One of many! This is my son, Andrew after his first race. He's a freshman and this is his first year rowing. And, yes. His team decided the pink hats are what got them on the medal stand!!! :) During their first race. My sons are the second and third from the back. On the medal stand. BLING!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!! That is awesome!

Yes! I'll have to post tomorrow when I get home. I can't figure it out on my phone!

They took third place!!! Third best in the country!!! And, the two first place teams were from california and row on the water year round. Our kids were finally able to get out on the water 2 1/2 months ago!

I'm going to try to figure that out. I'm on my iPad and everything is harder!

awesome!!

We are in Oak Ridge, TN for the Youth National Championships for rowing. My two boys are in a lightweight 8 boat that has won every race here so far. They are racing for the National Championship today!!! I just can't believe they have come so far! We are a very small team and we aren't on the water for a lot of the year. So for these kids to do this well is really amazing!!! If you want to watch, here is the live streaming link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLKxZsfFejM. I cannot believe my kids might be national champions!! And, I got to meet Melissa (aka mom2legomaniacs!) yesterday. She lives near the course and invited me to her house! What a fun day. She is a super sweet woman and my daughter just adored her! Her kids are funny and sweet too! Had to brag!!!

Do you guys like theme parks? Cedar Point is amazing! Not quite as far as you were hoping to make it, but it would be a fun addition to your vacation!

Yea. The Detroit Zoo is just too big!!! And, the other thing we did was the Public Museum!

We did an overnight to GR a couple years ago. It was awesome! We went to the Ford Museum for a couple hours. Then, we spent time by the river (we stayed right on the riverfront). We went out to dinner at San Chez. AMAZING dinner! Then, the next day we went to the Meijer Gardens. Those are gorgeous! There was one more thing, but I can't remember. Anyway, we found GR to be a really nice friendly town!

I found on longer runs I needed to take in electrolytes DURING the run. So, I'd alternate between coconut water and regular water every couple miles. I also found taking a bath with epsom salts after the long runs to be very helpful. The colder the better! I'd start out warm and get in and dissolve the epsom salts. Then, I'd run cold water to cool it off. It always helped with the cramping. Eating - I always craved protein after long runs. I'd eat a couple hard boiled eggs or pb and j. Then, I'd just eat normally the rest of the day. Good luck on your run!

Totally skipped the blender!!! I think you got a deal!!!'

I came in around $300 as well. But, I didn't know about a few things and had to guess. And, we arent' talking organic meat and veggies - right?

One more thing - if you stay at the Grand, you can check your luggage in a the ferry on the mainland. They will deliver it to your room!! I love that kind of service!

For some reason I couldn't respond last night!!! Grrrrr . . . . I don't remember exactly how long it is from the Grand to the downtown, but we have always walked it. It takes maybe 15 minutes? There is one steep hill, but by then, you can see the hotel and nobody minds! And, there are a TON of horse and buggy taxis you can take back if you are just too tired to walk it. Depends on what you want out of vacation. We always go to dinner there because we like the formal dinners. And, it's a good deal for our family. We like the formality of coming in from a busy, active day and getting dressed up for dinner. (We cruise for vacation for that same reason!) We find it relaxing and like to linger over our food. Then, we spend time by the pool or watching a movie and relaxing before bed. But, if you'd prefer not to do that, skip the dinner! My kids have never felt out of place there. But, one of the reasons we decided to start going there was so that they wouldn't feel out of place at a place like that. We found that if you dress them up, they behave!!! It was awesome! And, the dress code at the hotel is just after 5. I'm pretty sure we just wore regular touristy clothing all day and just dressed for dinner. When they were younger, we just put the kids in khakis and polos. Now, they wear jacket and ties. My dd, when she was three, struck up a friendship with the concierge lady. She asked Meg what she wanted to do on the island. My dd said, "I want to see the library!" The concierge lady thought this was so cute. She made sure to make my dd feel special the rest of our time there. It was awesome!!! Whatever you decide - you will have a great time!!!

We love Mackinac Island!!! It is absolutely wonderful for families. I have kids of all ages and we all found things to do. We rented bikes, rode horses, took a horse and buggy ride, toured the fort, went to the butterfly garden, threw rocks into the lake, and of course, relaxed. I have to say, I've never been in July, so I can't say how bad the crowds will be, but it has to be more pleasant weather-wise in MI than in FL!!! We always stay at the Grand Hotel (off season!) and LOVE it there. There are plenty of other options ON the island though. We have friends who stay there regularly and I can ask them where they stay if you like. I know my sister stayed in St. Ignace one year right on the water and loved it. There are more options in Mackinac City, however. If you want to visit other things - we loved the Sault Ste. Marie lock tour. Definitely worth the money to see first hand how the locks work. It's only about an hour north of the bridge. This year we are going to hike near Taquemanon Falls as well. Someday we'll also get to Pictured Rock State Park. I'd love to kayak there! Oh - and if you like cheap touristy - check out the Mystery Spot. I think it was $25 and took us about an hour. It was really fun, but a little cheesy!!! And, of course, if you are coming up I75, you MUST visit me!!!

I have seasons for my sports. I run in the spring/summer/fall with weight training and races thrown in. In the winter, when it is really cold here, I do Insanity or P90X or something else inside. I find groups on line to keep me accountable. You CAN do this!

Depends on the clubs. We sold a set last year at our garage sale for $75! Not bad. But, they were good clubs. Good luck! We arrived at the price after a quick Google and Craigslist search.

We are refinancing right now into a 15 year 3.125% loan!! Woohoo!

You don't have to swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove. It would save you quite a bit if you didn't, actually. There is SO much else to do there! We had an amazing time and wish we could have stayed longer!!

Wait? There's something to do in Orlando besides Disney?!?! :) We are HUGE Disney fans. So, we'd go that route. I have a GREAT condo we stay in in Windsor Hills. http://bestcondostay.com/index_files/Page396.htm Tell Gary you know Jennifer from Grosse Pointe Park, MI. I don't think that'll get you a discount, but we have rented from him for five years now! So who knows! The condo is amazing. It's in a gated community that has parks, pool, movie theater, etc, etc, etc. Seriously gorgeous. You can see the fireworks for Disney at night from the balcony. We are staying there again in August for four nights and it's $350! Full kitchen, three bedrooms, 1400 sq feet. Off season we've paid $467/week there. We also did Discovery Cove last year. Look into it. We paid $199/pp and got a day at DC plus 14 days admission to Sea World, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens. We loved ALL the parks. Dd now wants to be a marine biologist because of the people she met at Sea World. And, dd actually swam with the dolphins at DC!! Awesome!!! And, if you decide to do Disney, please let me know!! Ilove to talk about Disney!!!

Yeah!!!! I'm so glad she got to do that!!! My dh took just my son on his 16th too. They both look SO happy!!!

oh yes!!! Do this!

There is something about Disney, isn't there? I think it is super sweet and I think you should do it!

Fun!!! Enjoy!