slicing, dicing, and antiquing.

after spending the day in grand rapids we packed up and drove over to plymouth for another day of introductions.

we first met his aunt at her adorable shop bohemian home.

i wanted one of everything.

(source)

after lunch downtown, we headed over to his aunt's house to meet the rest of the family and cook up a delicious dinner.

they trusted me enough to let me help slice and dice.

don't worry, i made it clear that i don't really know what i'm doing in the kitchen, but they were gracious and even gave me a cute apron to wear (my favorite part of cooking obviously). 

i would have taken more pictures of the evening, but when you're meeting your boyfriend's family for the first time, it could be seen as a little strange to be snapping pictures left and right. 

even though it was challenging, i refrained from pulling out my less than conspicuous camera. 

but i did get this picture of mr. lesley, his cousin sean, and their grandpa.

i couldn't help myself. 

it just seemed right. 

after dinner, we were lucky enough to find this turtle in their backyard.

mr.lesley was ecstatic. 

you know how he feels about his turtles.

we said our goodbyes and drove out to bay city (mr. lesley's hometown) that evening and i couldn't help but feel so grateful to be welcomed into his family's homes with such open arms and generosity. 

and now, some of them even read my blog (hi guys!). 

the next day, mr. lesley and his parents gave me the grand tour of downtown bay city...

we ate lunch and walked around by the water and strolled through the cute little shops.

(i may have picked up a couple of these...)

and ended the afternoon with a stop off at a local antique shop.

i was in heaven.

i decided i had to have this little cowboy boot planter that now sits proudly on my shelf as a little reminder of michigan. 

(which i realize makes no sense because it's a cowboy boot, but whatever.) 

it's just so cute.

that night we enjoyed mrs. lesley's delicious cooking and started packing for our next adventure...

the UP! 

(that stands for the upper peninsula...a place i just learned existed a couple months ago:) 

camping and hiking here we come.