Puppies and Pumpkins

This past weekend Paul and I had an opportunity to head up north and spend some time with my family and enjoy the fall colors. Going up north in the summer is nice because it's great to enjoy swimming in the lake and spending time at the beach. Going up in the winter, well, is also nice sometimes because its hard to beat seeing huge snow flakes piling up on a forest full of pine trees and viewing this all from your couch being cozy under a warm blanket with a hot ovaltine (I am obsessed with ovaltine!). But lets face it, there is nothing better than being up north when you can enjoy the peak of the fall colors. Because I have limited time to go see my family, sometimes the visits are touch-and-go because the weather is not dependable. However, this past visit was perfect. The weather was gorgeous and the colors were stunning. Oh, and did I mention my parents got a puppy?

So, my parents have had dogs before. We used to have a little schnauzer named Maggie and a Bouvier/Airedale named Latte. We all loved those dogs and unfortunately had to mourn their loss due to health reasons. This was a couple years ago, and as my parents are pet lovers, and now that none of us kids live at home, not having a pet can leave things feeling a little empty. So to my great joy, when I woke up on Saturday morning I was greeted by the cutest little pup ever. Ruby is just so cute your heart absolutely melts when you see her. Also, since she is just a tiny baby of 14 weeks old, getting used to her surroundings, she gets tired and overwhelmed easily, which means she loves to be cuddled. Paul isn't kidding when he says I woke him up by sitting Ruby right on top of him in bed and they really did snuggle up to each other. I mean seriously, who doesn't love puppy cuddles?

So on to the events. As much as I love my parents and siblings, I love my nieces and nephews even more. This time, we pretty much got to spend the whole time up north hanging out with them. They had no problem welcoming Paul into the family because they love nerf just as much as he does, so the nerf wars were not only inevitable but also really fun. After hanging out at my sisters for the afternoon playing nerf and petting the new puppy between her naps (jealous) we went to Old Mission for the corn maze.

I have never done a corn maze, simply out of the fear of getting lost, left behind, and starving to death after my body has shut down from the malnutrition that eating only corn can provide. I am proud to say that the corn maze ended up being a lot fun. Also, watching the kids try to navigate their way through was priceless and I will admit, when we got into some tough spots where we couldn't find our way, I was the one that was encouraging taking that "path that just looks like it hasn't been taken in a while, but trust me guys, this is the way.."

After the  corn maze we went to get some real food. Eating at the Blue Tractor is never a disappointment. The first time I was there I got a burger and the mac' n cheese. It was amazing. This time, I got a turkey sandwich with cheese, tomatoes and avocado. For a sandwich it was very tasty. Any time there is avocado involved it is hard to go wrong. Paul got the pulled pork sliders which were simply delicious. The meat was perfectly done and juicy and they definitely did not leave you hungry. They were probably the largest sliders I have ever seen. What I was most looking forward to was a good helping of onion rings. Sometimes onion rings can end up a little soggy, or the batter is sometimes this lumpy weird texture, but the Blue Tractor does it right. They were delicious, perfectly crispy and battered, and melted in your mouth. This is a must stop location for good food and a fun place to hang out in Traverse City.

Besides having to leave in the evening, Sunday was a perfectly relaxing day. Not only did we teach Ruby how to walk and be an adventurous puppy, we got to spend some time with the neighbors up north and swap life stories. All in all it was a great weekend trip. If you are heading to northern Michigan though, and especially if you spend time with my family, you will rarely be disappointed in the fun you can have.