Last week's foodie cousin times

After work last Thursday, we met my cousin, Katy, and her fiance in the Loop. I love walking over all the bridges around the Loop. We met at Rittergut Wine Bar to use our Groupons for a wine and cheese pairing. It was awesome and delicious. I had a rose flight with three different kinds of cheese! 

On Friday, two more of our favorite cousins came to town. We celebrated with a tasting menu at iNG. One of the courses had decorative cowbells on the plate, and yes, we tested them to see if they would ring.....It was a rock n' roll themed menu, complete with a picture of Def Leppard screened on delicious Mochi dessert!We watch the YouTube video for Gangham Style and tried to copy PSY's moves. Can you tell that they are brother and sister? 

The next day, we picked up Leenie's new husband from Midwayand stopped for dim sum in China Town!! Two more cousins met us for lunch too. 
On Sunday, we met Mr. F's old co-worker for brunch. We got to meet his new fiance too!This weekend we're driving to St. Louis to celebrate Mr. F's sister's engagement and our four year wedding anniversary!

Last few days of vacation...

It's been a whirlwind of events since we returned from Michigan and we're traveling to St. Louis for Labor Day. Thus, this post will mostly be a photo drop.Lyra wasn't a huge fan of the family cabin and mostly stayed in the attic. On Thursday, it was overcast and raining so we explored the small towns of Northern Michigan.Mr. F and I checked out the Cherry Hut. It was super kitchsy and sugary but fun to try once!The menus reminded us to go to Gwen Frostic.I love their nature block prints!The printing presses were going while we were there too!This is how they wrap your purchases!Thursday afternoon was still stormy, so we read and played with the kitties, especially Lily.On Friday, we went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. 

We went swimming with Lee Lee, the wirehaired fox terrier in Lake Michigan,

and watched the sunset!Next up, I'll post about our week with our out-of-state cousins!

Outdoor Activities in Northern Michigan

Tuesday morning, we all went for tennis drills on the CSA beach courts.I forgot my sunglasses but I still got a good workout in my tennis skirt!After lunch, we went for a walk to Point Betsie and the lighthouse. It was fascinating to watch the fog come in. By the end of the walk, my hair looked liked I had a crown of raindrops and each of our eyebrows were glistening!The camera had trouble capturing the tiny crystals! 

Yesterday, the lake had warmed up more so we attempted swimming again. Mr. F was the only one brave enough to stay in longer than a few minutes. Lee Lee, the wirehair fox terrier, even go too cold doggy paddling.I got several great photos wading in the water. 

 Mr. F's sister and her fiance made a cosmic rock structure on the beach that looks very romantic.Mr. F found the ocean kayaks yesterday too!We had so much fun going along the Frankfort coastline.The water was extremely calm and clear too! We have to do a few eskimo rolls to get all the spiders out thought! It was a good way to cool off!We even saw  the remains of an old seawall, or dock, under water!It was a great way to spend the afternoon. I hope Lake Michigan is calm enough to take the kayaks out again later this week! [Today is stormy, so we're reading, blogging, sending postcards and running errands in town! Hopefully the winds bring in warmer water!]