Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fun in Illinois

Sandwiched between the family weddings were a few fun days spent at Grandpa and Grandma Meinhart's house. There are always lots of fun and interesting things to do there and this trip was no exception.

We had driven from Dubuque on Sunday and so spent the first part of Monday exploring outside. Grandpa's blackberries were ripe, so Marie (and the rest of us) got to help pick them. Marie didn't eat too many, but Joey evidently really liked them. That would only be the first time he would surprise us this week. Joey was also able to find and pick a pretty good sized cucumber from the garden.



We had also hoped to make a visit to the farm while we were there and it turned out that Monday was the best day to do that. At around the end of milking time, we headed over there. We had also gone last year with Marie, but Joey wasn't old enough to know what was going on at that time and quite frankly Marie wasn't too sure of things either.

Cousin Ryan was again a great tour guide. Marie, Joey, and Jon got to watch as Ryan and Uncle Rick finished up the milking. After that, Marie was quite content to head in the house and talk with the ladies. Joey on the other hand was quite enthralled with cows. He walked right up to the fence with Ryan to check out the steers. He even put one foot up on a low rung like a true farmer. He didn't have to be coaxed to pet the calf or even the bigger cows and didn't even mind too much when he got licked. He especially liked feeding the steers hay. He would hold out a piece to them, but would often need someone with longer arms to help him because the steers were more afraid of him than he was of the steers. Once they finally took the hay, he would march right back over to the manger to get another piece. A farmer's work is never done!








Through the night on Tuesday, more than 3" of rain fell. This made things rather wet outside. Since we hadn't brought the kids boots, we had to make a run to the store just so that they wouldn't be cooped up inside all day long. Marie and Joey both thought they were pretty special to get new boots!


With the new boots, it was time to go fishing! This time they had poles just their size and they had a great time just practicing casting in the yard. Once we moved to the pond, it didn't take long before they started catching fish. I think Marie caught three fish in all, though she didn't really want anything to do with them. Joey on the other hand wanted to scoop them up in the net and pet them. Again...no fear. "Joey" also caught a fish. Grandpa was "helping" him and it turned out that Jon had to help Grandpa finally bring it in since the fish was almost as big as the pole!






On Wednesday afternoon, we loaded the kids in the car again and drove to St. Louis to see my grandpa. He has been a bit under the weather this year, but I really believe he perked up and was glad to see us and the kids. He got a kick out of just watching them run around his house. We took him out to eat for supper and made it back in time to watch the Cardinals on TV...a favorite pastime of his.


The following day, we donned our Cardinals gear and planned to meet Grandpa Meinhart, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Matt at the ballpark for an afternoon game. The kids were very excited about the prospect of seeing Albert and just as much looking forward to riding the train to get there. The view from our seats was pretty good, though I could've asked for a little more cloud cover. It got up to 95 degrees...I don't even want to know what the heat index was. But, the kids did really well...I was probably more cranky than they were. Too bad we couldn't have cheered the Cards on to a win!





We drove back to Grandpa and Grandma's house that night to get some rest and wait for Uncle Dave and Itaxso to drive down from Chicago. It had been some time (almost a year?) since we were all in the same place. We all went to the wedding and otherwise spent the weekend just hanging out and visiting. Sunday came around all too quickly and we made the trek back to Michigan. Overall the kids did very well in the car. It is so nice to have good travelers. It was a tiring, but fun-filled trip...and we'd do it all over again if we had the chance!

Recent family weddings...

It's August already and it's been some time since we've updated the blog...we'll have to bring you up to speed on our recent vacation!

True to our usual form, our vacation consisted of driving around the Midwest visiting family and relatives. This summer our trip was sandwiched between two family weddings, the first on the Shibata side and the second on the Meinhart side.

We began our journey on Friday the 16th. We departed from home, set on making good time to our destination, Dubuque, IA. We had no hang-ups or delays on the first leg of the trip when we met Grandma and Grandpa Shibata and Aunt Jess in Chesterton, IN for lunch. It was then decided that Marie would get to ride in Grandpa's new car, so we quickly swapped her car seat. The rest of the ride also went pretty smoothly considering the close proximity to Chicago as we drove around the need to stop a couple of times for potty breaks. The last part of the drive through northern IL was extremely scenic and hilly (causing minor car sickness), but about 10 hours after our time of departure, we arrived safe and sound.

We were just in time to partake in the authentic Brazilian BBQ hosted by Uncle David and Aunt Sharon. The kids were definitely not the shy type and made friends quickly. They played lawn games and Marie looked for tadpoles in the small pond with the bride and groom. Needless to say, everyone was beat by the time we got back to the hotel and settled in for the night.



The following morning, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jess, the kids and I explored a little bit by heading to a walk along the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, there were LOTS of bugs and we didn't stick around too long. We drove around for awhile until we found a park where the kids could play and Jess and I could get in a quick jog.

The wedding was in the afternoon. Marie thought she was pretty big stuff sitting in the pew with the older cousins. The bride beautiful and the groom handsome as could be. It was definitely the first time I'd heard wedding vows in Portuguese! After a lunch reception, the kids took naps back and the hotel and everyone gathered back at Uncle David's for another BBQ and this time a bonfire with s'mores for everyone. It was a quick trip, but so great to see most of the Speckhard clan...we just don't have the chance to see them enough!





The following weekend, my cousin Eric got married down in good ole' Effingham. We figured the best way to get to both weddings would be to take the whole week as vacation. (I'll fill you in on what we did in the meantime in another post.)

Eric and Jenna's wedding was on Friday afternoon and evening. The weather was typical for July...hot. But, that didn't seem to phase the bride and groom in the least...they were all smiles. The reception was beautiful! It was obvious that both families had spent a lot of time preparing and decorating.




Marie and Joey didn't make it too long into the evening. By this point in the week, they were pretty pooped. Jon graciously offered to take them home and put them to bed while I stayed and caught up with family. Highlights included watching the groom and his 3 brothers race while doing the worm and hitting the photo booth with Twinkle Toes, Blondie, Giggle Butt, and Pee-Wee (you know who you are!). Extra points to anyone not previously mentioned that can remember my nickname. Ahhhh...the memories!