Family Fun

Each summer, M and I head back to my home town in Illinois for a week. We continued this tradition this year, bringing C with us this time. M and C were able to spend a lot of quality time with their cousins (Emma and Seth), aunt and uncle (Stacey and Dave) and grandparents (Mo and Big T). You read it correctly... Mo and Big T. The oldest grandchild, Emma, gets the credit for those. When learning to talk, she couldn't say Grandma, so it became Mo Mo and was eventually shortened to Mo. My dad, Terry, has always been called "T" by his closest friends. While his children (that would be me, along with my sister and brother) were in high school, and he began to develop a Moped sized Goodyear around his waste, he became known as Big T (and sometimes Big Tire). When Emma began talking, she obviously heard everyone refer to him as Big T, as she began to refer to him as that as well. So, for all the other grandchildren, it's Mo and Big T.

We were able to watch Emma, who is now 9, compete in a tennis tournament over the weekend. She won both her singles and doubles matches and went home with a beautiful trophy! Here, C sits in the stands with Big T and Mo. We were also able to spend a little time with my grandfather, Grandaddy. C was able to meet his Great Grandaddy for the first time. Here, M, Seth and C pose with Grandaddy.
My home town used to be a small one. Although it's sometimes difficult to see your home town change and grow so much since you've left, some of the new additions/renovations are exciting. The Bike Trail is one of those. When I was little, our family used to ride our bikes on the same trail, but now, the trail is paved and has extended to several other nearby towns. One of our favorite things to do when we're in town is to hop on the bikes for a ride out to a farm in the country. During this ride, M was able to hear a real rooster! (Not an everyday occurance for a girl growing up in the burbs.) The farm has two friendly horses, who, when they recognize Big T and Homer (Mo and Big T's labradoodle) and remember that when Big T and Homer visit, they always come with carrots, will gallop from across the field to the fence where we are standing. The kids and Big T love to pet and feed them.

Big T wasn't sure of the name of this one, so M named her Milkshake. A few minutes after M gave Milkshake a kiss, she decided to slime her. Milkshake must have eaten a few too many blades of grass before she trotted our way.

J.C. is the solid brown horse. He found M's helmet to be rather tasty.
M loves being able to spend so much time with her Illinois cousins. They spent a lot of time playing in the pool!
As always, we had an awesome time. Thanks Mo, Big T, Stacey, Dave, Emma and Seth for helping us make so many special memories. We're already looking forward to next summer!