My Winter Family

Last Thursday my mom and I went up to Michigan to visit my winter family.
We stayed with my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Ron in the town my mom and her brother grew up in - Howard City.

But first, we landed in Chicago. And trying new and local foods is a must for me so we split a Chicago dog. It was very good and included peppers, relish and large chunks of tomato. I do recommend this delicious dog.





The reason for our trip was to be able to visit my grandpa who is 92 years old.
The first day we took him to a great place called The Depot. They had homemade pies among other things that looked incredibly delicious!



My uncle, mom and grandpa.

My mom also got to see her best friend Cheryl. They grew up across the street from each other. And...what do ya know, we have the same name ;)

I think they enjoyed catching up.


My uncle took us on his snow mobile. It was awesome! Here is my mom all bundled up.


This is right before he and I left. In my uncle's words - this was a "freaking blizzard!"

Here is the creek across the street from my grandparent's house. I know I have a lot of pictures but I have never been there in the snow!


Here is my grandparent's house. It is over 100 years old. This is impressive to me.

Me and mom.



My uncle has his address on a tree stump. He told me that he put it there because it was too difficult to move when he built the house!



We watched the birds every morning at breakfast. There were about 3 cardinals there every day.


This squirrel also reaped the benefits of the bird feeder.


Look what my aunt made us for breakfast our first morning. Wow is the only word I can think of. It was like blueberry french toast with cream cheese goodness in the middle and syrup on top. They picked the blueberries themselves.



My aunt and uncle's house covered in snow. So pretty.


This was the last day. We visited grandpa one more time. He had a picture of my cousin's boys in his pocket all afternoon...


On our way to the airport we stopped at The Corner Bar. It is a restaurant/bar in Rockford. If you eat 12 chili dogs you get your name on the wall. Husband did it last year and my dad did it 2 times over the years. So proud of our eaters!




And this is what the road looked like on our way back. It was quite nerve wracking for my mom. I guess she's been in the south for too long...us Florida girls just aren't used to being in the snow!


It was a wonderful trip. I am so glad I got to visit my grandpa. Thanks Uncle Ron and Aunt Jackie for everything!