Saturday, July 19, 2014

Michigania - with my family!

I have written about Michigania in the past - like when I dreamt up my imaginary participation there in 2007 and when I surprised my family there in 2009. I surprisingly didn't write about going with Matt and Sam in 2011 when Samara was nine months...but all in all, it's a VERY important place to me, and it's one of the hardest parts of being so far away in Singapore every year. I was able to make it in 2009 and 2011, but that's all...until this year!

My family started going to Michigania in 1978, when I was seven months old. It's a family camp for members of the University of Michigan Alumni Association. It's on a BEAUTIFUL lake in northern Michigan, and it has everything you would ever want to do. It used to be rugged living for a week. Now it's totally luxurious (ok - there's still sand in the beds...) and just amazing fun. My family has gone every year since 1978, and I have gone many of them. I missed when I was 13 until about 20, since I went to Camp Ramah for the full summers. When growing up we went with loads of family friends - people we saw at camp and throughout the year, and when I went back in college I made my own friends - a group of amazing people who had always been there, but I had never known. At this point it's all jumbled together into a big family (or at least it feels like that), and it's just filled with people whom I love, even if all we say throughout the entire year is "volleyball after lunch?" "tennis at 10?" PLUS my immediate family goes and my dad's brother and his family.

So, bringing my conscious kid and my not -so-conscious-yet kid, plus my husband, to this important place and sharing it with them was literally a dream. Samara LOVED every second of it. It's hard to say what was the best part:
The constant attention from my mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle and cousins...
The amazing 3-4 Nursery where they teach the cult songs and stories and turn it into a magical place... ("Mommy, you know who blows the wind? Puff the Magic Dragon!")
The freedom to do whatever she wanted nearly all the time - just running out of the dining hall when she was done so she could put on a "performance" at the gazebo...
The chocolate milk, hot chocolate and ice cream at every meals...

She rode a horse for the first time, went tubing for the first time, made friends, learned loads of songs, and seriously loved every second.

Elie also had a good time - though his needs were simpler. He slept much better than I had expected (woke up once per night...only...) and had a good time playing in the nursery. He ate more than his share of food.

Matt and I had a great time - ok - me especially. I went mountain biking with my dad nearly everyday, played tennis nearly everyday (and I did pretty well, if I may say so myself), loved tubing with Samara, played lots of boggle, euchre, drank good beer, did the high ropes course (or at least part of it - but even getting up to the top was success for me!), caught up with friends (though it's amazing how hard it is to find time to properly catch up when you have kids to take care of and a million activities to do in one week) - that I wish I did more of. All in all, it was such a fun week. I can't wait to go back next year (and every year, but I'll take one year at a time in my negotiations with Matt).

A day after camp we flew back to Singapore. I got super sick the last day of camp, so the trip back was really hard for me. I felt like I was blowing my nose, coughing, SUPER weak and just wanting to sleep, having my ear explode out of my head from the pressure...all while taking care of Elie. He did sleep a bit, and he nursed for about 30% of the time he was awake. I didn't have energy to do anything else with him. Thank goodness he still likes nursing. Life saver.

I'm still sick - with a new sore throat symptom today. Ugh. And Samara is sleeping through the night but still waking up early. 5:45 this am - not that bad (not that I got up with her...). Elie is sleeping until about 3, nursing and going back to sleep until 7. I, on the other hand, have been up from about 2-5 for the last few nights. Matt, magically is nearly untouched by jetlag. Ever. It's amazing.

Photos - in no particular order!

Jess and Mike came to visit for a few hours! Jess drove the Ensign.

Me and Matt on the sailboat!

Samara on the way home from camp. Sporting her unicorn horn, her unicorn necklace, another necklace made of "M" pastas and singing all of the songs the whole way back.

Our name tags. Your first year you get a blue lanyard and yellow after that. This was Elie's first time! (And apparently Matt doesn't realize how long Hildebrandt is)

Everyone

Elie and Jer at riding

Samara riding peaches (the second time)

Jer skippering, Mike and Sam on the boat

Samara peeing off the back of the boat (and on my leg)

Samara and Vivian playing in their "house"

Arriving at camp - we stopped at the M rock

Awwww

Usual scene - Eric, Elie and my dad, chilling with a ball

Elie at a meal. He LOVES cottage cheese (too bad it's SO expensive in Singapore!)

Elie petting Astro - a REAL horse - not just in his book

Me, Matt and Sam tubing on Mark's boat - she loved it! She was so brave, and it was so fun!

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