Olsen Family 2.0

It's been five years since our last big summer gathering with my dad's side of the family, and our first since losing Connor. This year, we met up between Grand Haven and Muskegon, Michigan. The house was beautiful--it was actually two houses connected by an indoor pool (the kids' favorite feature). It also had a tennis/pickleball court, shuffleboard, beautiful landscaping, fire pit, and an open building out back with a hammock, ping pong, bean bags, and a table for playing games. We enjoyed lots of meals outside on the big back deck. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather--it only rained a little bit one morning and then as we were leaving. Otherwise, it was 70s and no humidity the entire week. As we always do, we made a big list of things people wanted to do and then plugged things in on a calendar taped to a door. Different groups of people opted to do different things, but we did eat breakfast/supper together as a whole group each day. I think everyone would agree that the best part was just spending time with family. Here are some of the highlights:

Mini golf! There was an issue with the air conditioning, so the house owner gifted our group $200 to this fun activity center just down the road from our place. We got to enjoy mini golf, go-karting, and the arcade. I was the winner in our group of 4!

Sunset cruise on Thursday night--little did we know that we were on a motown-themed cruise! Lots of loud music and dancing...Sarah, Mara, and I enjoyed ending the night with the cupid shuffle!