Kate's Do

Kate was born with a good deal of hair. Trouble is, I can't seem to tame it...

There are some big differences between the two siblings. Kate is VERY gassy, toots a lot, and spits up even more. You should see her laundry bin! As such, she requires lots of soothing and holding. That equals to lots of work for mommy and daddy.

One month old

Fall photos

It's been hard enjoying the fall festivities this year with me being really pregnant or taking care of a newborn. But we finally did get to go out last weekend for a scenic drive (well, as scenic as central Illinois can get).

Last year we had gone on a drive and happened upon this pumpkin farm out near Chilicothe. Situated between the Peoria river and the "bluffs" of that river valley, it proved to be a very scenic location. This year we wanted to find it again. And we did!

It was a little late in the season, and the pumpkin patch was mostly brown and dead with several pumpkins. But there was enough to keep Ethan occupied like hopping on this tractor.

Ode to the Grandmas

A whole month has passed since Kate's birth, and surprisingly I've had some time to reflect on how far we've come, thanks to the help of Grandma Cuesta and Grandma Snyder. My mom came in to town for two weeks prior to Kate's birth (we all thought she was going to be born really early). She was a big help playing with Ethan and watching him while I rested or did last minute preparations for the baby. He loved to rough house her, unfortunately, and mom was a big sport in wrestling with him! We're also grateful for her watching him while David and I had a few date nights :)

We're just really glad that Kate came before Grandma left! They had two whole days together...

Grandma Snyder came four days after Kate was born. She did a lot of work watching Ethan for two weeks while I recuperated from the delivery and worked on breastfeeding Kate. She also insisted on doing chores during Ethan's naptime! We are really grateful for her keeping the house in order :)

In fact, she put us all to shame! Despite her age, she can outdo me any day. In addition to the long walks with Ethan in the morning, she would do the regular chores and even some yardwork!

Ethan had a great four weeks with his two grandmas. I'm afraid he's been quite spoiled with all the attention! We can't wait for them to visit us again :)

Kate's first few weeks

Ethan's Car Dealership

Ethan's favorite pastime is arranging his cars in a straight line. They have to be JUST right, or else he gets mad!

"When I get a shot at Satan, I'm taking him out..."

This is what my husband said to me this afternoon after having taken a short walk around the block with Ethan. On their way, they passed a house decorated for Halloween. According to David, when Ethan saw the fake bones on the lawn he stopped in his tracks. He made a face, backed away, and said, "scared".


"We've ruined our child," was the thought David and I had as he recounted this little episode to me. "He's scared of bones and flickering lights."


Two nights ago, a friend invited all of us for a little family outing to the local "Haunted Trail". Every year around the time of Halloween, a portion of the paved trail that goes through our town becomes bedecked with all things ghoulish and ghastly to celebrate the holiday. This particular night was touted as the "non-scary" night meant for kids. Our friend was careful to check on this, and David and I thought this would be fun for Ethan, especially since he hadn't seen his friends in a while. At the end of the trail were to be treats and hot chocolate for all, followed by a hayride back to the parking lot. What could be more harmless?




Off we went. It was the first time for all of us (three families in all). The line was long, as was the wait, but we finally reached the entrance. A young college student dressed as Dracula greeted us and gave us some general directions for walking the trail. His costume and painted face, which did strike a scary bone in me, probably should have been indication to turn around and forgo the trail, which turned out to be more intense than we thought.

Ethan hated it. No, I should say he was rather terrified. We walked the whole trail, Ethan clutching onto Daddy for dear life. He didn't scream or whine, but it was dark, so I didn't notice his face until we got well into the trail. He looked perturbed, eyes wide, and still. I then heard his scared whimperings. I told him to shut his eyes as we passed the monsters, the smoking cauldrons, the flickering fake fires. To their credit, the monsters were not trying to scare us (they are instructed NOT to). Instead, they said happy hellos. But the imagery was enough to scare our dear Ethan.

I sound melodramatic, don't I?

His two friends, who are about the same age, showed no fear. In fact, one of them walked beside his mommy completely unperturbed. The other, who was also being held by his daddy, didn't seem to be scared, though I was so caught up with Ethan that I may not have noticed. We finished the trail in the drizzle that started to come down, had some watered down hot chocolate, and hopped on the hayride truck. Ethan had never seemed so happy to get back to the van ("White car!" he calls it).

Ethan could not sleep in his room the entire night. He whimpered and cried until 10 o'clock. No amount of encouragement from Mommy or Daddy could comfort him. I finally asked him if he wanted to sleep with us, and he quietly said "uh huh". We've never had our son in bed with us, and we thought we would make this one exception. Five minutes later, he fell sound asleep. Luckily, the next night he did sleep in his room without too much fuss. But when Daddy tried to put a space heater in his room, Ethan said "No want," and he picked it up and put it outside his room. The space heater had a flickering light, not unlike some of the ones we saw on the trail that night.

I don't know anything about the psychology of fear. But my question is this: Do we learn to fear, or are we innately afraid of certain things?

No one taught Ethan to fear ghosts or witches; he doesn't even know what they are. And not one of us acted scared as we walked the trail. As far as we were concerned, we could have been strolling down the trail to admire the fall foliage (though it was dark). So why was Ethan scared? David likes to think that Ethan is blessed with heightened spiritual awareness and discernment and is therefore completely turned off by all things unholy. Maybe so; we'll never really know. To some extent, I believe there is indeed a God-given instinct in all of us that allows us to distinguish between the light and the darkness. Maybe Ethan is more responsive to this instinct than others.

It breaks my heart to see Ethan afraid. No one wants to instill fear in their kids. Gosh, have we really ruined him? Are these dark images forever imprinted in his young mind? I remember my dad used to drive me through a certain part of Central Park in the evening, where the trees were tall and you could barely see the sky. My dad would say, "Gargoyles!" and he would do that "ooooohhh, mwahahaha" type thing. "See the gargoyles?" he would say. "They're gonna getcha!" As a four year-old it got me every time-- I would lean in close and shriek in fear. I don't ever remember really believing in gargoyles, but perhaps the thought of what a creature like that would be was enough to plant the seeds of fear. Even fear of something that didn't exist. I have to admit, I never forgot those drives through Central Park, or those images of the dark trees above.

Well, David still wants to "take Satan out" for scaring our son, but I have to ask myself, "Should we as Christians be spiritually sensitive for our children?" Obviously, good Christian parents and children can enjoy the haunted trail without any negatives (and our friends are examples of this). But Ethan was obviously scared, and as the children's song says, "Be careful little eyes what you see."

We love visitors

Last Friday Kate had some more out of town visitors! My friends Liz and Heather came from Chicago to meet her in the flesh, and mommy definitely welcomed the time spent catching up with her good friends. It's not everyday that people elect to drive down to the country, ha ha ha! To my left are Liz with her daughter, Lauren, and Heather.

We spent the late morning opening gifts, staring at Kate, and watching Liz's daughter and Ethan fight and play. We then ordered in some pizza for all. David came home for lunch, and as we all sat around the table we were amazed to see Lauren's enthusiasm at eating corn on the cobb (her mommy had packed her lunch). "WOW," I thought to myself. Four days later, I handed Ethan a half cobb myself, and it looks like he picked up on Lauren's skills. He, too, ate it like a pro.

Here is some footage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbiimISBwNI) from the visit, thanks to Liz, whose camera was ready to go at a moment's notice! As Lauren says "hi, Kate" watch for Kate's little smile...

My favorite son

Since Kate's arrival it's been hard spending quality time with Ethan. The day we came home from the hospital Ethan came down with a bad cold (and so did Daddy for that matter). This made things worse. "Ethan, here's your new sister, Kate. Don't touch her!" That went over really well! Not only did he have to stay away, he couldn't stay near me, either. A whole week has passed without our kisses and cuddles, and I was beginning to feel it. That in combination with the pool of hormones we call "baby blues", I found myself in tears late one night, crying over the days when it was just "us three", or "just Ethan and me." I was a basket case.

Then two days ago I got the chance to reconnect with my favorite son. Kate's eating and nap time fell just at the right time. I still had some energy that afternoon, and so I told grandma that Ethan and I were going to play in the backyard while she could take a break. David has taught Ethan how to turn on and off the garden hose, so now he can fill up his watering can all by himself (and not run up the water bill!). I hadn't seen him do this yet, and as I watched him turn on the hose, fill the watering can, and turn off the hose, it was like looking at a full-fledged little boy. He's just a toddler, almost a preschooler, but he seemed so much older, like so much time had passed. Look at this video and see for yourself.



Having Kate has made me love my son even more.

40 Weeks to the date

Here she is, folks! Kathryn Elise Snyder, born October 2nd, at 4:05 in the morning. 7lbs 4oz, 20 inches long.

After waiting and waiting and waiting I began to feel contractions Tuesday night after dinner. They were very mild, just like menstrual cramps. The next day, they continued at fairly regular intervals (about 20-30 minutes). Some were rather intense, to the point where I had to stop what I was doing. I called my midwife and told her what I'd been feeling, and she said that I was in early labor which could last a few hours or a few days. She then told me to call her back when they were 5 minutes apart. That evening they got to be 15-10 minutes apart, and they were feeling pretty intense. But when I wasn't having them, I felt pretty ok. We had dinner that night, watched a movie, put Ethan to bed and went to sleep. By this point, they were hurting, but still only 10 minutes apart!

At about 1 o'clock (after two or three hours of trying to sleep), I was stirred out of my dozing state by a really painful, long contraction that seemed to last forever. I quickly remembered and used my breathing techniques to get through it. When it was done, I started shaking uncontrollably. "Ok, " I thought. "I don't care if these are still 10 minutes apart, we're going to the hosptial!". I woke up David, told my parents (who were already staying with us), and off we went.

Once we got settled into our room, the nurse checked me for dilatation. She checked for much longer than usual. I said, "Do you need a second opinion?" She replied, "You know, I think I do." Another nurse came in, and then they both confirmed that I was just about fully dilated. WOW. They couldn't believe how calm I was, and that the contractions never got to 5 minutes. I couldn't believe it either. My midwife finally arrived, and she couldn't believe it either. All we had to do was break my water, and then push. And so we did.

It was an amazing experience. One that I anticipated, feared, and eventually surrendered to God. My desire for a natural childbirth was so great that I switched doctors and almost changed our insurance coverage. But in the end, I had to wonder why I desired this so much, and whether or not this is something that was right for me. My first childbirth experience was rather traumatic, and the recovery was long, so I didn't want to repeat that. It sounds weird, but I have to say that I desired this natural childbirth in the same way that I desired my college education at the University of Chicago: I wanted to challenge myself, say that I got through it, and that I accomplished one of the personal goals in my life. I don't have too many personal goals or dreams, but this was definitely one of them. Call me weird...

This is Laura, the midwife who delivered Kate. She is one of two midwives at my doctor's office.

God's Ways

Interesting visit to the midwife on Friday for my 39 week check-up...We scheduled a sonogram for that day since I had some concerns that my uterus was measuring smaller than average (about 2 weeks earlier than I should be last week, and as of this week, 2.5 weeks earlier). Though baby is measuring a bit smaller, she's still within normal, and everything else they examined was within normal too (amniotic fluid level, heart rate, placenta among other things. David came to this visit since he wanted to ask some questions, too :) And after a long talk we soon learned that all our fretting about delivering baby before October 1st was for naught: the doctor is out of town NOW (as of this past Wednesday. Looks like he moved his trip up one week)! "A last minute change," my midwife said. He would be back Sunday (today).

My prayer quickly turned to, "Hold on there, little lady! Don't come out just yet!" To think that I was aching to deliver all this week, when in fact it would have been the worst timing.

STILL waiting

39 weeks today...Looks like our baby is quite comfortable inside. I have to admit all the anticipation and excitement has waned...I've been staring at my suitcase for the hospital for weeks now, and I've looked in the baby's room dozens of times, going through her drawers and closet to make sure I have enough of everything.

I've put my life on hold for the past couple of weeks, thinking that she would be here by now. I think I probably feel even worse about the fact that my mom came a week early, interrupting her schedule at home so she could watch Ethan while I make my trip to the hospital. At the very least, it's good bonding time for the two of them. They have played quite a bit, and it's great to hear both of them laugh and giggle as they play.

I don't have a picture taken yet, but I can't imagine I look all that different. Friday morning we have one last sonogram (at my request) and another check up to see how baby is doing, and to see if I have dilated any further. I haven't felt too much this week as far as contractions go. She does move regularly, so that is reassuring. But it just seems she's not quite ready to meet the world...

38 Weeks--I'm still here

Well, looks like baby isn't coming as early as we thought! Now that my mom is here I'm anxious to be done and delivered! But, I realize that it's all in God's timing. My midwife says I'm a bit bigger than 3 cm, and I'm 70% effaced. But that's not much of a change from last week.

In the meantime, mom and I have had some fun ourselves. This weekend we had a little mini spa day! She had an hour massage while I had a facial, and then we both got our nails done with a paraffin treatment! Ah...relaxation and pampering :)

Things I love about being pregnant:

• My growing baby bump
• Feeling baby move
• Eating whatever I like!
• Dreaming about baby

Things I do not like at all about being pregnant:

• My growing rear rump
• Varicose veins
• Aches and pains
• Physical limitations (there's so much I'm not allowed or unable to do!)

I'm sure I could add to both lists, but these are the things that I'm thinking about right now.

Picture Taking

Ethan has a little camera that he likes to play with once and a while. It's actually a REAL 35mm camera with waterproof casing that we bought on a vacation years ago. It's so big and bulky and bright, that it looks like a toy, which is probaby why he likes it so much. But a couple of days ago he started using it just like his mommy does.

I often take family photos by putting our digital camera on the tv stand and setting the self-timer. Looks like Ethan picks up on things rather well... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWzxVRuGgjU)

37 Weeks--What's in a Name?

I was sitting in the doctor's waiting room yesterday when the door opened and the nurse's voice called, "Vicky?"

You may be wondering why this surprised me so much. Since I married and moved to this new town, I've used my legal first name (Maria) for all paperwork. Being a stickler for rules, I fill everything out with my full legal name, and as a result, anyone who doesn't "know me" calls me by this foreign name that I have never used.

So what happened here? Strange how I've been to this doctor's office for nine months and they've finally called me by "the name I go by". You see last week, I was discussing baby names with one of the midwives, expressing my dilemna at not having a suitable middle name to go with the first name we have chosen for our little girl (some of you know this name, but I may change my mind, so I won't mention it here!). She then asked me, "Well, what about YOUR name?" I then told her that I actually go by my middle name, and not my first, and that I wouldn't like the way any of those combinations would sound anyhow. She quickly made a note on my file...

So what's up with baby this week? She's doing great. Her movements are slower since she's low on space, but she still moves and stretches. She is considered full-term now! I've been feeling some contractions for a couple of weeks now, and am 3 centimeters dilated already. My midwife thinks I may go into labor next week! Many have said that I don't look that big for being 3 weeks out, but since I've taken the above picture I feel like my tummy has gotten considerably bigger! I don't know, maybe it's all that chocolate cake I've been eating, heh heh heh...

36 and a Half Weeks

Every week that goes by I get more and more excited, anxious, even impatient! This week I'm dilated 2 to 3 inches (technically, my cervix is dilated 3 inches externally, 2 inches internally), and my cervix has obviously begun to soften. My midwife thinks I'll go earlier than my due date.

Well, lets pray that I do. She also told me that the doctor will be going out of town on my due date--a last minute thing--and when he goes out of town, neither one of the midwives perform any deliveries. I would hate to repeat the last childbirthing experience I had with Ethan--my doctor back then also left town, and I ended up working with a complete stranger! It wasn't fun at all since she and I butt heads quite a bit during the whole ordeal!

Tea Time

Yet another birthday celebration! Yesterday I went up to Chicago to meet with my old small group gals to have afternoon tea! It was a beautiful setting, a delicious selection of treats, and two and a half hours of girl talk. As a food enthusiast, I usually take pictures of food when I go out to a special restaurant (David laughs at me when I do this), but I just can't help myself. The top plate had assorted finger sandwiches (the turkey and arugula was especially good), the middle section contained a variety of pastries (the fruit tart with a slice of fig was delicious!), and the bottom section had an assortment of scones and breads. Their plain scone with lemon curd and devonshire cream on the side is to die for! Ok, I should probably stop talking about food!

I was blessed with an easy drive up to Chicago and back, though the walk from my car to the hotel went a bit slower than usual! I had forgotten that I was carrying a little extra weight :)

Thank you, ladies, for celebrating with me! It made my 30th birthday very special!

Happy 30th Birthday!

Today is my 30th birthday! Last night David threw me a wonderful birthday celebration with our closest friends. It had been in the planning for some time, and I finally told him "what I wanted to do". We ordered several pizzas from Monicals and cheesecake for all, and had everybody over at Casa de Snyder.

What a fun time! After eating pizza, David called everyone to our tiny living room to watch a little video he put together. What a surprise! I knew he wanted some of my baby photos, but I had no idea that he was going to put all THIS together. Take a look at the video below (or click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xkmQcEP5Bg)-- It made me laugh and cry! We then sang Happy Birthday with my birthday cheesecake before me. Yum!

Afterwards, we had some fun and games. At a bbq this summer, the kids were playing a water balloon toss, so I thought it might be fun for the adults to do that, too. David made up some "how well do you know your mate" questions for all the couples out there. Incorrect answer? You both take one step back. Correct answer? You get to stay where you are. Then...TOSS! You know, silly questions like "Does your wife still have her tonsils?" or "Does your husband still wear any clothes from his college days?" I'm sorry to say David and I actually missed a few answers and by the end of the game we were standing several feet apart! But no matter how hard we threw, our balloon never broke! Turns out maybe we should have filled them up a bit more! We eventually ran out of questions, so we had several winning couples left standing at the end (with the exception of the engaged Erika and Rob, whose balloon DID break!).

It was a fun time. Ethan had so much fun, in fact, that he didn't eat dinner until almost everyone left for the evening! (I'm glad he finally ate SOMETHING). Thank you to my wonderful hubby for throwing me such a great party!

Not only did he throw me an awesome party, he had a little surprise for me this morning on the breakfast table: a gift certificate for a spa pedicure! Woo hoo!!! What gal can say "no" to foot pampering??

34 Weeks

The countdown to baby's arrival continues! This week's check up went well. She's not doing anything yet (that's a good thing), and she is still head down. I will be seeing my midwife every week now until I deliver.

Her movements are a bit different now that there's less room. Most of the time I feel her stretch her legs, which means her butt juts out on the uppper left side of my belly, and her feet poke out on the lower right. I've also felt some braxton-hicks contactions I think. All totally normal, but not true labor.

I feel great physically. Finding a comfortable position at bedtime is a challenge, but once I find it I only wake up once during the night to get up and use the bathroom (a lot better than two or three times, like some other moms-to-be!). And I usually stay comfortable in bed all the way through to the morning. This is SO much better than my first pregnancy, when I tried all sorts of sleep positions--different pillows, the recliner, the living room couch. I'm glad that I am able to get good rest at night.

Emotions do run high, though! I find I'm a bit hyper-sensitive to EVERYTHING! Don't be surprised if I bust out crying because of a commercial, or if I'm particularly snappy at the end of the day. David's great about rolling with the punches. I'm blessed to have such a great husband :)

A Wonderful Surprise

God has a way. The other day I was particularly overwhelmed with the preparations of our second baby. In an effort to wrap my brain around it, I wrote down a list of all those things just so I could get it out of my head! Sometimes, they seem bigger in your head and smaller on paper, you know? I then prayed to God about these things, just pouring out my heart to Him, my worries and fears.

And then He answered. Every third Saturday of the month I go to a girlfriends' brunch that started a couple of years ago. After marriage and children a lot of us got busier and busier, and so we thought setting aside one Saturday a month would allow us to catch up! It's usually a potluck, and we take turns hosting each month. I thought today was our usual get together, but when I arrived it turned out to be a little mini baby shower for me! This was such a wonderful surprise and blessing!


Thank you to Carrie for putting the scheme together, and thank you to Jen H. for hosting. Thank you to Angie R, Eli, Julie, Jen T, Angie S and Marla for celebrating the upcoming arrival of our little girl, and for gifting me with such cute outfits! It really cheered me up, lifted my spirits and made me feel special to know you gals were thinking of me.

Aren't these outfits cute? I received beautiful dresses, onesies, two piece outfits, and even some summer wear for next year when she's bigger. Among the gifts was a soft honey bee baby blanket, too.

And so with the surprise baby shower, along with a FANTASTIC morning of garage sale shopping, I have secured our little girl's 0-3 month wardrobe. 3-6 months and beyond are still in the works, but I already have some great outfits for her when that time comes. God also resolved and provided a few other things on my list this past weekend. And so I can happily cross those things off, too. Looking at my list again, indeed, my worries are insignificant because God is bigger. And He is faithful! How easily I forget, even though He reminds me time and time again.

Ethan's Friends

Two weeks ago we had our last Bible Study session with our summer group, but we were not able to find a babysitter! So, yours truly, Vicky, watched the four 2-year olds while the rest of the group met downstairs. It was probably the longest hour and a half of my life! Afterwards, some of the parents did tell me that they weren't sure whether or not the boys were going to settle down, but after about forty minutes, they finally did :) For a full twenty minutes they sat on the couch while watching a video. I had to catch it on film :) You might be wondering why they are sitting on throw pillows. Well, we just had to build a fort with the couch cushions! :)

This video is a good example of Ethan's current stage: "monkey see, monkey do". Sometimes I worry that he might want to do EVERYTHING his friends do when he gets older. But for now, it's just cute and endearing, I guess.

Knee Surgery

A few days ago David went in to the hospital to have some "work done" :) For several months now his left knee has been bothering him, and after seeing a specialist it was determined that he had a torn miniscus. Interestingly enough, eight years ago he had the same condition on his other knee. So, here he is, in a state that I have NEVER seen him in. I thought I would take a picture. The poor guy was pretty woozy from the anaesthesia, even nauseous during the car ride home. Needless to say, it's been a rough week for him not being able to get around as he usually does. It's been hard for me, too, doing all the running around after Ethan!

We were instructed to remove his bandages two days after surgery. I couldn't wait! It was like opening presents on Christmas day. He had so many bandages wrapped nearly the entire length of his leg! What we found was quite a bit of swelling. Totally normal, but uncomfortable for him nonetheless. He had it drained today, which made it feel a lot better. I was also surprised to see his initials still printed on his knee, too. David said that while he was waiting for surgery, every nurse that came to see him asked him the same two questions: "What is your name?" and "Which knee is doctor operating on?". He thought it was interesting that although they had the information right in front of them, they wanted to make sure they had the right patient with the right paperwork! Not a bad idea to ensure quality control :) I wonder how many times they performed the wrong procedure on a person due to a simple mishap of mixed up paper and patients! We're looking at about six weeks of recovery. Until that time David is taking anti-inflammatory medicine, using ice packs, and using his leg as he feels comfortable. It gets better and better everyday. Next week the sutures are removed, and probably another pint of drainage from that nasty swelling!

32 Weeks

It's hard to imagine that I have begun the ten week countdown! All I have to say is that I am tired of getting kicked in the ribs! Other than that, I feel pretty good. Sleeping on my side is getting more difficult because of the extra weight, too.

Speaking of extra weight...my weight gain so far has been 25 pounds. Not too bad, but I'll be putting on about another pound a week for the rest of the pregnancy. I've already had to go out to buy bigger maternity clothes--yikes!

A Born Cowboy

I keep forgetting that even though Ethan is no longer a baby, he still experiences many "firsts". Last weekend we went to the McLean County Fair where he got to ride his first pony! I couldn't believe how cute he looked on that "horsey".



He also got to ride his first carnival ride. I was surprised that he wanted to ride this one...It looked fast, and the music was so loud! He was jolted at first, but I think he enjoyed it. He also rode a little train ride, and cried bloody murder when it ended! We had a lot of fun that afternoon :)

A green thumb?

When we got back from South Haven I was surprised to see that we had our own little farmer's market in the backyard. A friend of ours watched the house while we were gone and said that some of the heirloom tomatoes were ripening and that she had tried a cucumber as well. A cucumber?? The last I checked the fruits were tiny. I couldn't imagine there was anything ready to eat. Boy, was I wrong. Look at these things! I would have loved to have these cucumbers in the first trimester of my pregnancy when all I wanted to eat was cucumber salad!

Goodbye from South Haven

It has nearly been a week since we left our little vacation cottage in Michigan, and I still do miss the beach! Here is a picture of our last sunset on the lake.


Our last morning at the house we had to clean up and check out promptly at 10. Afterwards, we went out to the Saturday farmers market and had some breakfast at a local cafe. The market had beautiful fruits and vegetables to choose from, but I had only one thing in mind: blueberries! Every year, South Haven hosts the National Blueberry festival, but we were missing it by a week. Oh well! At least I got my blueberries! I also bought some cherries, and Ethan absolutely devoured them.


After breakfast and a quick tour around some shops, the Snyders and Zimmermans parted ways. We decided to make one more stop to end our vacation, and that was a short hike in Van Buren State park. It was a delightful surprise. After we parked the car and hopped on a trail, we were brought up and down some wooded hills, and eventually hit sand. Then beyond the trees we saw this:

It was the perfect combination for David and me. We love woods, paths, sand and the beach. And they were all right there at our feet! The weather was pleasant with a strong breeze, and it was so exhilarating to stand on this hill, looking down at the beach. We sat on a log and enjoyed the view for some time.

We highly recommend vacationing in South Haven, Michigan! We'll have to come back next year...