Lauren Elizabeth

Jolly Holiday

Mike had a week and a half off for his time between 2nd and 3rd year of dental school. The weather was going to be pretty bad throughout the entire eastern United States. So we decided to just stick around and do things we had been wanting to do locally but hadn't really gotten to do yet. We also did a lot of house projects, which felt really good to get out of the way. We went to the Eastern Market in Detroit. This is a huge farmers market that Detroit is kind of famous for. We walked around checking out all the food and plants. There were seriously gorgeous flowers everywhere. We tried a few things from some food trucks. We got some of the best Mexican food we have had in Michigan thus far. Mike got some crazy jalapeno limeade that I could not handle. There was the cutest group of girls singing to earn money for a trip to D.C. that Vi could not stop watching. We also checked out this amazing letter press store, where I got a letter press of Michigan for our house. There were 2 twin boys in the shop who were probably 4 and they were obsessed with Vi. They kept hugging and kissing her. It was very cute but she was a little hesitant about the whole thing.

Next we made a trip to Frankemuth, Michigan's little Bavaria. It was a cute little town full of super tacky decorations. We tried chocolate cheese, an assortment of cheese spreads and saw a huge general store that made me think of Vermont and visiting my Grandparents. We got lunch and tried an assortment of German food and our waiters and waitresses were decked out in their German clothing. We listened to the bells in the bell tower and walked around the streets. We drove through a darling covered bridge too. Then we hit up the largest Christmas store in America ( so they claim). It actually is huge and I couldn't believe how it just kept going and going. We found some hilarious ornaments and I wish it had been closer to Christmas time so we could have gotten our ones for the year. Then we hit up the really good outlets that are just 10 minutes from there.

Next we made a trip to the Toledo zoo in Ohio. This was Vi's first time to a zoo and she loved it!!! She was obsessed with the polar bears and seals. She loved the monkeys and gorillas. She also really loved the elephants. This was the perfect age to take her for the first time because she knows all her animals and loves to look at pictures and books of them. I think seeing them in person kind of blew her mind. Toledo has a Del Taco so mike got some lunch on the way home and was just so pleased.

We also painted Violet's room and hung out with friends. We made s'mores and played golf. We painted our kitchen table and chairs white and hung blinds. We watched a movie almost every night. We also tried a few new places to eat in Ann Arbor. It was a very productive week and it was so fun to have Mike home. I never want him to go back after he has had time off. Vi was eating up every minute she could. Here are a million pictures of all our events.