We recently got back home from our DeValve Family Reunion! This is my side of the family, and up until recently none of us were able to swing a yearly vacation trip all together. We would visit occasionally and usually see each other at one holiday a year, but last year we decided to make it a thing- rent a house, get together, have some fun, make some memories.
And that is what we did!
Our destination the past two years has been Lake Michigan, because it’s a drivable distance for all parties involved and it’s a fun place to hang out! Last year we drove further up into Michigan, but this year we landed on Michigan City, Indiana. Did you know that a little part of Indiana is on Lake Michigan? I honestly didn’t until this trip haha!
We booked an Airbnb that could comfortably sleep all 13 of us, and it was such a lovely house! Our only complaint was that there wasn’t much outside areas to sit or for the kids to play.
We stayed for 4 nights and 3 full days and this was the perfect amount of time. Since there are 3 families, we each took charge of cooking one dinner. Lunch was sandwiches or leftovers from the night before. And breakfast was oatmeal, cereal or eggs at the house. We went out for ice cream on the last night, but otherwise we didn’t eat out at all!
We all arrived Sunday late afternoon/evening and ordered pizza for dinner. We were all pretty exhausted and just ate, caught up a little bit, and then went to bed. We had also changed time zones from Ohio and it’s wild how even one time zone change can wreak havoc on a schedule!
Monday morning we were up and ready for our first adventure! We drove over to the Indiana Dunes State Park with the intention to hike. But as soon as all the kids saw the water, they were no longer interested in hiking! The wind and waves were so strong that day that they wouldn’t let anyone go in the water, but we found a small wave pool area and the kids could have played there for hours! We also went on a very brief hike up The Devil’s Slide and then right back down the dune to the water.
It’s hard to believe from all those waves that this is a lake and not an ocean, huh?
We headed back to the Airbnb for lunch, and then I went for a quick run to scope out the beach near our house. I LOVE a good run while I’m on vacation. The kids played card games and hung out all afternoon. The kids are 10, 8, 8, 8, 6, 5, and 2, so these were really fun ages to hang out together!
I was in charge of Monday evening dinner so I pre-made two pans of Mac and Cheese and heated up some hot dogs and added a salad on the side. After dinner we went for a walk and then had some family devotions before calling it a night. The adults stayed up reading or playing a game, but we are not a late-night crowd and were always in bed by 10.
Tuesday morning we woke up ready for the beach! We packed a picnic lunch and got to the beach around 10am. We staked out a great spot and the waves were calm that day. I didn’t take a single picture of our morning on the beach! Around 1, we were all getting pretty tired and hot, so we opted to take our coolers and find a nearby shady picnic table to eat at.
We had forgotten to bring a knife, so my Dad and Mom were spreading peanut butter and mayo with a cheese stick and a carrot stick haha.
After lunch the plan was to head back to the beach, but all 6 adults and 2/7 kids were really tired of the beach, so we headed back to the Airbnb and put on a movie for the kiddos and a nap for Orion. After the movie, the two Dads took the kids back to the beach but everyone else stayed at the house. My SIL Kelly made a fantastic taco spread and we finished a puzzle. We went for another walk after dinner, had family devotions and then went to bed!
Wednesday morning was Zoo Day! There was a zoo right by the beach and we all decided we wanted to try it out! This zoo was great! It wasn’t huge, but it had enough to see in about 2-3 hours and by that time we had all had enough, anyways. We loved the birds, the otters, and the lions/cheetah’s! They also had a tall observation tower that we climbed with a great view of Lake Michigan!
These birds loved Ori! They kept landing on him- and he was the only one that they ever landed on! I wonder if it has something to do with his hair color? I don’t know- but he was the bird’s chosen one!
We headed back to the Airbnb for lunch and laid Ori down for a nap. Kelly and my parents stayed at the house while the rest of us took the kids back to the beach. We knew that its was supposed to get windy and wavy again, so we wanted the kids to have one last afternoon on the beach! It was a beautiful (but windy!) beach afternoon!
Our last dinner at the house was my Mom’s amazing Tidadaga Hoy (West African groundnut stew). We sang Happy Birthday to Evelyn and then went out for ice cream!
After ice cream, we all showered and got packed up. Theo and I loaded our van that evening so we could get an early start driving back. We were sad to see it come to an end, but so blessed by this wonderful time spent with family!