It turns out that once or twice a year, Chris gets to bring the family along on one of his work trips. If his destination is close enough to make a reasonable road trip out of, it's actually less expensive for him to drive than to fly even if it means an extra night or two in a hotel.
And the kids and I love going with him. He was scheduled for work trips to Cedar Rapids and West Chicago at the beginning of the month and decided that this would be a good trip for us to come along on.
We were schduled to leave just 5 days after we got back from Spokane. Those were a weird 5 days. I didn't really feel like I was home. I was packing and unpacking at the same time, trying to have some kind of a routine but knowing that schedules wouldn't exist in a few days anyways. Blur would be a good word to describe those in-between days. But it was so nice to have this second trip to look forward to. It decreased that "let down" feeling of just leaving my sister.
This was the longest trip we'd ever accompanied Chris on. We stayed in Cedar Rapids for a
full week before driving to the Chicago area for a couple of days. I thoroughly enjoyed
so much time to relax and just hang out with the kids. Also, since my extended family hub is in the Cedar Rapids area, I got to spend a lot of time with cousins and Aunts and Uncles. And, of course, my grandma. We had lunch with Grandma Katie one afternoon and so enjoyed her generosity, prayers for us, and sharing sweet time together. I was really impressed that she remembered us visiting her the year before, and she even knew that Seth had been in his infant carseat that time. She had a picture book that she showed the kids and enjoyed singing songs with them.
I also got to visit with my cousins Aroea, Gloria, Marcy, and Karissa as well as have dinners at my Uncle Jonas' and Aunt Sarah's houses. It was great to spend time with relatives and catch up a bit. The kids couldn't wait to see who we were going to visit or which new cousins they were going to meet that day.
We also frequented the nearby library which had a great little play area and some fabulous story times and craft times for the kids. The kids' activity coordinator, Miss Alicia, gained Eliana's adoration almost immediatesly. "Mom, are we going to go see Miss Alicia with the long blonde hair today?"
When our week in Cedar Rapids was up, we made the 4-hour drive to West Chicago. We were far enough outside the city that we didn't take the time to do any sight-seeing in downtown Chicago, but we did get to go to the Billy Graham museum at Wheaton College. I have such fond memories of working at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association before they relocated to North Carolina so this was a very special venture for me. The kids weren't too thrilled about it, but I told them this was mommy's special time.
The middle picture is of the kids and me inside the museum, and the bottom picture is of Eliana and Seth on the steps of the museum.
We were only in the Chicago area for two days before heading back home. It was quite a bit warmer down there. It got up to a whoppin' 60 degrees the day we left. Dontcha know this Southern-bred lass was loving that!
We had a beautiful trip home. I love road trips and thoroughly enjoyed the Illinois farmland and Wisconsin dells that we got to see coming back.
It is good to be home, though I'm still making my way out of piles of laundry and trying to get routines reestablished!
It turns out that once or twice a year, Chris gets to bring the family along on one of his work trips. If his destination is close enough to make a reasonable road trip out of, it's actually less expensive for him to drive than to fly even if it means an extra night or two in a hotel.
And the kids and I love going with him. He was scheduled for work trips to Cedar Rapids and West Chicago at the beginning of the month and decided that this would be a good trip for us to come along on.
We were schduled to leave just 5 days after we got back from Spokane. Those were a weird 5 days. I didn't really feel like I was home. I was packing and unpacking at the same time, trying to have some kind of a routine but knowing that schedules wouldn't exist in a few days anyways. Blur would be a good word to describe those in-between days. But it was so nice to have this second trip to look forward to. It decreased that "let down" feeling of just leaving my sister.
This was the longest trip we'd ever accompanied Chris on. We stayed in Cedar Rapids for a
full week before driving to the Chicago area for a couple of days. I thoroughly enjoyed
so much time to relax and just hang out with the kids. Also, since my extended family hub is in the Cedar Rapids area, I got to spend a lot of time with cousins and Aunts and Uncles. And, of course, my grandma. We had lunch with Grandma Katie one afternoon and so enjoyed her generosity, prayers for us, and sharing sweet time together. I was really impressed that she remembered us visiting her the year before, and she even knew that Seth had been in his infant carseat that time. She had a picture book that she showed the kids and enjoyed singing songs with them.
I also got to visit with my cousins Aroea, Gloria, Marcy, and Karissa as well as have dinners at my Uncle Jonas' and Aunt Sarah's houses. It was great to spend time with relatives and catch up a bit. The kids couldn't wait to see who we were going to visit or which new cousins they were going to meet that day.
We also frequented the nearby library which had a great little play area and some fabulous story times and craft times for the kids. The kids' activity coordinator, Miss Alicia, gained Eliana's adoration almost immediatesly. "Mom, are we going to go see Miss Alicia with the long blonde hair today?"
When our week in Cedar Rapids was up, we made the 4-hour drive to West Chicago. We were far enough outside the city that we didn't take the time to do any sight-seeing in downtown Chicago, but we did get to go to the Billy Graham museum at Wheaton College. I have such fond memories of working at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association before they relocated to North Carolina so this was a very special venture for me. The kids weren't too thrilled about it, but I told them this was mommy's special time.
The middle picture is of the kids and me inside the museum, and the bottom picture is of Eliana and Seth on the steps of the museum.
We were only in the Chicago area for two days before heading back home. It was quite a bit warmer down there. It got up to a whoppin' 60 degrees the day we left. Dontcha know this Southern-bred lass was loving that!
We had a beautiful trip home. I love road trips and thoroughly enjoyed the Illinois farmland and Wisconsin dells that we got to see coming back.
It is good to be home, though I'm still making my way out of piles of laundry and trying to get routines reestablished! 
