I will be catching up soon!

Milwaukee trip, July 4th, 2011

This past July 4th weekend, Nathan and I took an unprecedented trip together to Milwaukee to meet my dad for a fun-filled few days of catching up with relatives, and spending some valuable time with my grandma, aka "Gigi." I love the opportunity to have any of my kids one-on-one, let alone for 5 straight days! He read 2 whole books in the Warriors series, which he loves, and did lots of eating. Here Nathan was goofing around at the Cleveland airport:

Nathan got to experience Gigi's life for a few days, even eating in the dining room with some of her friends. I would have to say that one of the things Nathan enjoyed most about his trip was the EATING, but definitely his time with Gigi was the highlight. The four of us (my dad, Gigi, Nathan, and I) played lots of Scrabble, spent time at my aunt Pat's house, and enjoyed eating breakfast together every morning in Gigi's apartment. She has moved into a smaller unit than she was in previously, but it just seems all the cozier, to me. It was also a special treat to have my cousin, Tom, in Milwaukee with his two teenage children, Charlie and Zoe. Neat kids he has. Also, we got to spend time with my cousin Terry, his wife, Kim, and their beautiful son, Wesley. Wesley is soon to be a big brother (next month), since Terry and Kim will be adopting his biological sister (?) when she is born. How exciting is that? It's always great to see my cousin James and his beautiful wife, Anne, and their sweet lab mix, Barney. I told my Aunt Marianne (who was also in town from Michigan with her husband, Chuck) that even though I never had girl cousins growing up, it didn't matter because my boy cousins were so nice. That's still true today, just a wonderful bunch of men (and equally wonderful wives). We were only missing my cousin, Rob, and his wife, Amy, because he had to work the holiday weekend. Bummer, but hopefully the whole gang can make it the next time. I guess one of us "cousins" needs to take up the mantle and start organizing some family reunions for this younger generation, these relationships are so valuable.

On the Friday that we were there, my dad took us on a little "stroll" down his memory lane, showing us the house he lived in as a teenager (and pointed out lawns he used to mow, or the former homes of fellow wrestlers, as he did wrestling in high school). Near the neighborhood is one of my favorite parks, Doctor's Park, or maybe it's Doctor Park, I can't ever remember. Here Nathan and B-Pa are looking at the beautiful rocks you find at the shores of Lake Michigan, remarkably smooth and colorful. Nathan could hardly believe the lake was a lake, and not an ocean, which I always remember being blown away by as a kid, too (still am, actually!).

Precious memories with my soon-to-be middle schooler!

One minute he was on the ground, and the next minute he was halfway up a tree, just trying to get a better view at the July 4th parade we went to. Nathan really enjoyed spending time with my cousin Kenny's adopted boys, Rodney and David. They were peas in a pod, for sure, since they all love LEGOS, Star Wars, Nerf guns, and Transformers (we took them all to see the movie, that was fun!). I could tell that Nathan was sad about saying goodbye to them, not knowing when we'd all be together again...

One last picture with my Gigi...

A sleepy-headed Nathan here saying goodbye to my dad at the airport. The weekend went by fast, but was packed with good memories of my wonderful family.

This post would not be complete without a HUGE shout-out to Aunt Pat and Uncle Dennis for hosting and feeding the family, their culinary skills never cease to amaze and delight me. I know that was a lot on them, given that they both work long hours during the week, I honestly don't know how they found the energy to put all of that together! Oh, and I did get my frozen custard fix, I couldn't leave Milwaukee without that...