Smalls

A couple weeks ago I flew up to Michigan for the weekend so I could attend one of my sister Katie’s bridal showers.  A BIG thank you to my in-laws for financing that flight!  What a generous gift!

I arrived on Friday morning and spent the day running errands and hanging out with my mom.  That evening we met my sister at her new house after work.  She and Dan have a beautiful new house!  They are doing some work on the inside, but the house is a gorgeous ranch.  After a tour we met my dad for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Jack’s.  It is right on Lake St. Clair in a local marina and my dad loves going there to see all the boats coming in and out.

On Saturday morning my mom took me on a tour of her garden.  She has worked so hard and created a beautiful garden that surrounds most of our house and backyard.  You can see some of her flowers in the pic below.  In the middle of the backyard she planted a wonderful herb and vegetable garden.  The picture below is of her first green pepper!  It was so darn cute and perfect.  We had this little guy in our omelet that morning and it was delicious!

Katie’s shower was held at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial on Saturday afternoon.  This beautiful, former house – the Alger House – was donated to the community in honor of World War II veterans.  Additions to the original building have been made and now various community classes and events take place here.  The house is right on the lake and there was a wedding there that morning (hence all of the chairs in the pic below).  This is where I had one of my showers and our wedding reception.

The shower was very nice and Katie and Dan received many wonderful gifts.  Below is a picture of Katie (seated in the center) and all of her bridesmaids that were at the shower.  The only bridesmaid missing was our other sister Mary who lives in Colorado.

This picture is my sister and I with our cousins and Grandma Booth.

After the shower, we took a walk down to the front gardens/lawn to take some pictures of Katie and Dan.  I love the greens in the picture below.  It really was a gorgeous day!

Dan’s mom, Dan, Katie and our mom.

Saturday evening, my mom, dad and I went down to the City Park to take a ride on my dad’s boat Blank Check.  My dad has a 1941 Chris Craft that he purchased at a police auction.  My mom sent him off to the auction that morning with a blank check and my dad came home with the boat.  Hence the name Blank Check.  He has spent many years restoring and rebuilding the boat and it is beautiful.  My dad turns a lot of heads every time he takes it out.

The captain enjoying a ride on the lake.  I love this picture of my dad.

All in all it was a great weekend and it was so nice to see my family again!  I hadn’t seen them since Christmas!  I can’t believe we’ll be heading back in a couple of weeks for the wedding.  Where has this year gone?!