4 hours? I don't think so.

To truly appreciate the wonderful time we had at the lake, the story of how we got there simply must be told.

Amber: "It's probably going to take you almost 4 hours to get there on Friday, just so you can be mentally prepared for that."

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. After taking 2 hours to get out of Chicago (I could have walked to Indiana faster), next thing we know we are in a parking lot on the Indiana Toll Road. A put the car in park, turn it off, and get out to mingle with the truckers Parking Lot.

What do we do? What CAN we even do? How long can they keep us trapped here? At 0 miles an hour... maybe forever. My bladder is not going to make it forever. Surely the Green Bean can't hop the median like some SUVs are doing... Do we turn around and drive on the shoulder hoping for some other way to cross the median? What do they do to U-turning drivers on toll roads? Surely the exit toll people will notice on our ticket that we got on going the other way... Maybe it's a fine? How much are we willing to pay to get out of this mess? $20? $30? Who cares anymore, get me out of here!

After our highly illegal trip the wrong way down the gravel on our way to cross the median(with lots of friends of course), followed by several miles of backtracking through Indiana before the toll road would let us off (Chicago was just trying to pull us back into their traffic jam!) we ultimately ended up in an ENORMOUS line to get off the toll road. A manual pay-your-toll-to-a-real-person toll booth, this was no I-Pass lane folks. But this line was at least moving. Slowly but surely, the end was in sight. While in this line, we noticed that the police had completely shut down the toll road going that direction and were forcing all the cars to get off. I guess they decided that an overturned semi blocking ALL lanes of traffic, allowing NO cars through was reason enough to reroute people.

Best line of the night:

Bryan called Ryan with the news of our latest delay, asking him to check on a map to see what other options we could have. Ryan calls back a few minutes later with the news...

Ryan: "You're in luck my friend! About 5 miles ahead of you you can get off the toll road and---"

Bryan: "Hahaha. You don't understand. We haven't moved 1 centimeter since I last talked to you. The car is turned off. Michelle's outside. 5 miles ahead does me NO good."

Ha ha ha.

A few shots from our 6.5 hour adventure:

Devils Lake

This past weekend we went with Ryan and Amber to the Cox Family Cottage on Devils Lake (Thank you Coxes! We had a blast!!!).

We spent a lot of time outside, grilling, boating, swimming, playing Euchre. If it possibly could be done outside, it was.

The boat was not always as easy to start as one might think...

Here Bryan assists by holding the boat close to the dock so we didn't float out into the lake before the boat was for sure on and staying on.

Our job was simply to enjoy the ride. And we did.

The end result was well worth the effort. What could be more fun than boating around a beautiful lake with our best friends??

Beaver Box

When not boating or grilling, boys loved playing Beaver Box (AKA, Cornhole). Quite amazing how much this simple game entertained them for hours on end. Throwing beanbags never gets old!

The girls watched the competition of manly skill from this convenient perch.

No, YOU're the funniest...

When we are all together, Bryan and Ryan pretty much spend the whole time cracking each other up.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I call this sequence "Seize the Moment"

let's pose in our yellow lifejackets, that'll be funny...

hmm... I can think of something funnier than that...

Great Times

Who could ask for more?

Woody??

Bryan has now had two patients tell him he looks just like Woody Harrelson from his days on Cheers. What do you think? Do we have a celebrity look-a-like among us???

Cherry Pickin'

Who knew there was a cherry tree in our backyard?

Fun With Friends

Last night we went out to Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. . Great atmosphere, great food, and great friends. We couldn't ask for more!

Unfortunately, the people we asked to take this picture didn't quite understand that we wanted the Whole sign in the picture. Oh well...

Comets Win!

This weekend we went to Berrien Springs to watch Corey's baseball team play in regionals for the state baseball tournament. They won their first game 10-0 and won again 4-2 in the second game, making them regional champions. Just 3 more wins and they become state champs!

Here is Corey on 2nd after hitting a double in the second game. Soon after he scored the first run for the Comets!

Regional champs, enjoying their trophy.

Euchre

This is what we do now that we don't have to study or write papers every night:

Amber and I have a simple strategy: Win. Every time. Almost as important is our second strategy: Call it. Almost every time. So far so good!

Bryan and Ryan can often be found enjoying coffee together- morning, noon, and night some days.

Dogs

These are two Duck-Tolling Retrievers- the kind of dog that Bryan is now convinced we will someday have. They are like Golden Retrievers, but smaller and prettier. Cinder is full grown and Nadia (with the white on her face) is still a puppy, and ever so adorable. They are Aaron and Ashlee's dogs, and I have to say that Cinder is the first big dog I have ever liked, she is very sweet. Maybe our future does hold a bigger dog than I had imagined...