Michael and Jana: Midwest trip

This year our big trip was a trip to the Midwest. Michael had to work in Chicago for a few days so

we started out our adventure driving up to Chicago where we stayed with Mike's cousins Lincoln and Tracey for day and spent time with them. We enjoyed hanging out with them and John and Bennett did a pretty good job playing together. We then headed to Libertyville (North of Chicago) to my Uncle and Aunt's house. John and I stayed there a few days while Michael was working in Chicago. We enjoyed spending time with them and seeing their beautiful home. I don't get to visit them often so we enjoyed the time we spent with them.

Michael spent the few days doing some training and then the last day was a banquet where they ended his year in the training program he has been in. They called it a graduation but Michael does not like that description since it was not like one at all. He did get a nice certificate that they had framed and he now has the official tittle of Operations Supervisor here at the Louisiana plant. They also informed us that we will be here for at least one to two more years and then it all depends on what is available in the company and what we want to do.

After Michael finished his few days with work I picked him up and we spent a few hours in downtown Chicago before heading to Kalamazoo. We went to Millennium Park and Navy Pier. It was fun to see a small part of Chicago since I had never been. We then drove to Kalamazoo where Mike's parents live. Mike's grandparents and sister Jen and her kids were there as well. It was so fun to spend time with so much family. We spent the weekend going to museums and to a beach on Lake Michigan in South Haven. We had a lot of fun. On Sunday we were lucky to be able to be there for Mike's brother Brian getting set apart as an Elder in the church. It was a neat experience and we are glad we were able to be there to support him in this advancement. We spent the whole next week in Michigan with Mike's family. We had so much fun. It was a much needed break. I felt so spoiled to have dinner cooked for us every night and so many people willing to watch and play with John. On Thursday we spent the morning with Nate and Deborah and there kids for a quick hello since we were only a couple hours away. Michael enjoyed spending time with their 4 boys.

On Friday we said our goodbyes to Mike's family and headed down to West Lafayette, Indiana. Mike has an adopted Grandma and Aunt who live there. John and I have never met them and it has been 5 years since Mike has seen them. It was great to get to meet them and spend a night with them. They were so nice and friendly. They truly feel like family. They drove us around the area and showed us their old house where Michael remembers going often to play as a kid. It was fun to see some of the areas he grew up in.

Saturday morning we said goodbye to Grandma Helen and Aunt Donna and began our long drive back to Louisiana. We did make a stop in Mahomet, Illinois where Michael lived for awhile growing up. We drove past his old house and the old schools he and his siblings went to. It was fun to get to know more about his growing up years and to see parts of the country I have never seen before.

We had a safe drive home and all went well minus John having a fever the whole day. He unfortunately was sick for a few days after our trip but we did have so much fun and made so many wonderful memories. Thanks to everyone who hosted us during the trip and made it such a wonderful experience!