Point Betsie and Beyond

Allison and I have been quite busy lately. July 4th was spent at the Whitehall parade and then a BBQ at our friends place. A pretty good celebration of Independence was had. I volunteered with Habitat For Humanity for a couple of days, it was good to help out and to get out of the office. This past Thursday I volunteered to help out at a local veterans golf tournament. I got to play a free 18 holes out of the deal so I can't complain at all. Last weekend we went to the Point Betsie Cottage in Frankfort MI. It was a great time. We searched and searched for a Petoskey Stones but we didn't find any, maybe next time. We walked the beach and watched the sunset each night. Allison and I found an awesome little place that makes homemade ice cream in downtown Frankfort. It was some of the best ice cream I've had.  Summer is in full swing and will soon be over, we are trying to take advantage of it as much as we can.

Norahs first slide

Painting @ Habitat For Humanity

First Watermelon

Norah Swimming with Maggie

Golf Tourney

A big thanks to Eric Dumais for sending me some special beer from Vermont

Beautiful morning for fishing on Duck Lake.

Doing some work @ Station Grand Havens Pier

The Girls Are Back In Town

Allison and Norah Mae made it home to Michigan safely and I couldn't be happier! I know I have to share my girls but I do not have to like it. Norah flew on her first airplane and couldn't have been better. After boarding both planes she fell asleep which leads me to believe she takes after her mother and will be able to sleep any where. I took the day off from work and drove to Grand Rapids to pick them up, I was excited to see Norah still remembered me. The smile on her face melted my heart and was a strong reminder of how much I love her, not that I could forget.Last weekend was a good one, on Saturday we went to the local farmers market to get some fresh fruits and veggies. Norah started eating her first people food, she seems to like it. I hope she takes after her father and will enjoy a multitude of foods. Later in the day I got bored and suggested that we take a hike and try out our new backpack carrier. We didn't have to venture far to find some hiking trails. One of the good things about Michigan is there is no lack of state parks. We chose a nice little hike along duck lake, Norah was beside herself with all of the new stuff to look at. I can't wait to get her back out there. Saturday night I volunteered at a local salute to the military. It was a very cool thing, I was in the presence of a WWII purple heart recipient and the family of a local guy that lost his life in Afghanistan. I am proud to have taken part in this. On Monday I was looking out our back window and I saw a turtle, I thought it was strange and then I realized what it was doing, laying its eggs. Allison and I looked it up and found out we should expect to see baby turtles crawl out of our lawn sometime in August. I am looking forward to a nice 3 day weekend this week and I'm sure the family and I will get into something good.

Great Lakes To New Hampshire & Back

              What a trip, the Croteau family left Michigan on May 13th. May 13th was not only just my birthday but also game 7 of the Bruins vs. Toronto series. What a nerve wracking game that was. This trip we decided to go through Canada, it was pretty neat going through the border. I pulled into a gas station to fuel up, $1.24 I thought wow Canada is great, gas is so cheap. Then I realized it was in liters not gallons, oopps. Norah did extremely well during the ride, her mother and I were happy about that.
               It is always so nice to be home and able to see family. I was able to go out with my sister and her husband to be as well as my cousin Eric. We did a makeshift brewery tour of Portsmouth NH. We were even able to find Earth Eagle Brewing's, New England Gangsta IPA and Portsmouth Brewery's Kate The Great Imperial Stout. It was a great night out and about.
              Courtney's wedding went off without a hitch. It was a great time and it was fun to see old friends and to make new ones. Unfortunately Allison had to leave early and tend to our little girl at home, because of this I may have imbibed a bit more than normal hence why I could be seen on the dance floor cutting a rug. It was awesome to see how happy my little sister is.
               While in NH we were able to enjoy many things. Allison's cousin and my friend, Nate invited us over for a back yard Turkey fry which was a great time. We went to Strawberry Banke with my parents and enjoyed a day of walking around looking at the old neighborhood. As always we enjoyed plenty of good food at the White families homestead. Every trip we make home some friends we are able to see and some we are not. I wish there was enough time to see everyone, maybe next time.
              Allison, the lucky duck, was able to stay back in NH a couple of extra weeks. This means I was set to drive out west on my own. The drive actually wasn't that back I had a mix of Phish and books on CD to keep my mind busy during the 8 hour drive to Niagara, Ontario. I had never been to the Falls so it was a pretty amazing experience! Stella was with me to enjoy the view. I spent the night in Canada and explored a little bit. I wish Allison and Norah had been with me but what can you do, maybe next time. They next day I finished my drive through Canada and headed home to Michigan. On June 2nd I awoke to find the temp at 37 degrees, it leveled out to a balmy 48 degrees that day. Why did we decide to move North again? I have been missing Allison and Norah dearly and have decided being a bachelor is no longer as much fun as I remember. I hope she knows she is stuck with me for life. The girls being back in New Hampshire has afforded me the opportunity to do plenty of fishing, both spin cast and fly. I was also able to head up north to Traverse City Michigan this past Saturday. I fly fished my way up the coast about 2.5 hours hitting a few of Michigan's blue ribbon trout streams. After all my effort I caught one trout, I guess better luck next time. My real reason for the trip up north was to visit with a friend of mine from Charleston. He and his wife graciously made me ribs and cupcakes. The meal and the company was fantastic. Today I started out writing this blog laying in my hammock, I may have dozed off for a few minutes only to be awoken by the rain. I was able to get inside before getting to wet.
                 I am taking off this upcoming Tuesday in order to pick up my two beautiful girls in Grand Rapids. I can't wait to be a family again. I am already planning our next trip east although it may not be for a while. We welcome all visitors so don't be strangers. Until next time....

Canada here we come.

Beautiful girl enjoying Prescot Park, Portsmouth NH.

Stella and Chloe on a sunny Middleton morning.

Nanny White and two of the wee ones.

Can't wait to get outdoors when my girls are home.

Family, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Oh Canada, You live up to the stereotypes!

Mi Madre w/ Norah in the ergo.

Wading in shorts and catching Smallmouth Bass, is summer here?

Saddle Up The Horses, We Are Coming Home

My lack of blogging lately is due to my current class and our general lack of excitement. Our family is doing very well though. Little miss Norah Mae turns 6 months on Saturday, I have no idea where the time has gone and I know you all will be happy to see the changes our little girl is going through when we get  home. She still has no teeth although she should be sprouting a few very soon. She has been keeping us busy with the magnitude of her poops, I think she could put the O line of the Patriots after a wing eating contest to shame. We are very much looking forward to coming home in a few days. I plan to consume at least one Lobster roll while near the ocean, the seafood here in Michigan is sketchy at best. Norah is very excited to attend her first wedding, like her aunt she has a new dress that will be unveiled May 18th. I took my test to advance to my next pay grade yesterday, keep your fingers crossed that I did really well or that everyone else did poorly. I should find out my results in the next few weeks. Allison has made some friends locally and we had them over for a little Kentucky Derby social. We had a good time, I met her friends husband who is a very nice guy. I made chicken wings with some homemade sauces for the event which everyone seemed to enjoy. In about 4 hours I am officially on vacation for 3 weeks and it can not come fast enough. Look forward to seeing you all in a few days. Keep us in your thoughts as we travel across numerous states and through Canada. I hope they don't make me leave Allison at the border.

Happy Easter

                 The Croteau's have actually done some activities worthy of blogging recently. Last weekend we went to the Grand Rapids sportsman's show. It was pretty fun, they had all kinds of boats for me to dream over and they also had a 700000 gallon pool stocked with fish. In the pond they also had the jumping dock dogs. It was cool to see the taxidermy exhibit as well, gave me some ideas for my next duck mount. After the Sportsman's show we went to a restaurant called Big Boy, we had heard good things about it so we decided to give it a try. It was good, nothing to write home about. It was essentially an IHOP.
                 Fast forward to Easter weekend, on Saturday I got a chance to bottle the beer I brewed a while ago, I plan to pop my first top on my birthday. I hope it is good. Saturday afternoon we went to a friend of mines house for an Easter party. His wife stuffed and hid 2000 eggs for the kids to find, they also had a nice little pot luck supper. It was a beautiful day, Allison, Norah, and I had a great time. On Easter Sunday we stayed pretty low key. I had given up sweets for lent so after waking this morning I was sure to bake some of the chocolate chip cookies Nanny White left us. We also ate some chocolate and had French Toast for breakfast. We hid a bunch of eggs for Norah to find but she was lazy and wouldn't crawl around to find them.
                  Norah Mae is doing very well. She is rolling over and is sitting up by herself for a little bit at a time. Its amazing watching her progression. Allison is doing good now that winter seems to be over and she is able to get out of the house. Allison and Norah have been venturing out to a couple of toddler time book readings at the local libraries each week. I think it is good for Allison to be able to talk to someone other than me, I mean I know I'm an interesting fella but she must be ready to kill me by now. I have been keeping very busy at work. It has been kind of nice to not just go sit in front of a computer all day. School is going well and it sounds like Coast Guard Tuition Assistance should be back in full swing by the time I am done with my current class in June. This is great news considering I am trying to complete my degree before leaving Michigan in 2016.
                   Well just over a month till we are back in New England, I hope its warm. Side note, if you are ever wondering why I post hardly and pictures of Allison its because she never thinks she looks good enough, I disagree but I always lose the editing battle.

I was trying to talk Allison into getting a sweetheart Deer stand. She wasn't having it.

DAD..MOM, THE EASTER BUNNY CAME!!!!

I hope this is the damn Fox that stole my duck last year.

Southern Dreams

Who's idea was it to move North? I remember winter being much more fun, so far this winter it has been cold and snowy with no redeeming factors. South Carolina isn't looking so bad.Allison, Norah and I haven't been doing to much lately. It was nice outside a couple of days last week and we were finally able to get out of the house and go for a walk around the neighborhood. It really gave us spring fever and now I can't shake it. Last Sunday I brewed a batch of beer. It smelled awfully good (to me) Allison would disagree. I can't wait to try it out. Today was Norah's 4 month doctors appointment, everything went well and she is getting big but is only in the 50th percentile for her age. As long as her size isn't below average I will be happy, we aren't trying to raise an amazon woman. Looking forward to seeing everyone in May, not to long now.



Norah Supporting the B's

Eskimo baby

Super Norah