Road Trip

Summertime has given us some great opportunities this year- time in South Haven (one of our favorite places in the whole world!), lots of playing outside, time with friends, and time with family. Last weekend we were fortunate enough to reconnect with some long-lost family. As a child, my husband and his brother spent a lot of time with his single mother's parents and siblings. After his grandparents passed away and career and school moved his uncles to the UP and soon after to Texas, everyone went on with day to day business, and as with many families, didn't stay as close.

Over time, Mike has kept in touch with his Uncle Dave a few times, but this past January, as our son turned one, Dave and his family had some hard times. I don't know if the idea of how short life really is struck him, the need for family ties that had drifted and a desire for his son to know the family he loves, the fact that they now live only an hour and a half away, or all of these things combined.

Last weekend, we made the short road trip to Portage, IN. We spent an evening reminiscing with both of his uncles about times with his grandparents and family memories, joking with their four great kids, and then talking long into the night with Dave and his terrific wife of 20 years, Melany. We caught up on the last handful of years, talked a little about church, religion, and hoops (maybe someday I'll get into my thoughts about religion here...) and made plans for the next day and hopes for more get-togethers in the future. His uncle is a pastor at a great little church, that we attended with them on Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon, we joined them at the church's annual hog roast. It was a great, relaxing afternoon with friendly people and family time. The Booger spent his fair share of time eating, blowing bubbles, and running around like a madman. I was a bit too busy chasing him to catch any pictures of the trek all over the park, but the rest of the fun is well documented thanks to Smilebox!

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