Caleb's latest obsession is geography. He's memorized all of the U.S. states and their capitals and is moving on to world geography. "Mom, did you know that Burkina Faso is next to Niger?" What starts these obsessions? Youtube. Here are the two I've heard a million times.
But I digress, the connection I was going to make was that traveling for long distances in a car with a three year old is greatly improved when that child has an obsession with geography. During our drive north, Caleb literally watched the GPS for seven hours straight, making comments about various city names and rivers. When we reached the Mackinaw bridge, "Hey, I see Lake Michigan on one side and Lake Huron on the other!"
We had a great time visiting family in Cedarville. Paul's younger sister and her family moved back to the area last year, joining his older sister and her family, so going to Michigan = cousin time. Caleb had fun running around with the girls. They were very sweet to him - even when he was running in circles naming African countries. Oh, to raise such gracious children.
We brought friends with us this trip - our housemate for the past year and his almost 13 year old daughter. The Christmas tradition up north includes a Christmas Eve gathering with extended family at Paul's cousin's house. He and his precious wife opened up their home to a very large extended family. The spread of food was amazing. Beverly is quite the hostess. She's one of those people who makes food look beautiful. She even had goody bags for each of the little kids, which kept them busy while the adults chatted, ate, and drank (I mean, it was a Haske gathering after all).
Christmas morning was an intimate event as we opted to have Christmas morning with our little immediate family. The young ones opened gifts and we made breakfast together.
Then it was off to Aunt Dani's to hang out with cousins.
Our trip was a great blend of visiting and relaxing. This place has a special place in my heart.
It's the hunting camp where we stayed. My father-in-law even brought the four-wheelers out so we could zoom around the woods. It was beautiful. As beautiful as the north woods are in the fall, I almost like them best in the winter. Snow-laden trees, protection from the wind, and absolute silence.
Going north for us northerners will always mean going to Cedarville, Michigan. It's a place I've come to love - like the rest of my family.
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