Canada Trip for Kaylee's birthday

Again... very delayed...

There's a place not far over the nearest border crossing from us (Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON) where you can go fossil hunting and keep what you find. It's called Rock Glen Provincial Park. While my parents were here for Kaylee's birthday weekend, we decided to all take a trip there since my Dad is a big fossil bluff and Kaylee is becoming one too. My parents were headed home and were taking the Canada route so it worked out to be on their way home.

Kaylee pesters Eric in the car.

Nana (my mom) holding Hazel. She loves being Nana to my girls and I love having her.

My Dad had polio, so that he could manage this path up to the visitor's center was pretty impressive.

Sign explaining how the fossils got there.

Hazel is excited about fossils!

The paths through the park are all boardwalk and stairs, since you're basically climbing down a river gorge.

The creek bed where you pretty much trip over fossils.

Dragonfly!

Part of our haul.

Grandpa and Kaylee inspect the fossils.

Family shot! Thank goodness for timer functions on cameras.

Climbing the stairs back out.

There's a gorgeous waterfall that you can swim in too. Once Hazel's older, we'll go back and plan to swim. The water was chilly but refreshing!

Kaylee wanted so badly to swim. I did have her suit, but the water was too cold for her to do much more than wade.

Eric went exploring downriver.

Breastfeeding Stroll

St. Clair County Health Department hosted a Breastfeeding Stroll at the riverfront in Port Huron (gateway to Sanilac, Ontario CAN) I had seen the event posted on facebook in several places and my doula had signed up as attending so this morning I decided, ah hell, why not?  It was only 45 minutes away and I knew the view would be nice and there was likely to be a breeze from the water so it would be pleasant strolling weather. 

Vendors were set up on the walking path that ran along the riverfront and they had lots of stuff to hand out and stickers for the kids. If you visited every tent you could be entered in a raffle drawing. Most things were about WIC or medicaid which doesn't apply to me, but I did snag some business cards that had breastfeeding rights on them (applicable state laws) in the event that I'm ever given grief about breastfeeding in public.

Anything you see on the other side of the river is Canada. There were also cool sculptures and info displays along the walk. The permanent ones were about the biology and ecology of the area and the temporary ones were about breastfeeding. 

Being in the stroller didn't last long. 

Breastfeeding at the breastfeeding stroll!

I know it's blurry, but I think it's neat. 

My dorky, yet effective sun shade hat!

Ducks and Canada

She got so wet but had such a great time!

There was this sculpture along the path. Her name is Sugar!

Kaylee for scale

We ate lunch at this bench and fed the ducks. It was such a pleasant day.

Sanilac Petroglyphs and Port Crescent State Park

Not in chronological order or anything, but whatevs.  The day before my Mom came into town, Eric and I decided that we were Going Out. I found a state park that had a short hiking trail and some petroglyphs and then we were culminating by driving to the tip of the thumb of Michigan to another state park to go to the beach with Kaylee. It wasn't going to be a particularly hot day, but Kaylee loves digging in the sand so I figured it would work out either way.

Kaylee was a Threenager to the fullest that day, it was awful, but we persevered and did have some fun.

Lots of pictures to follow!

Mackinac Island Day Trip 8/14

While my Mom was in town last week, Eric expressed a desire for us to take a day and go explore, leaving Kaylee with Nana. I was excited because I miss Washington for the beautiful scenery we had so close to us that we could explore. All I had seen of Michigan, really, was the drive from the Detroit airport to Algonac, which included run down Detroit. I was beginning to explore more of the state but the really good stuff isn't close, it takes a decent drive to get to. Eric definitely wanted to show me Mackinac, so that was the plan.

We left super early Friday morning to start the drive north. Google estimated about 3.5 hours drive time to get to the ferry in Mackinac City. Mackinac Island itself is a state park. The whole island. Additionally, motorized vehicles are prohibited.  You can get around on foot, by bike or by horse! My kind of island!

Summer Storms

The backyard at my mother in law's house where we're staying. It has frontage on the St. Clair River.

Lake St. Clair, a not quite Great Lake. I found the rain.

The kid, a new house, and making babies

I've only been temping lately and I wanted to get back into more tracking so I ordered more LH test strips as well as a nifty new toy that can also be useful!

LH test strips, I hope I don't need all 50 of them...

Apparently, you can also check your saliva to see if it crystallizes. The crystallization changes when you ovulate and that can be detected by drying saliva on a microscope slide and examining it. So I got a pocket microscope.  It's small enough to fit in my purse!! And way cooler than the "marketed for fertility looks like a lipstick case" pockets scopes. That would stick out in my purse.

Glass slides.

Bright LED for examination

Test of saliva. You can see some crystallization but during ovulation/fertile zone there should be tons of 'ferning'. I'll hopefully nab a picture when I see it in the next few days!

In other news, I am the owner of this AMAZING front yard! Horses not included, but that's okay! I have my own ;) 

And Kaylee is already in love with this awesomeness in the backyard.

She practiced climbing a rope ladder at the park.

It was a gorgeous day on Lake St. Clair

So she went swimming in her undies. Lack of swim suit bedamned!