Family Vacation 2013

We have had a busy couple of weeks in the Knapp house!  Mom, Pops, and I took a nice little trip up to Ann Arbor, MI to visit some of Pop's family.  We had a really fun time.  We couldn't have have asked for better weather for the drive north.

Sunny and blue skies along I-75!

It was a gorgeous day and included a stop at Mommy's and Pop's favorite Bowling Green restaurant, and Cabela's where Mommy and I found someone's purse, turned it in to the information desk; then Pop's lost his phone and was returned by a nice lady named, Debbie.  It made an interesting start to our trip.  After Cabela's we headed to Ann Arbor and rested in the hotel for a bit before going to Aunt Ruta and Uncle David's for dinner.  Aunt Ruta is Grandma Knapp's sister.  The last time I visited Ann Arbor I was about 3 months old.

We had a delicious lunch of stuff breadsticks.

 The next day we headed to downtown Ann Arbor to visit the Hands On Museum.  It was a lot of fun exploring the museum.  After the museum we headed back to the hotel to go swimming for a bit.

The first section of the museum was about plumbing.

The water play area is always fun!

Focused on creating a large bubble!

Using rubber bands to create her name.  Natalie calls the "E" a "Super E."

Pops is trying to create a giant bubble!

Natalie dancing along a giant piano.

The blur in the center, right of the picture is Natalie. As she would dance, her movements were projected on the screen.  (We spent several minutes in this part of the museum.)

That evening we went back to Aunt Ruta and Uncle David's house for dinner again.  This time we were joined by Pop's cousin Aaron and his daughter, Lily.  (Unfortunately Lily's mom, Amy, wasn't feeling well and couldn't make it to dinner.). I was very excited to finally meet Lily, she is 5 years old and will be starting kindergarten just like me.  We instantly "hit it off" and started playing "restaurant" and Lalaloopsy dolls while the adults chatted.  I was really happy that I finally got to meet Lily and I hope we can get together again soon!

Natalie and Lily, instant friends!

Hugs goodbye!  Hopefully it won't be 5 years before they see each other again!

On our third day we headed east to visit Greenfield Village which is part of The Henry Ford.  The Village is an outdoor museum that shows visitors what life was like and how people worked in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  We learned how they once weaved fabric, made pottery, made things from tin (this was Pops' favorite) and watched glassblowing demonstrations (mine and Mom's favorite.)  Most of the buildings that are part of the village were once located in other areas of the country.  We visited the courthouse that Abraham Lincoln practiced law in, Thomas Edison's office, workshop, and the first house in America to ever have electricity. Some of our other favorite things included:  watching a young girl perform as Laura Ingalls, riding the carousel, and seeing all of the Model T's and horse drawn omnibuses driving around the Village. It was a great time and we are all looking forward to going back. 

Exploring the Village.

Natalie with her "hobo" lunch.  It came wrapped in the bandana with a stick.

Natalie and Mom took a ride on the carousel. 

After a full day at the Villiage we met up with Grandma Knapp's other sister, Aunt Ieva, to have dinner together.  It was a great vacation and we all had  wonderful time and can't wait to visit with everyone again soon!