Leaving On An Airplane/Family Reunion!

OCTOBER 18, 2013

On Friday, October 18, 2013, Grandpa, Mee-maw, Aunt Sarah, Kevin, the Bear and I headed out of town for an informal family reunion.  We were scheduled to fly out of Dulles and land in Chicago, and I was anxious to see how Lauren would handle everything.  Right now, she is obsessed with airplanes, and I made the mistake of telling her about the trip a week ahead of time.  So every night she would become upset when we were heading upstairs to her room, instead of getting on an airplane.  By the time Friday rolled around, we were both ready to head to the airport.  

Chad was unable to get the necessary vacation time to go on the trip with us.  But he did leave work early to drive us to the airport, and help me get the luggage/Lauren into the terminal.  This time, we were taking the car seat onto the plane and I knew we would have our hands full with everything we needed to bring on the trip.  Luckily, we discovered a strap that would attach the seat to your carry-on, and it was much less stressful.  We did have to undo the seat to get through security and to board the plane, but I was very thankful that we were able to roll the car seat everywhere.

                               

After getting through security, we had to take a shuttle to the terminal.  Lauren sat up front with Grandpa and loved watching the "choo choo train" move.  It wasn't long before we got to our gate and settled in to wait for the plane.  Our plane was delayed, but we soon learned that it would arrive shortly and was carrying a group of World War II veterans.  It was pretty neat to watch the plane taxi up to the gate, under the spray of a water salute from fire trucks.  Each veteran was escorted off the plane to a loud round of applause, and Lauren enjoyed clapping for all of them.

                           

  

Once we boarded the plane, I installed the car seat (they must be next to a window...lucky girl), and we settled in.  It was not long before Lauren fell fast asleep and she remained that way for most of the short trip.

We arrived in Chicago that evening, rented a large Chevy Suburban and headed south, towards Peoria/Galesburg.  There was the necessary stop at a Steak & Shake, a nice long 3 hour car ride, and then we checked in to the hotel.  It was a long day of traveling and we were pretty exhausted.  

That night, Lauren slept in a big girl bed.  She has previously taken naps on a regular bed and has spent the night on a mattress placed on the floor, but I was still not sure how she would do.  I curled in next to her and we turned out the light.  It was not long before I was ready to move to the other bed.  Lauren tends to move a lot in her sleep, and she continually kicked me in the side.  After a few hours, I slipped into the other bed and fell asleep.  The next morning, she was still in the bed and seemed quite proud of herself.  

Every night after that, Lauren would happily crawl into her bed and I happily crawled into my own bed.  We both always fell asleep with no problems!!  After this trip, I am convinced that the Bear can handle a big girl bed and am hopeful that the transition (from her current crib) will be easy.  

                               

OCTOBER 19, 2013

The next morning, Lauren and I woke up and headed downstairs to get some breakfast.  My Aunt Patty, Uncle Paul, along with my cousin Jackie, her husband Rich and their kids, Logan and Rhianna, were also staying in the hotel.  There was quite a welcoming crowd when the elevator doors opened.  The Bear wasn't quite sure to make of all of the attention, but she quickly warmed up to her extended family.  It helped that Logan and Rhianna took such good care of her throughout the trip.

After breakfast, we all loaded into the cars and drove to Bloomington, Illinois to visit Grandpa and Mee-maw's college (where they met).  We drove around, as Grandpa told us stories, and then parked the car to head into field house.  We were in search of a specific plaque, in the school's Hall of Fame, which honored Mee-maw as an "Outstanding Senior Woman in Intercollegiate Athletics", and we found it!!  Her name is on the upper left hand corner!!

                                                                      

After that, we met up with my Aunt Marty, cousin Heather and her son Ashton.  We had a quick lunch and continued our journey to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for some tailgating and a football game.  The Illini were playing Wisconsin and I was very excited to watch some Big 10 football!!  We arrived with all of our University of Maryland apparel and quickly headed to the team store to pick up some Illinois gear.  We definitely support their team, unless they are playing Maryland...then all bets are off.

At the tailgate we were also able to catch up with my cousin Pat, his wife Laura and their kids, Jacob and Morgan.  And somehow, we managed to get all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and kids together for a wonderful group photo!!

           

                 

It was a late night, and we did not get back to the hotel until 12:30 a.m.  (But that did include another stop

at Steak & Shake for a special treat).  I was very tired, but Lauren wanted to stay up and "chat" a while longer.  Fortunately, she eventually drifted off to sleep and I happily followed her into Dream Land.

OCTOBER 20, 2013

The next day, we planned to spend time at Aunt Marty's house, in Galesburg.  But first, we all went out to eat and took a quick side-trip to Abingdon, the town where Mee-maw grew up.  Our first stop was to the cemetery to say hello to my Grandmother and Grandfather.   Even though Lauren was asleep in the car, we attempted another group photo.  Aunt Sarah and I were in the back row, next to the tall guys, so we decided to jump as a way to gain a few inches of height.  Unfortunately, the only thing we did was ruin a good family photo!!  

Our tour of the town also included a drive past Mee-maw's childhood home, a drive past the church where Mee-maw and Grandpa were married, a look at downtown Abigndon and a stop at the Totem Pole.  Lauren is very interested in totem poles, thanks to one of her Little Einstein's episodes, and I was anxious to show her a real one.  I think she was impressed with it's size!!

                                                                          

The tour, and the totem pole, must have worn out the Bear.  She fell fast asleep on the way back to Aunt Marty's house and slept in the car for a few minutes, once we arrived.  But, once she woke up, she was ready to go.  She enjoyed playing with the other kiddos in the basement, and they put on quite a few good shows.  Also, she and Ashton enjoyed playing with the iPad, while the grown-ups watched football.

           

OCTOBER 21, 2013

On our fourth day of the trip, we said good-bye to Mee-maw's family and loaded in the car for a drive to Missouri, to visit with Grandpa's family.  It was about a 5 hour drive, and we were able to stop in Pittsville, Illinois, to see where Grandpa lived as a young boy.  It was fun to see his old house and to see a town, that was the setting for many of his childhood stories.

Since there were 6 people in the car, we did make quite a few pit stops, for bathroom breaks, food or drinks.  On one of those stops, I picked up some more bags of Kitchen Cooked Potato Chips!  These are by far one of my favorite things ever, and are only sold in this very small area of Illinois.  Lauren had never tried them, before this trip, and I am happy to report that she seems to love them almost as much as her mom and Mee-maw!!  She grabbed hold of the bag and happily munched on the chips during our car ride.

Eventually, we made it to Columbia, Missouri, and headed to my Great Uncle Bill's house.  It had been a while, since I was last there and it was exactly as I remembered.  So was Uncle Bill!!  At 95 years old, he is still as busy as ever and enjoying every minute.  I was very glad Lauren was able to meet her Great Great Uncle!!

Our next stop was an afternoon visit with my dad's cousin Todd and his wife Ann.  We drove to their farm, located outside of Jefferson City, Missouri and had a wonderful time exploring their property.  The Bear was at her happiest outside and was fascinated with the horses, the dogs, a huge rabbit, and the cutest goat.  Lauren loves animals and definitely has a little of her Great Grandma Pali in her. 

That evening, we met up with Todd and Ann's son, Trent, for dinner.  It was so much fun to spend time with my dad's side of the family, and our only regret was that the day flew by and we did not get to spend more time with everyone.  

OCTOBER 22, 2013

On our last official day of vacation, we drove 45 minutes west of Columbia to the cemetery where my dad's mom is buried.  We gathered to say hi and to take another group photo.  Aunt Sarah decided that this was the vacation of jumping in photos, and she managed to get a good one in our "nice" photo.  The rest of us refused to be undone, so we all jumped in the next photo.  But, we couldn't quite figure out the timer, and never got the perfect shot.  They were still pretty funny and I know Grandma Pali would have gotten a kick out of our attempts!!

           

Then it was time for an 8 hour car ride back to Chicago.  Halfway through the ride, we stopped at a little truck stop diner, somewhere in Illinois!  Kevin and Aunt Sarah were extremely nervous about the place, but the food was really good and it actually hit the spot.  Mee-maw even went so far to say that she had one of the best pork tenderloin sandwiches ever, and my grilled cheese was delicious!

           

We finally arrived in Chicago, checked into the hotel, and then climbed back in to the car to get some of the best ribs in the whole world!!  Chad's family has been going to Twin Anchors (located in Old Town), during trips to Chicago, for years.  And after we began dating, they introduced me to this wonderful restaurant.  I was so excited...we really could not get there fast enough.  And the ribs did not disappoint.  They were excellent!!  It was the perfect way to end this trip!

           

OCTOBER 23, 2013

The next day, we flew home.  Once again, Lauren was very well behaved on the plane and even fell asleep for the second half of the flight.  As we were de-boarding the plane, Grandpa had a hold of Lauren and managed to get her in to the cockpit for a quick look.  For a little girl, who loves all things airplane, this was a pretty neat moment.  And I am especially glad that Grandpa managed to snap a few photos.  Maybe, one day, Lauren will become a pilot!

It was such a great trip, and I am very thankful to Grandpa and Mee-maw for organizing eveything and making it all possible!  It was fun to watch Lauren with her extended family.  She warmed up to all of them, enjoyed the long car rides, and had a blast with her Aunt B, Kevin, Grandpa and Mee-maw.  We definitely made a lot of memories on this trip, and hopefully it won't be long before we see everyone again and make new memories!!