Michigan in January

Mother nature was quite kind on my recent trip to Michigan. No snow and temps in the mid-20's to upper 30's. The goal was to visit my children and grandchildren in the Grand Rapids area and it was "mission accomplished".

Granddaughter Kylie is at Grand Valley State where taking classes and working for the security department keeps her busy, but I did get a chance to visit her at her dorm. Over the weekend she hosted her sisters to a special weekend at the college for siblings. Brittany is only one semester away from high school graduation but has yet to settle on a college. Mariah is playing varsity basketball and we all enjoyed Friday night's game against cross-town rival GR Christian.


During the day on Friday I drove up to Newaygo and visited with Derek, Christy, and Alex. We all got to play with Alex's legos before enjoying a mid-morning breakfast in downtown Newaygo. Four year-old Alex, of course, is as cute and bright as ever. He will soon be evaluated to see if he will start kindergarten in the fall. Derek and Christy are doing a wonderful job helping Alex learn his numbers, alphabet and reading.


Saturday evening we gathered at Dana's with house with Paula and Sebastian. Dana cooked us perfectly done steaks, potatoes, and veggies. To me this was a special day to remember since it would have been Brent's 22nd birthday. We did, however, surprise Sebastian with presents to belatedly celebrate his late-December birthday.

Sam, Dana's dog, takes center stage in the family photo

Sunday morning my eyes popped open, as usual, at 5:30 so I took the opportunity to get an early start on my 14-hour drive back to Georgia. Flexibility of schedule is perhaps the nicest part of retirement and being able to take a quick impromptu trip is priceless. I know it won't be long before I get that itch to visit with the Michigan gang soon, although I will see the boys at the Bristol, Tennessee NASCAR race in March.