Illinois

Time for one more family reunion!  At the end of our stay in the midwest, we headed east again to make some memories with the McDonough clan, or at least most of us.  We missed you Mark!  The 10 hour drive from NE was well worth it to get in some much needed Grandparent/Aunt-Uncle/Cousin time.  The last time that many of us were together was 2 years ago.  Dad, thank you for making sure all of us were housed fairly close together so we could enjoy some laughs and cards late into the night!

At a truck stop, a mini-McD!

A little car-crazy....

Love from Grandma

With beautiful views, we celebrated being a family
across the miles.....and celebrated that the
kids, well my kids, didn't break any glasses at this classy place!

Getting a lift.....

.....on Grandpa's harley!

A boy still loving his bear....

Gage getting fitted

Gage LOVED the ride, could have stayed on a while longer

I'm fairly sure she drove Jesse crazy but he
took it all in stride

Exploring the River Museum in Iowa

Feeling like Tom or Huck!

A very tuckered out little girl

William Black dredge boat, we got to tour the inside
of this coal powered beast

I tried and tried to take turns sleeping next to each child....I told Little
Miss that she just doesn't share the bed well enough anymore.
She of course didn't believe me, so here is proof, and reason
why I slept in the other room.

ALMOST everyone smiled.....and no blinks!

We were so happy to see you Matt and Belinda!

Matt driving his own car for the very first time....ever!  After years
of relying on others, due to his hearing loss,
he now has a newfound independence.
Congrats on your license, Matt!

Enjoying the nearby park.  Little Man needs to
get in lots of practice before he ever learns to
drive.....he ran us into the bank time and time
again.