From Lakes to Lake and Guest Blogging

That's right all! Shanna here; milling around Michigan.

And, by "here" I mean, HERE. In St. Joseph, Michigan! It's ok...calm down. I know you're excited, but the jumping up and down will have to stop, or those neighbors are going to be more than thrilled to join in your excitement when they march right on up and give you their best angry face. Now, won't that be exciting? Anway, not the point. And, actually, you're welcome to be excited. VERY excited. 'Cuz I sure am.

Do you want to know why I'm most excited about though? I'M MOVING TO ST. JOSEPH!!!! Ok, calm down again. What did I tell you about that? I'm kidding. Just kidding. For all who are in Minnesota, or already making plans to visit me, I will be back. But, I'm bringing MI with me. That's right. All of it. We took enough pictures of the lake for that to happen, you know.

Let me paint a scene for you. Hannah and Max are seated directly behind me, and singing like the American idols you've never heard, Chef Jack (as he's been affectionately and officially named) is doing whatever chefs do in the kitchen, Dave, is off being Bootsish, like usual, Kim is relaxing with the now Harley chick that is my mother. (That's right, she saw THE lake (which is Lake MI for those who haven't been blessed to tour St. Joe...sad sad people) on a Harley.), and Sam's off being funny. And, the sun is shining, and we're feeling blessed.

I remember the day that Hannah brought up the idea of us making trip to Michigan. I have to say that no one ever was convinced at the moment that it would happen. But, it did. God leat it happen. I realize as we all do in the cancer world, everyday, that while we could have missed the pain, we would have had to miss the dance. And, by the dance, I mean, the past 3 days, and those to come. Including, the top ten moments of these days, in which the Kellys and Deckers had 35 gazillion of them to share. (And, yes, that IS a number...because life is good in St. Joe)

10. Sofa sleeper hand in the face.
9. Jack becomes "Chef Jack" leaving us eating gourmet.
8. 2:30am bedtime, and fires in the pit.
7. Removing nails from the bridge.
6. Foot in a bread bag.
5. "What are we supposed to be doing?" "Anything we want."
4. Hannah/Shanna showing (Don't worry, it'll be coming to a theater near you).
3. 20 miles of walking followed by "Just Ride".
2. Fireworks, and fireflies.
1. Realization that we have been blessed with the best friends in the entire world.

And, with that, I'm off for another sunset, the Pier (really, this time), a dive in the lake, and some more smiles. Otherwise known as...the perfect night.

PS: If you're reading, and never comment, please do. Kim will make you cookies (and they're way good, trust me on this), AND Dave would like to see that he's got RooseveltDav followers. To all those who are from my family's crew, leave a note to let the Kelly family know you're now part of theirs too. Simply because this week, we became more than friends. We're family. And, that's something I know we all treasure.

Foto Friday the Fourth

Day 410:







The Start of the MI-MN Yacht Club















A Visit from Jenna Mammina

Jack and Girlfriend

Denied Access to the Pier! What to Do?

Swinging on Silver

Pizza Train

Day 409:

The Deckers arrived today for a long weekend, 4th of July celebration, visit,...but we (the Kellys) had Silver Beach Pizza on our minds.

"Is that train really stopping here?" Jack looked on as the train pulled into the station and other on-lookers at Silver Beach Pizza greeted the passengers who were departing the train.
"Yeah. It's a train station," as I too stared at the giant metal frame of the train sitting on the tracks about 15 feet from our table.

After downing our pizza and waving goodbye to the train, it was one quick trip to the beach for the sunset.
"This is awesome and the best sunset ever," Shanna commented as she made her way into the sand with Max and Hannah.
"There will be another one just like it tomorrow night too," I thought I would give her something to cling to as the sun dropped below the horizon.

What would make a perfect night cap to their first night in Michigan? You guessed it,... a fire and Kim's strawberry pie.

Day 1 of the Michigan Deckers comes to a close as Shanna and Hannah settle in. Happy Fourth everyone!