WOW! We feel like world travelers. Seriously, in the last five days we have logged over 3000 miles of travel with two small children in tow. Thank goodness for all of the family in all locations who were willing to help entertain/hold/tolerate the boys! We're really thankful that we were able to make it to Grandpa's funeral and then to Eric and Kathleen's wedding. We were able to see extended families on both sides. Weddings and funerals bring people out of the woodwork that you would never see otherwise! It's great! Grandpa's funeral was a beautiful service. Lots of people were able to share their memories of him and his work in preserving the history of the river and the area.
In Galena we were able to see, among others, the Mike Kilgore family (including Paul and his wife and daughter; Chris and his girlfriend; Maureen, who sang an amazing occapella rendition of "Old Man River"; Suzy, who now goes by Susan; and Justine); Joyce, Brian, Kelly and Robby (who now goes by ROB); Chas and his "harem"; Grandma Marilyn, who was sporting a very interesting red/gray hairdo; Jerry and Sara and the girls; and Alyssa and Bird who made the amazing 15 hour drive as well. We all stayed at the same hotel in Galena and all of the kids had fun at the pool and waterslide. In fact, a lot of the ADULTS had fun at the waterslide, too. Including Grandma Marilyn. Seriously, she would go down the slide (in her swim cap and goggles) and come up sputtering and coughing every time. We all thought she was going to drown! And then she'd have Jerry haul her out of the water and then she'd go up the stairs and do it all again. I think Sara got some pretty hilarious pictures of the whole thing. Anyway, the whole event was a great opportunity to see family.
The wedding in Utah was a whirlwind! We flew out Monday night and were back 48 hours later. Kathleen is a doll and Eric got pretty lucky! Chase gave her a pretty good interrogation when we got there and she handled it well. She seemed really comfortable with everyone right from the start. She'll fit in well with the family. Anyway, the sealer said such beautiful things about the ceremony itself and we were all a little teary-eyed. Eric made it through, but afterward in the receiving line seemed to lose it just a little bit when he saw his brothers. We're very grateful that we could be there. The rest of the day was filled with a luncheon and the reception and lots of pictures. Cameron took his turn on the dance floor early and by 9:30 was asleep on daddy's lap. All in all a very good day. On the return flight we sat on the same row as a guy who REALLY liked picking his nose. No, I mean, REALLY REALLY liked it. SO GROSS.
Anyway, we all got a good sleep last night. It's so good to be home.