A Visit to Mo-Town...Saving the Best for Last!

The last few days in the states were spent visiting our friends in Morton.  While this isn't the town I grew up in, it is the town I call home.  Actually, I did grow up here in a sense.  I started my career in this town, met my husband, bought a house, had children...you get the idea.  Although our time to visit was short, we made the most of it seeing as many friends as we could.  

Lunch at LaFiesta with my bunco friends and Lincoln moms.

A fantastic night at Alexanders with amazing friends.

A picture with the hubbies!

These kiddos have been friends since they were babies.  

My fourth grader with his girl...a seventh grader.  At least he thinks she is his girl. ;)  And, he is so proud of the fact that he is taller!

Miss Maddie and Thomas....we sure miss having her babysit!

The Vastines and Knepps

Love these two...Allison and I were just discussing how different the two of them really are.  Their interests vary so much, but they are the best of friends.  Being away from her is the hardest part for Allison.  We still have a lot of tears over missing Leksi.  It happened again just two nights ago.

My BFF. :)  It's not so easy being away from her either. :(

The grown up version of the Knepps and Vastines :)

The Vastine and Phillips kids...we were just missing Josh.  My kids like to just move into their house when we come home.  I'm so glad they accomodate us.  They are really more like siblings.  What a special friendship they have.

Sweet friends!

And, if you ever want to run into someone in Morton, I suggest a stop at Cracker Barrel.  I saw SEVEN friends while I was there.  What a treat!!!  Breakfast with these dear friends was the perfect ending to our time in Morton.

Hope to see all of our Morton friends again very soon.  After leaving Morton, it was back to Moline for one night with my family.  Then it was home to Belgium for a very exciting January!  More on that in the coming days.

Until next time!

Wendy

Sweet CeCe's

Where was I???  Oh yes, I was telling you all about our Christmas break in the USA....which now seems like a LONG time ago.  January has been quite a month, which I will get to very soon.  But first, I want to share the fun we had visiting our friends, who are like family, in our town of Morton.  The hardest part about going home is dividing time between everyone we love.  This trip, we only had three days in Morton, and if you ask my kids, they will tell you that was not nearly enough time.  I had to promise them when we return they will have more time in their hometown. :)

 So, I have to give a plug to the most adorable frozen yogurt shop in Peoria.  And, it turns out...it's a chain, so you can visit one too!  For dessert, we stopped at Sweet CeCe's.  This is not a new place for many central Illinois residents, but for me it was my first stop.  And WOW!  This place was too cute!

Allison was thrilled to spend the evening having dinner and dessert with her best friends, and I enjoyed the time with their moms. :)

This is Allison's combo of goodies...a little much for me. :)

Several yummy flavors to choose from!

Toppings, toppings, and more toppings.... 

Allison and her sweet friends!  She misses them SO much!

The girls and their moms after dessert with very full tummies!  Thank you Andrea and Catherine for a fabulous night of fun!

Until next time,
Wendy

Bonne Année!

It was time for us to continue our journey around the state of Illinois.  Next stop was Bloomington, Illinois just 2.5 hours south of Jerry and Amy's house.  It is tradition to spend New Year's Eve with my friends from college.  There are nine of us that danced together at ISU, and our families have become just as close.  Last year, we were already in Belgium, so we missed all the fun.  We were thrilled to be a part of it this year.  But first, we had the pleasure of meeting our friends Brad and Amy at the Pub II for  a treat!

Of course, we ate cheese balls! :)  We hadn't seen each other in years (except on Facebook), and we picked up right where we left off....well, six kids later!  They are coming to Europe in May, and we are thrilled about their stop in Brussels!

Then, it was off to Danielle and Andy's house to see the girls!

We always take the traditional group shot.  We were missing three. :(
We've been friends for 20 years!  I can't believe how quickly the years have gone, but these girls have brought me more joy than what is measurable.  We have shared so many happy times but sad times as well.  Boyfriends, weddings, divorces, children, the death of parents and grandparents, infertility, etc....we have experienced just about everything.  My wish and prayer for my daughter is that she finds a group of friends she will be able to count on for decades.  I always thank God for these girls.  I love them so much!

There was plenty of delicious food.  A great way to end the year before the big diet starts. 

Hmmm...this was the best shot I could get of the kids.  Nice, huh?!  LOL!  We were interrupting their fun.  :)

I like this one better of Thomas. ;)  But, we were missing some kids in the picture.

Of course, there is always a dance party.  They get it honestly I tell ya!

Not to be outdone by the girls...this boy has some moves!

We celebrated the January birthdays as well.  I am the oldest of the group.  That's not an honor one would usually wish to possess, but there is one perk.  On the "big" birthdays, which I am having this year, all of the girls get the same gift when they hit that milestone.  For our 30th, everyone received a beautiful Tiffany tag necklace with the heart pendant. So, the perk is....I am the only one that is surprised by what we receive.  And, look at the beautiful bracelet they picked out for "us".  I love it!!!!

Thank you girls for the fantastic evening.  And, thank you Danielle and Andy for being terrific hosts!  Looking forward to seeing three of you this summer in Brussels.  Can't wait to get you here!!!

Until next time,
Wendy

Visiting the Vastines

Bright and early Friday morning, we headed to the northern suburbs of Chicago (3+ hours away) to spend time with the Vastine family.  Each year, the Vastine boys and their families spend a few days of the holidays together.  The kids especially love spending time with their cousins.  They are 12, 12, 11, 10, 9, and 8.  Everyone has a buddy, so it works out very well.

The day we arrived, we were able to spend some much needed time with Mike, Chris and Jerry's best friend from high school, his wife Amy, and their precious new son.  It was so nice to finally meet little James. What a sweetie!

Later that evening, the kids went to Jump America.  This place was great!  There were trampolines, dodgeball areas, foam pits...they were in heaven.  While the kids had their fun, the adults went out for dinner.  Yes, I was mocked for being a bit panicky about leaving my kids unsupervised at Jump America, but apparently only the nerdy parents stay.  Um yes, that would be me...queen of the nerdy parents and proud of it!  But the kids did in fact survive, and we had a great dinner at an Irish Pub. 

Brothers!

On Saturday, we went to Chris's sister Jeanne's house to visit with her family and Chris's mom.  His mom recently moved back to the Chicago area from Colorado.  We were thrilled to see her.  It had been   much too long since she had seen the kids.  

The Vastine boys' kids with Grammy V.

These are grandkids who could be there.  We were missing 11!  

Chris has eight siblings.  Chris and Jerry were the little blessings in the family who arrived eight years after the other six kids.  George and Joan found out they were expecting twins the day before they were born, and Joan was 39!!  I would DIE!!!

Amy and Jake waiting patiently for their family photo.

Chris's family

Tim's family

Jerry's  family

Loving on Grammy

My nephew Ryan and Grammy.  We could pretty much take Ryan home with us and no one would question it.  He looks just like Chris!

Jeanne's family

We started the tradition of matching pajamas years ago.  It evolved to t-shirts, and this year they got sweatshirts.

The boys!

And the girls.  Good thing they have each other!

On Sunday, there was gingerbread house building.

And, gingerbread house eating. :)

The kids also enjoyed decorating their own cookies....also a tradition.

We cheered on the Bears! 

And, we played Catch Phrase.  We LOVE to play this game together.  There is obviously lots of laughter.  That is, in fact, laughter.  Laughing so hard until you cry.  Love it!!!

Relaxing with his brother.  I don't know...I think Chris has missed him.  They are sitting awfully close.  LOL!

Thank you Jerry and Amy for a great visit. It's never long enough, but I'm sure with all the craziness it was long enough for you. ;)

Up next....New Year's Eve!

Until next time,
Wendy