Midwest Memories I

Every other year we take a road trip northward and westward to visit Dave's mom's side of the family. So in mid-July we packed up the minivan and cruised up I-70 toward the PA Turnpike. The next day we arrived in West Chicago, the home of Dave's dear Aunt Linda.

We spent barely two days there, but boy, were they packed full of fun: time with Dave's cousins and their families, meeting new baby Cody (my kids' youngest second cousin), swimming at the most amazing community pool/waterpark I've ever seen (it had three water slides, a water playground, and a massive sand-play area the size of my home's main level--oh, and a place to do normal swimming). We ate good food, we played at a great playground, we kept the kids up super late (especially factoring in the one-hour time difference).

One cute snippet from this part of the trip: Esme was completely nonplussed by the title of "Aunt" for Linda. No matter how many times we told her, "Esme, this is Aunt Linda," she slipped right back into calling her "Grandma." Hey, if it looks like a grandma, acts like a grandma, loves like a grandma... what can you expect?

I only brought the camera out one time in this busy blur, but the shot I got was a keeper! (Just never mind that Dave's head looks like it's sprouting lush foliage, ok?)

This is Linda with our crew--can you tell how much our family loves this lady? She is a most gracious hostess and a joyful soul. We're so thankful to have had time with her (and Lisa, Santi, David, Andrew, Dave, Ronae and Cody!) again this year.