Michigan Trip 2018 - Part One

The story of our Michigan trip starts a few days before we left. I mentioned in my last blog post that I had been suffering from cramps that I thought was ovulation related. But two days before we left to drive up to Michigan, I got very sick. The pain in my right side was off the charts and I couldn't keep anything down.

I had sat in the bathroom for a while, and when Todd got home from work, I made the decision to go to the ER. Todd woke up Emily and off we went. We spent several hours in the ER - an actual emergency came in after they had put in a room so it took them a while to get me some drugs. And the stuff they gave me at first didn't touch the pain so it was morphine time.

They did a CAT scan and it was a kidney stone that I was close to passing. So they gave me all the drugs, told me I should pass it soon and sent me home. I spent the majority of the next day sleeping but once I woke up, the pain was gone. My arms were super sore though, from all the heaving I had done, so Emily had to help me pack.

But we got everything packed up and we left in the middle of the night on June 30th. Todd drove and I napped since I was still really wiped. We got to my dad's house, got our

stuff unloaded and then went to meet my friend Rebecca - we were good friends in high school and are still Facebook friends We ate at the Russ' that was near the house I grew up in, and it was exactly the same as it was when I grew up. It was nice to hang out with Rebecca!

Once we were done with dinner, we went back to my dad's house and he was home - he had been in Bay City for the day. We talked with him and just hung out watching a movie. I was getting really tired so I ended up going to bed.

The next day, we got up and got ready to go to the beach. We swam and Emily played in the sand. Todd ended up having to go stand in the shade because even with sunscreen, his poor ginger self was

getting burnt up. As we were leaving, Emily stepped on a stick and got a sliver / cut on her foot. She was very upset about this.

We went back to my dad's house, got showered, checked out Emily's foot and got a bandaid on it. Then we went to Captain Sundae for ice cream. I was starting not to feel very good, so I skipped the ice cream. We went back to my dad's house and I took one of my pain pills because I was having pain in my side again. I took a nap and I felt much better after I woke up.

Todd and I went to the movies at the theater I spent a lot of time at when I was younger. We went and saw Incredibles 2 since Todd hadn't seen it yet. We don't get a lot of time without Emily so it was nice to go on a date night.

We turned in early again because we had a long drive in the morning to go to Todd's parent's house.

Up Next - Michigan Trip 2018 - Part Two!

Michigan Trip - Beach Day!

This is the 2nd post in my Michigan trip report! To start from the beginning, click here!

After sleeping for a good long time, we got up and headed to the beach. Emily was so small last time we were in Michigan, she didn't remember going to the beach. She was especially excited to play in the sand.

We headed to Tunnel Park in Holland, and I swear it was like stepping back in time to my childhood. Since it was before noon, the beach wasn't too crowded. Todd went into the water first but declared it was way too cold to swim in. Emily waded in with him a bit but then played in the sand.

I finally went into the water, and Emily came with me. It was cold at first but it warmed up for me. We swam for quite a bit, with Emily bouncing in the waves. After we played in the sand for a while longer, we went to the other side of park to have a cookout.

My dad and Todd cooked us hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. While they were grilling, I took

Emily to the playground. She played and then rolled down the big sand hill a couple of times just like I did as a child. She was covered in sand from head to toe.

We ate our food, packed up and headed back to my dad's house. Right away, Emily was tossed into the shower. She shed so much sand in the bathroom, I had to sweep it up. After the rest of us got showers too, we just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Our plan had been to go to dinner and then go to Captain Sundae for ice cream. We went to Bob Evans for supper and while we were eating, the skies opened up and it started to pour. We were trying to decide how we would fit in Captain Sundae the next day, but the rain stopped as we were finishing up.

We decided to go anyway, and it was pretty dry while we had our ice cream. Emily was thrilled, with the ice cream and the play area that was a ship! After we finished, we headed back to my dad's house. We watched some tv and I got as packed up as I could.

Up Next - The Trek Across Michigan