Our third day in Michigan was also our final day. We had plans to head to Holland, where Matt's aunt lives, and attend a breakfast at her house. After that we were going to hit the road and head home. What was really special about this breakfast was that Matt's 95-year-old grandma would be there along with all of her grandchildren (seven in all) and their spouses and all of her great-grandchildren (four in total). The grandchildren live in Michigan, Illinois, California, and New York, and it just so happened that everyone was going to be in town this weekend. We all remarked that this was the first time this had happened in years and years, and we wouldn't be surprised if this was the only time this will ever happen.
Matt's Aunt Brenda is a great hostess and had a yummy breakfast spread laid out buffet style. We were able to eat and visit, and the kids were able to get acquainted with one another and enjoy playing with toys.
After eating, we all got together in front of the house to take some family pictures.
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| I was hoping this one would turn out cute, but Savannah and I are both doing something strange. Oh well! |
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| The Kooienga side. |
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| Kooiengas plus Grandma Keim. |
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| Both Kooienga and Doornbos sides with Grandma Keim. |
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| The four great-grandchildren together. Hailey, Savannah, Noah, and Jacob. |
After taking pictures everyone wandered to the backyard to play yard games and play with bubbles and swing (for the under-five crowd). Hailey had been fussy and clingy all morning up until this point, due to the lack of sleep she had gotten on the trip so far. She had wanted me to hold her and was picking fights with her sister over toys and then sobbing when she didn't get her way. I was wondering if we would need to leave early so she could crash in the car. However, once we got into the backyard she immediately pointed to the swing. I put her in and she calmly swung for over an hour! It was the perfect thing to calm her down.
After our visit it was time to go. Our drive home had much less traffic and construction than our drive up, but unfortunately I got sick and we needed to stop for that less than an hour into the drive, and then after our stop Hailey woke up and whined/cried the entire rest of the way. I wound up plugging headphones into my phone and watching Netflix on it just to drown out the sound of her fussing. (Lest you think I am an awful mother, ignoring my child that way, rest assured I had tried everything I could to calm her. I had sung to her, offered snacks and drinks, stopped so she could go to the bathroom, changed the movie she was watching, and tried to twist my arm backwards to hold her hand. Finally after all of that I decided she just wasn't going to stop until we got home!) Matt cranked up the music and Savannah fell asleep. We arrived home exhausted but thankful for a safe trip and the memories that were made!
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