New Years In Michigan

Yesterday we left Nanny and Papa's and drove straight to St. Joseph, Michigan. We decided to do a last minute trip and celebrate New Year's Eve in a new city and new state. 

We checked in to our hotel around 5 pm and then drove to get some dinner. 
We ate at "Schu's Grill and Bar" and the food was delicious. 
I think everyone enjoyed their food and after eating we set out to explore and find a new years celebration. I had done some research and discovered "South Haven, Michigan" hosted a cute small town new year's eve party and we drove straight there. It was only about 25 minutes from where we were in St. Joseph. 

On our way to our car though the kids discovered a trail of lights next to Lake Michigan and they were so pretty that we had to take a picture. 

Then we arrived in South Haven. The New Year's Eve bash was in full swing and it was so fun. 
We walked to the downtown area and immediately found a "transformer" so naturally, we had to take a picture with him. It was so cool- the transformer danced to music and the kids loved it. 

We then headed over to the zipline. The kids were pretty excited for this. It was totally free and the kids had a blast. 

The zipline just stretched across main street and they landed on the street. 

Then we went to a little candy store. We needed a sweet treat but we also needed to warm up. It was so cold in Michigan.

We let everyone pick out  a treat and the kids loved it. Tanner and Bailey picked out homemade fudge and Tucker and Benson found some candy to buy.

Then we went ice skating. South Haven had a cute little ice skating ring and we enjoyed skating around together. 

The ice skating ring was crowded but the kids didn't seem to care. 

We obviously needed to warm up after ice skating and so we got some hot cocoa and found a mini bonfire to warm up next to. 
The city had these little bonfires lining the streets for people to warm up with. It was perfect. 

After finishing our hot cocoa, we did a little shopping and found a Christmas ornament. 

Then we were starting to get tired. We considered going back to our car and as we started walking back, we passed the main square and there was a glowstick dance party going on. 
We had to join in. We grabbed some of the fun glow batons they were handing out and danced our little hearts out. 

We had a blast in South Haven and it was such a fun New Year Celebration. 

After we finished dancing we walked back to our car and drove the 25 mins back to our hotel. On our way back we stopped at a grocery store and bought some sparkling cider. 

We got back to our hotel room with 10 minutes to the new year. We heated up some microwave snacks of pizza rolls and bagel bites. Then we poured our cider, watched the ball drop and rang in the new year from our hotel room in Michigan. 

I'm so grateful for my little family of adventurers. We have the best time together and I love that we all enjoy traveling and experiencing new things and places. 
Getting to ring in the new year in a state we had never been to was so special. 

I'm excited for 2024. I think it will be a great year and as I reflect over the past year I cant believe all that happened. We had so many adventures. We had so much growth. We made memories and learned together. I love my family so incredibly much and I can't wait to see what this new year brings. 

Here's to 2024!