Trip to Illinois

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go on my first trip without the family in two years! I was so excited to be able to get away for a few days. Natalie and I drove to Illinois for my cousin's wedding reception. When Hurricane Ike struck Houston last fall, many industries were effected, including the wedding industry. My cousin Theresa and her fiance, along with many other couples, had poured thousands of dollars into their wedding only to find the company they went with had gone bankrupt. They lost everything, including their hopes of getting married any time soon. Rachael Ray got wind of their story and put on a wedding for them and the other couples. Each couple could only bring ten guests, so needless to say, anyone outside the immediate family were not invited. So they held a reception in Illinois so the rest of us could celebrate with them. We had a fantastic time and it was so good to see everyone again. I was worried I would regret not bringing the family because everyone else did. I was surprised to find that although it would have been fun to have all the cousins together, I was relieved not to have the headache of it all. We will be heading back to Iowa in September anyway for my cousin Jeff's wedding, and I will be bringing everyone then. Anyway, here are some pics and a clip from the reception.

The family just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

37 of us pictured, and about 10 or so not present.

Sarah & Pete

Uncle Leo & Aunt Sandi

Jeff and Erin (fiance) w/ nephew Ben

Bocce Ball

more bocce ball


Aunt Susie and Uncle Dan

Tara and Maggie (aka: Erica's twin)


Theresa and husband Clifford


Rebecca, Natalie, Chris, Jeff, Theresa

For those of you that missed our traditional John Denver sing-along, here's a really bad rendition of Country Roads. We didn't want anyone to feel left out.

Our little photographer

Jade took these pictures of the garden herself (except for the first one). I thought they were pretty impressive, especially for a five-year-old.

The miracle of life

Every year, robins make a nest on our back porch. This year Jade and I decided to track their progress. Jade really enjoyed it and we are lucky the robins are comfortable with us and allowed us to get so close. We cleverly named the parents Alice and Jasper after the characters in Twilight. Okay, I named them, but Jade liked them too. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of the babies with feathers. They flew the coop before I had a chance.

Jasper, always vigilant and on the lookout for predators.

Although Alice spent a majority of the time on the eggs, we would see her and Jasper changing shifts, each taking their turn.

Robin eggs

Within a week after birth

Anxiously awaiting their meal

And then there's Mrs. Norris (yes, from Harry Potter). We made the mistake of feeding her a few times in the winter, and now she thinks she owns the place.