Warren Dunes

For literal YEARS we have been wanting to go up to one of the beaches on Lake Michigan. But we were either busy on weekends or the weather wasn't good or we had baseball tournaments. There always seemed to be something. But on September 2nd we finally made it up there! We went with our Hoosier family, the Reams, who are beach pros. Their favorite beach is Warren Dunes State Park, so that's where we went. Bonus: I'd never been to Michigan, so I now get to cross that off my "states I've never been to" list.

The weather was GORGEOUS. Mid-70s, light breeze; not too hot, but not too cold, either. Unfortunately, the water was FREEZING. The kids spent most of the morning playing in the sand, but Bergen, Cole, and Tess braved the water in the afternoon. The older boys all walked in the lake up to their knees, but wisely decided not to get dunked.

I don't know what it is about the beach, but it makes Lance want to dig. He's like a dog or something. And not just dig a little bit - when Lance digs a hole he goes all out. The kids love it. (See the screened tent in the far upper left? That's ours.)

Sandy bottoms abounded.

The hole was deep enough that Tess needed help to get in!

Then they built causeways for water, and seats for themselves in the hole.

During all the construction I lounged in the sun, chatted with Gigi and Craig, and ate snacks. It was awesome.

No matter how cold, kids are always drawn to water.

I got my feet wet, but that was about it.

Lance and I are generally really good about slathering our children in sunscreen, but I think the cooler temperatures made us forget. Our poor kids were burnt to a crisp by the end of the day!

There's a big dune at the park that we decided to climb. What a work out! Kudos to Lance for staying with Tess and coaxing her up all 260 feet.

There's Lance in the middle (green t shirt) with Tess on the ground. They'd go a few feet and then hunt for tiny shells.

Me and my big floppy hat. It helped me be the only person in the family not to go home rosy red.

The view from the top was pretty awesome. It was up there that I decided we really needed to come to the beach every summer. (I think the kids decided that the moment we pulled in!)

Our hooligans at the top of the dune.

Obligatory selfie.

This could have been such an amazing picture, but Tess was not cooperating. Out of the 387 I took, this was the best. That child...

Going down the dune was far more fun - Tess somersaulted, slid, and rolled all the way down!

Feet in sand feels good.

The picture doesn't do it justice - it was a pretty tall dune! Cole kept wanting to go up and down it again, but couldn't convince anyone to go with him.

We played and ate and chatted all afternoon. By around 5pm we were all tired and worn out enough that no one complained when it was time to go home.

It was a great day and is definitely becoming a new family summer tradition.