Our Trip Back to the Midwest

We headed back to the Midwest for a nice trip to visit family and friends, celebrate Thanksgiving, Mattea's birthday and attend a baby shower.

We spent several days with Kevin, Julie and Trae. They were such gracious hosts... we felt completely at home. We reconnected, played the Wii (so much that I got a really sore shoulder from bowling & tennis), swam at the hotel (thanks Grandma Carol & Grandpa Pete!), ate Happy Joe's pizza and generally just had a great time. We snuck in a photo shoot at the botanical center at VanderVeer Park in Davenport. The boys (young and old) weren't too happy about it, but they got over it! We hadn't had a Dolan family picture in several years, so we were long overdue. (Thanks for coordinating it, Jules!)

We spent time with the Bachmans' swimming at the hotel and then during a visit to Jungle Bungle. It was great to see them and the cousins had a fun time playing together as always. I snuck away for a couple hours to visit my BFF, Denise, while she was at a scrapbooking event. I worked on my Christmas cards and had a nice time catching up. I was sad to leave.

Jeff, Josh and I met some of the Augie volleyball players for a visit. It was really great to see them and we had a fun time hearing the stories about the 2008 volleyball season. Unbelievable! Jeff & I were both able to meet up with some old co-workers for lunch as well. It was great to catch up. We spent some time visiting with Grant & Lonnie. It's always nice to see old friends. While we were visiting at Grant & Lonnie's house, I snuck the kids out to their old friends' houses for surprise visits. Alex got to see Zack Freiburger, Josh visited Mason Morris and Mattea spent time with Mia Morris. Mattea scored 2 purses and a bunch of candy from sweet, little Mia. : )

We made time for a visit with the Ruff's, of course! We met them for breakfast on Sunday morning. It was just like old times. Mattea & Kora picked right up where they left off, I played some tic-tac-toe with Kelsey, we took an adorable picture of Kelsey & Josh (& Jeff brought up the arranged marriage idea AGAIN!), we listened as Kayla defended her reasons for wanting a cell phone, we heard about Stacey's incredible first season as the PV volleyball coach and we told them all about Colorado. We got some pictures of the kids on the tractors outside and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

On Tuesday afternoon, we made a brief stop at my friend Gretchen's house. It was so nice to visit with her. She watched Mattea dance & play with her dog, she offered the kids fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and her son, Josh & Alex were able to get in some play time. After that, we headed for Dubuque. We spent a couple days at Mom & Dad's. It was relaxing and wonderful to spend time in my childhood home again. It felt great to be home again! The boys looked through Grandma Judie's Christmas photo book which contained pictures of the grandkids from each Christmas since they were born. Grandma Judie & Grandpa Bob put their Christmas tree up extra early so it would be up while they gave Christmas presents to the kids. They surprised Jeff & I with presents as well. It's always nice to be spoiled!!!

On Thanksgiving, we headed up to Madison, Wisconsin to celebrate with my family... my WHOLE family! It was the first time in several years that we had all been together for a holiday. It was just wonderful to spend that time together. The food was amazing and my brothers & I were able to sneak in some catch with the football and a game of horse. Dad was able to get a great family picture with only one minor issue. ; ) The kids had a fantastic time playing with their new toys after we did a Christmas exchange. It was so nice of everyone to alter their holiday shopping plans to accommodate the Christmas exchange while we were back in town.

Later that day, we headed back to Dubuque for a Turkey Day celebration with Jeff's family. We had a fabulous meal and shared great conversation with the Dolan's, Mishler's and Skahill's. It was fun talking to Ryan & Michelle about their impending parenthood. Michelle was a glowing mother-to-be and Ryan seemed very excited about becoming a father. As if all the celebrating we had done wasn't enough, on Friday, we celebrated Mattea's birthday with a party at Grandma Carol & Grandpa Pete's. She was delighted with all of her gifts and reveled in the attention.

On Saturday morning, Mattea, Aunt Julie, Grandma Carol and I headed to Hy-Vee to host a baby shower in honor of Michelle. It was a Hawkeye-themed shower and we had a great turnout. Michelle got some really great gifts and she just beamed with excitement. I felt very lucky to be able to have a part in this special day. I can't wait to hear the news about Baby Skahill (well, Tyler Zachary if the ultrasound technician was right!!!).

As you can see, it was quite the jam-packed vacation... not necessarily as relaxing as what Jeff was looking for, but it was nice to see as many people as we did. The kids did so great traveling 14 hours there and back. (Doesn't mean we want to do that again any time soon!!!)