The End

 

 

Our Time together is coming to an end. After family pictures on Thursday night we had some birthdays to celebrate. Thursday was Uncle Matt's actual birthday. He was so excited when we sang happy birthday to him, I kid, I kid! And then of course little Jackson will be turning 4 in August so we went ahead and celebrated early since we were all together. He was so excited about blowing out candles and all the wanted for his birthday was a balloon and some cake. He got that and a lot more. We love our little buddy!

On Friday Aunt Laura, Uncle Jeff, Nat and Jo came to Decatur and met us at the zoo. We rode the train and the carousel of course. And Nat got up enough courage to go in the petting zoo with my girls. We had a great day and ended our time together with some frozen yogurt from Krave. We've loved our time together and now Christmas can't come soon enough. Now we are off to Myrtle Beach for vacation...never a dull moment!

Myerscough Family Pictures

Gigi wanted some pictures of her grandkids. She hired a photographer to come to her house on Thursday afternoon to take pics. I can't say enough good things about Gina Meister. She did a fabulous job with this crew. I mean, seriously...8 kids and she probably had us all done in thirty minutes and no meltdowns. It was fabulous...sure she has to promise them fruit snacks, but it was a small price to pay. Seriously love these pictures. Especially the one of my parents. My dad never smiles but he's SMILING! Absolutely perfect!

The Grass is always Greener...

When you live in Arizona, and the landscape is mostly dirt and rocks...of course the grass is greener. Laura is thrilled that her girls are getting so much outdoor time in the summer! That doesn't happen in Arizona.

This past weekend they came to see us in Mt. Zion! Laura and I had a great time doing a BogaFit class. Afterwards we went swimming at the Surf Club. It was perfect because the three pools gave us lots of options. We had a great afternoon. And when we got home the girls had a blast playing outside...swingset, trampoline, power wheels. They had so much fun!

On Sunday we headed over to Charleston. There was even more time to play outside. Gigi had a little inflatable pool set up and the water table. Some of my best memories growing up were times spent with cousins so I'm certainly glad that the kids are getting time to make these memories. Matt and Cynthia had to take a road trip...moving Cynthia's sister to Texas so Macy and Colby came home with us for a few days. More fun to be had!

Arizona Girls in Illinois

They're here! And we couldn't be more excited!!! Laura and the girls got into Illinois on Tuesday and Uncle Jeff will be arriving tonight. We can't get enough time with these little ladies so I envision lots of trips to Charleston in the next week!

Yesterday we met up in Mattoon for some swimming at the Country Club. Natalie and Hattie had a blast jumping off the diving board. We cheered them on and they loved every minute of it. And of course there were snacks. Gigi treated all the kids to ice cream from the snack shop.

Today we headed over and went to a movie. We had already seen Cars 3 but it was HOT so it was the perfect way to cool down. And again...there were snacks! Looking forward to lots more cousin fun.

There's no place like home...

After two long weeks, 5 states and 4500 miles we made it home on Friday July 7th! It's so hard for me to do this trip with out Mitch. We miss him terribly when we are gone but I want to show these girls the world. I want to show them that there is much more to life than corn and beans and what Central Illinois has to offer. They tried new cuisines, saw new animals and had new experiences, and you really can't put a price on that.

Mitch took a little trip of his own while we were gone. He hadn't been to Salt Lake to see Ryan and Carrie in almost 4 years, and it had been nearly two years since they'd had a visit at all. He really wanted to meet the twins, Zack and Alex so it seemed like the perfect time. He was there from Thursday to Monday, did some hiking and golfing, but most of all enjoyed some time with his closest friend.

We are glad he had a good trip, but it sure was nice to be together again!

New Mexico with the Morris Family

So of course we had to stop and visit our friends in New Mexico on our way home!!! We love visting the Morris family. They're the best host...fancy coffee, delicious breakfast, but what makes it really special is the friendship! I went to high school with Lauren, but we weren't really friends. We really got to know each other in the last two years thanks to Plexus. We've become really great friends, and what makes it even more special is that our kids have become great friends too! There is nothing better <3 br="">
This is the second visit to their place in Las Cruces. We have a new tradition. Dinner at Andele's and then a big five-kid slumber party in Trane's room. I think the last time we heard a peep out of them was 11:30 and alarms went off at 7AM. Needless to say, we had some tired kiddos the next day...but totally worth it. I'm already counting on our visit next summer, it's always so much fun!