More of Michigan

We've been trying to take advantage of our summer and all the fun things Midland has to offer. There's not much time left! Here's what we've been up to....

This is the Tridge. It's like three bridges that meet in the middle at a fork in the river. It's absolutely gorgeous, and very romantic at night when it's all lit up. It reminds me of my hometown because Redding's best tourist spot is also a bridge.

Matt has been missing out on our days at the Country Club pool this summer, so we decided to go after work one day. He took Josh into the big pool and played basketball with him. They had so much fun! Josh kept asking to jump off the diving board, but that wasn't going to happen in the deep end with no floaties, so he had to settle for jumping off the side. He was extremely upset to leave when the pool closed at 8:00.

These pictures are from "Touch a Truck" day at the library last week. A bunch of city trucks (garbage truck, fire truck, tractors, SWAT team truck, etc.) came and parked in the library lot and let all the kids take turns sitting in the driver's seats, pulling levers, pushing buttons...a dream come true! Almost. I'm pretty sure every single child in Midland was there, so there were huge lines for every truck. Josh didn't quite understand the concept of waiting his turn, so we ended up heading into the library to play with trains instead.

You can tell that the hype kind of died down by the time he reached the front of the line. Nose picker.

This is an awesome little spray park at an elementary school. Our ward has a huge play group every Monday and this was the spot last week. Josh was a little tired and intimidated by so many kids I think, so he didn't play much. But he loved to watch!

This magical place is "Bronner's Christmas Wonderland" in Frankenmuth, a little German-style town about 45 minutes from Midland. It is the biggest Christmas store I have ever seen!!! So big, they give you a map when you walk in. Any kind of ornament you could every want, they have it. Seriously. And they're all about keeping Christ in Christmas, which is very refreshing, so there are all kinds of nativity scenes. It's glorious.

Anyone with an upcoming December wedding need a dress? Everyone would be jealous if you wore this!

These are some of our favorite people in Midland. I love these kiddos!

This was in Saginaw, 30 minutes away, waiting for a table at Olive Garden. I NEED Olive Garden's soup, salad, and breadsticks in my life. It's worth the drive, worth the wait, and worth the money occasionally. However, we happened to show up right after an enormous group of Jehovah's Witnesses, coming from a  convention in town. I guess Olive Garden to them is like the Red Robin of LDS General Conference. Everyone goes there to eat afterward. We waited 45 minutes for a table. Luckily, Josh is easily entertained by rocks and bushes.

I'm not done yet. I need to take my camera around Midland and get some shots of my favorite parts. Lots of character here. Stay tuned!