In The Life Of: July 28, 2009

Since my honeymoon in October 2007 I have waited patiently to travel. This year was Eric's family reunion in Grand Haven, Michigan. The Griffin/Meyer reunion is once every 3 years so you have plenty of time to plan and you better be there! When the people I work with discovered I was using my vacation time for my spouse's reunion, they laughed and felt sorry for me! I explained to them that this is something I actually look forward to and enjoy more than anything, being part of something great. We stayed in the main cottage right on Lake Michigan. The weather was comfortably warm during the day and crispy cool at night.

Here are some of the family enjoying a fantastic meal...

Eric (aka EGG)

Following the sunset

Enjoying a fire on the beach

Following the weekend, we celebrated the life of Eric's mother, Mary Anne, who passed away in February of 2008. Her ashes were sprinkled in Lake Michigan where she had always wanted.

Eric's brother Mark is holding her urn, when out of nowhere, a beautiful monarch butterfly flew up to greet them. It flew back and forth from Eric to Mark. In my head I heard Natasha Bedingfield's song "Pocket Full of Sunshine" in my head.

There's a place that I go that nobody knows
Where the rivers flow and I call it home
And there's no more lies, in the darkness there's light
And nobody cries, there's only butterflies

It was quite an emotional day so we hit the beach for some fun. Boys will be boys!

Group family photo

On the same day that evening, we took a sail boat ride on Lake Michigan to celebrate the lives of Eric's Aunt Bonnie and her brother Frank, who had passed recently as well.