I packed the car with every diversion we could possibly need to keep the girls entertained on the 20 hour drive. Snacks, toys, new books, Dora and Sesame Street downloaded to the iPod Touch. We strategically planned our meal stops at locations with a playplace (way too much fast food on this trip). The girls did great and kept pretty much to their normal sleep schedules during the drive. Great for them, bad for mommy and daddy on the first day in Michigan. All we wanted to do was sleep, but they were well rested and ready to play!
Day 1 was laid back visiting with Great Papa, Grandma, Aunt JJ and Uncle Mike before having dinner with Nonna and Grandpa. Day 2 we took the girls to Domino's Petting Farm. They both loved the animals and had so much fun. After the petting farm we stopped by to visit Great Grandma Marge before heading out to a family cookout with the Shaffners and Tanasons. I LOVE my family! If Michigan were Florida I would totally move back. :)
The next day we headed with Grandma to the Detroit Children's Museum and lunch at American Coney Island. The Children's Museum was small, but the exhibits were good for toddlers. Melia got a little scared in the planetarium, but the show was short enough that she made it through without a freak out.
Day 4 all the grandparents were working and Daddy had meetings, so Melia, Makena and Mommy had a girls day. We spent most of the day at Jungle Java in Canton. This place was amazing! It was so clean and so much fun. An indoor jungle gym with a toddler area, health food snack bar and play places that encourage parental involvement. If we had one of these at home I would be there all the time! After a visit to Grandpa's work, we picked up Daddy and Grandma and headed to Greektown for dinner. Melia slept through dinner. Makena enjoyed a loaf of Greek bread (well most of it ended up on the floor, but some of it was digested).
Friday we took a trip to the Detroit Zoo with Nonna and Grandpa. They had a special Dinosaur exhibit going on called Dinosauria. The animitronics were really well done. Melia got a little scared of the dinosaurs, so some of the time she covered her eyes (that way the dinosaurs couldn't see her). Makena really enjoyed watching the seals swim in the Arctic Ring of Life. And of course, no trip to the zoo would be complete without a stop in the gift shop. Melia picked out an elephant for her and a penguin for Makena. Not sure why, but every visit with Nonna ends up with us leaving with another "lovey" to sleep with ;) For dinner we finally got to hang out with Uncle Ian and visit his new job (and favorite restaurant) BD's Mongolian Grill.
Saturday was a laid back day. During Daddy's brief meeting the girls and I went to Parkland Park so Melia could play on the playground. Luckily one area of the park has updated playground equipment. The section at the bottom of the hill literally has the same slide, swings and spinny thing that I played on 20+ years ago! We hung out with Grandpa in the kiddy pool and ran through the sprinklers. For dinner we went with Aunt JJ, Uncle Mike and Grandma to Mexican Fiesta to celebrate Aunt JJ's 18th birthday.
We are currently driving home. It was a great visit, but we miss Molly (our doggy). Not sure why the drive home always seems to take forever!
Lots of pictures from our trip on Webbsyght, but here are a few highlights...
