Visiting Tare Tare and Robbie Bobbie (The Sug)!

Had to put this picture at the top of tonight's post... I spent time with two of my nephews and my niece this weekend... little Miss Eva is enjoying her special place as the only little girl in the family (well, of course we have Paige now too, but we didn't know her when she was this little!). After all these boys (Jace, Landon, Payton, Sam and Isaac) it is so fun for all of us aunts to buy little girl clothes and ohhh and ahhh over Eva!

Tonight I'm busy with chores at home, after being gone for a long 3+ day weekend visiting Tara and Rob and their families. We all always try to get together at my parents' home for major holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter - but actually going and spending time one on one at their homes was wonderful. It was great to be able to hang out and visit, and just spend some time hearing about their lives and talking ... we don't do that enough.

Jace and I headed to see Tara, Luke and Isaac (Ike) on Thursday afternoon, a five hour drive. (Dave headed to Bristol on Wednesday for a long weekend at the races with some friends.) I had hoped Jace and I could start our trip on Wednesday night and spend two nights at each house, but he and his dad had the United Way Day of Caring on Thursday. They have worked together on that for the past four years, and I didn't want him to miss out this year, it is a great experience. So we hit the road Thursday afternoon, and arrived in Quincy about 8pm that night.

Isaac has started walking, which is a change from when I last saw him at Easter. He turned a year old in June, and he is a pistol, just like his cousin Jace was at that age. He's got a great personality, and was so much fun!








Luke, Tara and I stayed up late on Thursday night, just talking and listening to music and enjoying a little vino. Then Ike was up early Friday morning (I've forgotten how early babies wake up, and this weekend SURE reminded me of that!) so we were up (fairly) early, too. We ate lunch at a great cafe in downtown Quincy, and then Luke gave us a tour of some of Quincy, including the spot down on the Mississippi where he asked Tara to marry him... awww!

Our visit was to Quincy was short and sweet; Luke and Tara had a charity rodeo they were volunteering at on Friday night, and Jace and I were heading to Galesburg to see Rob and family next.

My brother Rob and his wife Michele live about two hours east of Tara and Luke; they've only lived in Galesburg a few months, as Rob recently took a CFO position at the hospital there, a promotion within his company. The town of Galesburg is about 30,000 people, and they live in a great little neighborhood. Sam turned three in May, little Miss Eva is going to be two in October, AND they're expecting Baby #3 in November. Whew! But I was amazed at how they handled everything while we visited, and the house is as neat as a pin! (Go Michele, you rock! Oh, and you too, Rob.) Here's a few highlights of our visit:

We headed for home early Sunday morning; it would've been great to spend a day or two more at both of their homes, but we had to get back home and get ready for a busy week. Thank you, Tara, Luke, Rob and Michele, for taking time out of your hectic schedules to spend some time with us. Time goes by so quickly, and we need to get together more often. Before you know it, your kids will be Jace's age! And speaking of Jace, he starts school tomorrow, AND he turns 12 on his first day of 6th grade - my little boy, almost a teenager, but still a fun-loving kid!