Trip to the East Coast

Well the kids and I made it to New Jersey yesterday. They were amazing!!!!! It's hot and muggy here. Reminds me of our summer gatherings in Champaign as a child. Straty's parent's front door smells like my Grandma C's kitchen. The locust humming outside and the thick air reminds me of our evening walks, just to cool down, but not really, since we'd end up sweating, but it was still cooler outside then inside. Then our bath:) We'd all lay out on blankets in the living room: Shannon, Shelby, Me, Krista, Sarah and Missy. Sometimes Casey. We had some crazy fun summers. I remember running through the back of grandma C's backyard through the neighbor's backyard over to Grandma H's house for a little A/C, tang and sweets:) Then back to Grandma C's for some homemade fried chicken (how she cooked in such heat is beyond me) and that yummy mashed potatoes. It's been fun remembering my childhood and the fun times we had. I miss my cousins!!! I hope Amelia and Stephanos have such wonderful relations, as I did, with cousins. We'll see what memories tomorrow brings. In the meantime, I'm enjoying a few minutes of silence (well except for the news playing in the background) :) It took Amelia and Stephanos ONE house of crying, negotiating, singing, praying, begging!!!!!! only to end with a story about a little girl who was afraid to go to bed and finally closed her eyes. She dreamt she had a fabulous day with Minnnie! Amelia and Stephanos calmed down and went to sleep. I got to take a shower!!!!