Family

Fish hatcheries are great day trips for families. They provide an educational opportunity to learn about fisheries and how vital they are to the Great Lakes. At some hatcheries you can fish without a license and even keep the fish to eat for dinner. Here are some great Michigan fish hatcheries to v...
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National Cousins Day was Monday. It’s a day to celebrate the special bond you can only have with people you’ve known your entire life and shared many special moments with. Here are 16 things that makes your relationships with cousins so special. 1. Cousins are the only ones you can laugh with...
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While some may argue part-time jobs take teens away from their school studies and extracurricular activities, there are actually many benefits to a teen working. As long as they manage their time well, teens can gain valuable life skills through a summer or after-school job. 1. They begin to under...
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With April being right around the corner it's time to start thinking about some fun, family friendly April Fools day tricks. Even the Shorter family got in on the fun this past week with the classic 'healthy veggies in the Krispy Kreme box' prank! Such a classic prank and super easy to pull off. The...
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As summer winds down in Michigan, we pack our weekends full of festivals, indulging in the last of the warm, sunny days, and ringing in the harvest season. There are dozens each week, including music festivals, beer fests and art fairs. We’ve gone through the lengthy list and picked out some of th...
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Summer is right around the corner and if you have kids, you've probably already started thinking ahead for summer activities to keep them busy. I love our down time but there are days when we just need to get out of the house. Last year on the blog, I did a post regarding Northern Michigan Summer C...
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Hello, friends! Spring break is approaching quickly approaching here in Northern Michigan and some of you might be staying around the area this year. As I wrote in a previous post, here on the Grandpa Shorter's blog, we just did a big a big family vacation back in February so we are planning on...
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With it finally being winter, I tend not to want to leave the house when it's snowing or if I've heard the roads are bad. We live about 7 miles outside of Petoskey out East Mitchell past Bill's Farm Market and in the winter the roads can be icy and trecherous, to put it nicely. I drive the kids too...
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It's already the first week of December here in Northern Michigan and Petoskey residents are gearing up for one of our fabulous annual traditions that officially rings in the holidays here in Petoskey: the Downtown Petoskey Holiday Open House. This Friday, December 4th, 6-9pm Petoskey downtown ...
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Hello, friends and welcome back! With fall in full swing, now is the time of year that I love making warm and delicious comfort dishes! Easy recipes are always a plus with me, but I also like recipes that are tasty! This past weekend I worked a few Thanksgiving-esque side dishes. One of my absolut...
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