Ohio Bound

September 3rd-8th 2009

Mike and I decided to take a trip back to Ohio to visit my family who I hadn't been able to see since 2006. It was a long awaited trip and I was happy to be able to bring my husband with me this time. My aunt Kathy and uncle Brent were gracious enough to have us at their house for the 5 days we were there. I was anxious to meet my new 2nd cousin Noah, who now was going on 8.5 months old. He was a joy and so much fun to watch as he demanded to be walked all over the house and yard.

I was able to see almost all of my Aunts (Millie,Karen,Kathy) and my Uncle Phil along with their kids, all of which are very grown by now. I almost didn't recognize a few of them! We had a huge (40 person) BBQ/reunion on Sunday and Mike did a fantastic job of entertaining us with his guitar playing and we managed to have multiple games going on at once. Two of the favorites being Corn Hole and Ladder Golf (or Snake, as they call it back there).

Brent cooked up some mean hamburgers and Brats and everyone brought something yummy to eat. I even managed to make Apple Candybar "salad" and Lemonade Pies for the shin-dig. There was a lot of catching up, singing, and general merriment to be had. I spent lots of time with Grandma Edith and watched as the cousins caught fish from the pond out back.
In the evenings Kathy and I would stay up well into the night talking about all kinds of things and have to eventually make our tired selves go to bed so we could get up and start the next days fun. Which, a couple of times, simply meant driving to get lunch at the Made-Right. Tiny, yummy, loose meat burgers that are exclusive to Greenville. SO good. I think Mike ate five!
We went to see Lindsay and Greg's new home in Beaver Creen, which I might add is rediculously awesome! We spent an afternoon at the park and an evening playing mini golf. And everywhere we went there seemed to be ice cream! Which was alright by me!
After all was said and done, we had a great time with lots of great people. I know I will miss the closeness of a big family and sometimes wish I could just up and move to good ol' Ohio. For not having been raised around them, I sure feel like I am one of them and am so greatful to have such wonderful and caring people as my family. This trip has made me realize that I can't keep going as long as I have been without seeing them. Some people don't have the type of family I do and I won't take it for grated again.
With this, I will part with some more fun pics.!