MamaFoxx

Today was not quite so hectic.  Got to sleep in a bit, showered and went down for the continental breakfast.  After breakfast we all took off for Piatt Castles in West Liberty, Ohio.  I thought we would just go through one of the castles but did go through both, and am glad we did.  They were both very interesting homes built by two brothers who were both very rich and interesting people.  I had gone through one of the castles when I was a teenager and I think that is what influenced me to love the Victorian era so much.  The homes were mostly furnished with original furniture with so many rooms we weren't even able to go through them all.  One of the descendants still lives on one of the properties but in a much more modest home. After the castles we went back to Urbana to grab some food.  Ate at Wendy's but the food really wasn't that great and very disappointing even for fast food.  After lunch we went to visit Uncle Vance and Aunt Ginger.  It was great to see them bot

Well, another trip for Hunk and me.  This time back to my previous "home" of Ohio.  A few weeks ago my Favorite Oldest Son wanted to know if we were going to the annual Kauffman reunion in Urbana, Ohio.  I had given it a bit of a thought, but after he mentioned he wanted to go, then it made me want to go, if for nothing else than to add Megan's and Alexa's names to the Kauffman "Book."  The "Book" is a large homemade notebook with the names and dates of births, deaths, weddings, and other info regarding the Kauffman family going back to my Great-great-grandfather.  Unfortunately, the only relatives I really "know" who might be going would be my Uncle Vance and Aunt Ginger, their son Rick, and my Great-Grand Uncle Philip.  The last few years the reunion has been held at the Ohio Caverns.  I've been through the caverns twice, but that was many, many years ago, so think we will go through them this year.  But now I'm ahead of my stor

What a day.  Had breakfast in hotel.  What a busy place.  Had to wait our turn to get a table and chairs.  I sure do hate that.  Anyway, found a brochure of a little town called Brunswick about 1-1/2 hours north of here.  The brochure talked about seeing pecan farms, Laura Ingalls Wilder home, pecan pie and other amenities.  Off we went.  Turns out the person who made the brochure forgot to tell the people in Brunswick tourists would be coming.  The "town" was only a few blocks long and looked more like a ghost town than a tourist trap.  I know pecans aren't in season but thought we might find a cute little restaurant and get a bite to eat, along with that slice of pecan pie.  The closest thing we got to a meal was a ham and cheese sandwich that Hunk and I shared, along with a bag of chips and a couple of Fig Newtons from the Casey's gas station.  It was such a sad, sorry little town.  We queried the lady at Casey's where we could get some pecans, as the "sto

Hunk and I finally decided to take a road trip.  This time we are on the road to Kansas City,MO to see if the Twins can finally win a game.  Got up this a.m. without an alarm, as we are on vacation.  I did a shortened "walk/run," only 20 minutes, showered, finished packing and we were on the road by 8:15.  Did make a stop to see Kristin and Patrick. He let us borrow a Sprint "thingy" so our computer would be wireless on the road.  Wouldn't want to miss keeping up Fish Wrangler and Cafe Restaurant.  Thanks to Patrick for thinking of us.  Also, thank you to Alexa for her sweet (jelly) kiss this morning :).  Good to see Kristin was feeling much better also after her bout with the ickies last week. Trip was pretty uneventful.  Ate lunch in Clear Lake at Wendy's.  I know, not very original.  Made several pit stops at road side rests just to stretch our legs.  The best rest stop was in Missouri, just over the State Line.  We had been there before on our trip to

Can't believe it's been almost three weeks since Arizona.  So glad to come home but right back into the thick of things again.  Everything has been such a whirlwind around here.  I can hardly remember what has happened since we came home.  I do remember last Saturday.  Kristin and Patrick had a birthday party for Alexa's first birthday.  Her real birthday was on the 3rd (Wed) but that wasn't a good time to have a party.  We did get to babysit Alexa on her birthday but we kept the day low-key as far as we were concerned.  Saturday was a different story.  Kristin went all out for the party.  She invited all of the Lewis clan (Kathy and Jim weren't able to come), Patrick's mother, brother and wife, and sister, Jeannie and Susan with her boyfriend Roger, and two of Kristin's friends, Sara and Kristin.  Jeannie brought the main cake, which was very girly and I brought the smash cake, an owl.  She got lots of nice gifts including much needed 18-month size clothes.

Monday:  Last day.  Woke up at 6 a.m. Arizona time, took shower and got dressed.  Hunk and Michael slept in.  Hunk was the next to get up.  The three of us went to breakfast at our favorite place and had the usual breakfast.  Michael needed to get to the airport around 8:30 for his standby flight home.  After dropping Michael off we decided to check out some stores at a local mall.  Had lunch at King's as Hunk wanted fish.  Very nice restaurant.  I had coconut shrimp and Hunk had cod (I think).  Mine was very tasty but Hunk wasn't too crazy about his food.  I ended up sharing a couple of my shrimp with him as they were so big and I couldn't eat them all.  After lunch we went to the airport (about 4 hours early), but we didn't know what else to do.  We had all ready checked out of our hotel.  Returned the rental car and then made our way back to the airport.  Checked out a couple of stores at the airport after checking in for the flight.  When we went through security I