit of the beautiful weather on the beach. Brian and Tom hooked us up with a campfire which was the envy of most boy scouts that was for sure.

Mary Jane & Jim enjoying the camp fire.

The next day the weather was perfect. Amy and Lucas enjoyed the sun and watching the boat as we were all getting ready to try out Uncle Tom's new three person raft. He trailered up his 26 foot boat which got a ton of use this trip. I don't think there was one person who didn't go for a ride.

Look at how handsome my man is.

Sometimes it was more fun to watch then ride.

We were in Charlevoix during their annual Venetian festival. There was live music, great ice cream shoppes, and a carnival. Brody was in his hay day when he went on the Truck Ride. Notice he is giving us the thumbs up sign, which interestingly enough ends up the peace sign. Oh well. He was super psyched.

Bailey talked me into taking a ride with her on the Ferris wheel. It was pretty cool. I just love this shot showing pure enjoyment on my girl's face. I was still a little freaked out by the whole thing and kept figuring out the escape route if a cable should snap.

Lisa, Liz, me and mom.

So I had to add this photo which was taken by my lovely girl, oh my does she have a talent for taking photos. Funny story behind this candy store was that Greg, Mike, Mary Jane and Jim spent over $50 in this store after they misread the sign which read $4.99 a 1/2 pound. Needless to say we ate a ton of candy the rest of the week.

So as I said before, the best part of the cottage was the beach, so that is where we spent most of our time. Greg helped Brody fishing, but never really got a nibble...but then Brody moved on to another sort of entertainment. Splash mama with water when she is just enjoying the sun.

Which turned into an all out water fight with Uncle Tom.
Which then escalated a little more...
But I still think I came out the victor....Awwww good times!
Bailey certainly was not happy to say good bye to the beach, the food or any of the fun, but I promised her we have many more Summers left to enjoy with the Caplers
On our last night we lit sparklers and had some fun by the camp fire til our bellies hurt from laughing too much...or maybe it was all the food we ate.