Someone Turned 12

Yes, this week Leah became a twelve year old.

The day started with cherry cheesecake, f course, and opening presents.

She really wanted and got an Instax Mini 9 camera.

Her summer camp you see, bans all electronic devices (which is a good thing). So lot of the girls there have these Instax cameras that spit out a small photo like the Polaroids of old and its very very popular. Very much the hot old-is-new-again thing.

So we had to go try it out.

Yesterday we went to the beach at Muskegon for our beach trip and post-birthday activity.

There was a lot of action at the beach.

Red Bull was sponsoring The Great Lakes Surf Festival.

Lots of fun activities- a surfing contest where people tried to get up and surf behind a wave made by a speedboat, kite surfing, and kite surfing stunting, paddle boards by the ton, and lots of fun for all. A very well mannered and enthusiastic crowd, a very well-run event and a darn good time.

Some kite surfers and surfers showed off some considerable skills:

For example, in this shot you'll notice the kite surfer has transitioned from kite-surfing to flying.

He then did some tricks before landing back in the water perfectly and going on his happy way.

Lots of neat stunts were pulled, people fell into the water multiple times, and a grand time was had by all. Next time they do it, we may just camp out on the beach as that looks like a ton of fun too.

Then we walked along the breakwater to the lighthouse,

After swimming and renting a standing paddle board and having a great time, we headed home.

Darn nice trip. Next time I'm in Muskegon, a trip to the USS Silversides will be in order.

Stupidity And Adventures In Nature Don't Mix

Most people know that rivers don't run in circles, but apparently three women on a tubing outing did not.

MLIVE.COM: Muskegon River tubing trip turns into overnight nightmare for three women

They left for what they thought would be an easy float down Muskegon River Tuesday afternoon – but ended up spending the night on the river bank, scared and yelling for help.

The trio of young women were rescued 20 hours later after a fisherman eventually heard their cries, said Muskegon Township Deputy Fire Chief Bob Grabinski.

The women, all in their 20s, had never been tubing before and decided it would be a fun thing to do, Grabinski said. So they bought some tubes and headed to the popular launch site at the Maple Island Road bridge, Grabinski said.

"They were informed by somebody at the bridge that the river goes in a circle and if they put in there they would come back to their car," he said. "Not knowing anything, they set off on their little adventure."

Assuming that actually occurred, it's amazing how gullible some people can be. Rivers rarely if ever run in circles. Kind of a mean trick, that.

One would think they at least would have Googled the Muskegon river before embarking on their little floating jaunt, or taken someone with experience tubing on that river with them, but no.

Well they ended up a little wiser for the experience, that's for sure.

As a good friend often says: "If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough."

Leah's Birthday Trip

To celebrate her birthday, Leah wanted a day trip.

So we loaded into the car. Jett wanted to drive initially.

He was convinced to head to the back once it was explained to him that a dog license and a driver's license are two different things.

After just short of three hours, including a spot on I-96 where traffic was at a complete standstill due to construction we arrived.

Kruse Park in Muskegon on the shores of Lake Michigan. The park is a public dog park and beach where dogs and humans can run, play in the water and hang out on the beach.

Jett didn't quite know what to make of the waves and the water constantly rushing towards him. His first time on a Great Lake

The water was also pretty cold, Leah jumped in anyways, the rest of us just got our legs wet.

Jett soon found new friends to play with:

Following their lead, he jumped in the water with the rest of them. He had a ball.

After hanging out for the day we headed home, picking up some BBQ takeout form Famous Dave's along the way. At home we had a nice meal, cleaned up all the sand from the beach that we had brought home with us and had a nice end to her special day.