Monday, July 13, 2026
Hello and let’s link up with Holly and Sarah to share the weekend happenings!
I’m still pretty private about going out of town, thus when I told you on Friday that I hadn’t done much socially last week it’s because I spent the week buying supplies and getting ready for…
On Thursday morning, Tom and I headed north!
It’s a 6-hour drive and we only stopped once! We did the same on the way back!
We arrived Thursday afternoon and some people were already in the water, and the weather was perfection and would continue to be until Sunday!
This is my mom’s side of the family. She grew up in Chicago and then came to southern Indiana for college. Her siblings stayed in the Chicago area and then moved to Michigan and now half the cousins live in Michigan and half live in Ohio.
Cousin Neal has the lake house, and he graciously invited us to come again this year. There is one main lake house and then on the hill above he has two other cabins. The lake is big enough for water sports and it feeds into Lake Michigan in the town of New Era, Michigan near Muskegon.
They have a floating dive platform, a dock…
a wake boat, two jet skis, a bunch of kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats, and all kinds of inflatables!
We wasted no time getting our suits on!
We walk to Lake Michigan to see the sunset and take photos, of course!
And, one day we designate a time for the “family float” to Lake Michigan from their smaller lake. It takes about 45 minutes.
The float:
One of my cousins is a new grandma to this sweet baby boy:
We spent lots of time just hanging out on the giant porch, too!
My Uncle Jim had the idea to take everyone on a dune ride at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. It’s really something to see!
Look at our group before getting on our “dune buggies” :
They stop on Lake Michigan and let you take photos:
After the ride, we visited a lighthouse:
Look at that sky!
Also, I want to tell you that the high each day was 77-79 degrees. The air feels so good!
We logged hours doing this:
We even got a kid to deliver us drinks on a paddleboard when we ran out!
Tom had some alone time:
Tom had some wakeboard action, too:
This is the only store and the place to be! Their ice cream stand is hopping every night! This is my niece Lena and my niece Nora is right behind her.
The sweet ice cream shop girls would try to yell the orders, but their voices were so soft so I started using my cheerleader/teacher voice to help:
“SMALL DEER TRAX IN A CUP!”
“TRAVERSE CITY CHERRY IN A WAFFLE CONE”!
“MICHIGAN POTHOLE IN A CUP”!
Niece Lena is always laughing:
My sister Molly and her husband Jason:
We had a glow stick rave/dance party the last night:
And someone started doing some really good fireworks over the lake on the last night!
There’s so much more to say, but I’m waterlogged, sunburned, dehydrated and my heart is full in the best way!
Tell me about your weekend!
Amy
P.S. – I took a break from social media and blog reading and commenting so if you left me a comment, thank you so much and I will try to get to it.
I posted about Dancing on Thursday and my regular favorites on Friday.
You’ll be happy to know I was the adult who danced with the kids during the rave/dance party!
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
I’ve never been to any of the Great Lakes – wow! Lake Michigan is gorgeous with such a lovely beach!! Your uncle’s house and cabin must be huge for all of y’all to be able to stay several nights. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.
LikeLike
If you can, you should! It’s so pretty! Yes! It really was!
LikeLike
That sounds absolutely amazing! Look at how many of you there are!! I can remember doing a sand dune ride on Cape Cod when we were younger.. but not in an open top vehicle.
LikeLike
It really was! Oh fun! The sand dunes are something else! I didn’t get the best photos but there were some big hills we went down so that your stomach flip flopped.
LikeLike
What a great weekend away with family! How awesome of your cousin to open up his home… and water toys for everyone to use. Great pictures!! It looks like an absolute blast. Alyssa was at Lake Erie this weekend near Cleveland and loved it. (I mean what’s not to love on the water on a beautiful lake surrounded by people you enjoy being with??)
LikeLike
Thank you! So awesome and they are the most laid back hosts! The Great Lakes are really great!
LikeLike
This sounds like the perfect weekend! I want to go to a lake town in Michigan in the summer, everything about it seems so charming and sweet. I love this kind of vacation, eating, relaxing, talking – such sweet memories! And of course you were the adult dancing with the kids!
xo,
Kellyann
LikeLike
Thank you! I know you would love to come north! I’m not sure how it compares to Maine weather but you would love it!
LikeLike
This all sounds like an amazing weekend! I love that y’all did this again and how nice to stay connected to family. It looks like they have a fabulous place and the weather sounds perfect. Did EO go on the trip too? Hope you have a good weekend!
LikeLike
Thank you! Me too! No, Mason stayed at our house to watch him.
LikeLike
Sounds like a fabulous long weekend with family! I have a lot of cousins but we are on opposite sides of the country and I try to imagine how a reunion would work, but it’s overwhelming so I set the thought aside. This looks like so much fun. I’ve never been to Michigan but it’s a state on my list. Is the water freezing? Glad you had a great getaway!
LikeLike
It really was! The water was perfect! It was refreshing but not cold.
You could just set a date and who comes, comes.
LikeLike
Such a beautiful lake. It truly looks like the ocean! What a fun trip full of family- I can imagine how full your heart is 🙂
LikeLike
Doesn’t it? People are always suprised. The water was literally turquoise.
LikeLike
Wow! What a weekend! I really must see the northern parts of your beautiful country! My kids thought for a long time that the US was only beaches and palm trees :D.
And what a place your cousin has! Gah!
Didn’t EO join you?
We had a great weekend, just hub and I (kids in LA). No dinner making, this mama went to restaurants every night :D.
LikeLike
It looks like this weekend really “filled your cup.” Way to go for dancing and way to go to Tom for that wakeboarding! Impressive! That’s amazing that so many family members came together!
LikeLike
I am jealous of your lake time 😆 I am a lake girl thru and thru! It’s always lovely to get get together with extended family! ☺️ Our weekend was very wet on Saturday. We got mych needed rain. I went to Picklefest with a couple of friends on Saturday afternoon. It was inside an old mall that I haven’t been to in years!! Didn’t buy any pickles because they were all sold out but did enjoy all of the vendors selling crafts like jewelry, bookmarks, soaps, etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, that sounds like such a fun weekend! I love time on the water!
LikeLike
That wakeboard looks like a fish, so it looks like Tom is surfing on a giant fish! Looks like a great vacation. My dear friend has a lake house in Michigan and has invited me to visit, but it’s not workable this year. Maybe next time!
LikeLike
Hi Amy!
So smart you keep everything under wraps when you are away! I’m so glad you had fun. My weekend was pretty boring. We are going to some day resort tomorrow for my birthday, so that should be fun!
Cheers Missy
LikeLike
What an amazing weekend! There just isn’t anything better than being with family at a place where you can find so many fun things to do!
https://marshainthemiddle.com
LikeLike
You have to be careful about what you share, especially when you go out of town. How great to have a family get together! It sounds like a fantastic weekend! I love the family float, what fun!
LikeLike
what an amazing weekend!! Love that you all get together and do this! My cousins in the Midwest all do something similar and rent 10-12 cabins at a lake !!! Our family is so small out here and none of us like each other enough to do anything together. It’s all good! We love our daughters and thier spouses and have a blast with just them!! We had Taylor’s baby shower on Saturday and it was so much fun!! She and BB were spoiled and loved on!! Have a great week!!
LikeLike
What a wonderful time! I just told Trav that I’d wished we were able to go back to Michigan this summer. What great memories you are making with your family.
LikeLike
This was such a fun read as I was at a family reunion in mid June with my hubby’s family in… Silver Lake, Michigan! I recognize that lighthouse and those “Sand Witch” sand dune vehicles. I would have loved to give that a try but we had family members who brought their own and my husband and I stayed back to chat with his generation of folks. (I wrote about it in our post last Friday – “Life Lately” if you’d like to see our photos. We took a week road trip through the UP on our way to the reunion and then took the express ferry across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee from Muskegon. Such a fun area. And, guess who’s slated to plan the next family reunion for his extended family in two years – yep! ME with help from hubby! This yer there were 84 of us so I’m already fretting a bit! I’m going to remember the glow stick/rave dance party for sure!
LikeLike