Day 28-Day 30--Mokena, IL, Chicago, IL, Morris, IL

After a fun day at the waterslides, we slept in, did some laundry, swam in the hotel pool (again!), and then loaded up for a 5 hour drive to Mokena, IL.

My cousin John, his wife Danielle, and their 4 boys live in Mokena on the outskirts of the suburbs of Chicago.  If you did some quick math, you realized that meant there were 8 kids in their house that evening....and 7 of them were boys.  And they had a blast together.  They played basketball, baseball, 4 square, ping-pong, and box hockey.  In the midst of that they found time to eat dinner, cook smores over the fire, watch the MLB All-Star Game, and pose for this picture...

But, the highlight of the evening was having almost the whole Didrickson crew together.  My cousin Abby and my Aunt Loleta and Uncle Charlie drove down to Mokena for dinner and it was fantastic to have so many Didrickson's under one roof....we were just missing "Little Charlie","Big Ed", and "Uncle Curt"!

  I always love the conversation when this group is together.  We talked everything from Chicago politics to school boards to the rules of golf to adoption to how to raise 4 kids.  I'm not sure we solved any of the world's problems but we had a lot of laughs while we did it!  John and Danielle are so much fun to be with.  Easy to talk to and easy to laugh with.  We absolutely hated leaving the next morning.

But, because my whole side of the family calls Chicago home, we made sure that the boys got at least the flavor of the Windy City before we headed back out to visit more family.

I don't think many people realize that Downtown Chicago in the summertime has it all.  Parks, beaches, views, skyscrapers, culture.  Giving it 3 hours wasn't enough.  But, we got our taste of Chicago, and then drove about an hour and a half to my mom's hometown, Morris, to see lots of cousins and Aunts and Uncles.

My cousin Garrett and his wife Jody opened up their doors to be "homebase" for all kinds of family to come and visit.  Their two kids were perfect playmates for our 4.  Jack is 8 years old and is on his way to being a great athlete.  And Emmy is 4 and played so well with Macy.  Along with my cousin TJ's 2 daughters, Margaret and Audrey, it was non-stop girl play for Macy.  And, after having to sit through so many hours in the car with her brothers, it was ideal for Macy to make so many new girlfriends.  The cousins spent a lot time playing in the pool...

And, poor Cade is working so hard during this sabbatical...

Besides the pool, the boys spent hour after hour in the backyard playing baseball.  It was typically dads versus the kids, and I gotta admit that the kids gave me, Garrett, and TJ a run for our money in every game.

The two days in Morris were ideal for relaxing after lots of driving and sightseeing on the trip.  While the kids did all of this playing, Tiffany and I got to catch up with family that we hadn't seen in too long.  My cousin Amy, and her little boy Aiden drove down from Rockford and rekindled her friendship with Tiffany.  My Aunt Cindy gave up her home for us to stay in, and like always we had lots of laughs with her.  I got to spend lots of time with Garrett and TJ on the golf course and in the backyard.  My Aunt Miffy and Uncle Tom, as always, told non-stop stories that leave you laughing.  Couldn't ask for a better 2 days.