I have lots of catching up to do! I’ve been home for a week and I feel like I am just now starting to catch my breath. Let’s see how many of the highlights I can remember…

Before we left Abbey decided to bolt out the front door and right up the Jacaranda tree. A compulsive need to post pictures of my dear Abbey has nothing to do with this photo being here. Nope, nothing at all. This photo actually has something to do with the ending of this post. Yep, nothing to do with me doting on my spoiled pet. Nothing at all.

Recliner Man and I really enjoyed our drive. We went from Arizona, through New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas on our way, to Nebraska. Then it was back into Kansas and through Missouri to Illinois. The next leg took us up through Illinois and into Wisconsin. And then, just because we love spending 12 hours a day sitting in a car and stopping to spend our life’s savings on gasoline we turned around and repeated the entire journey. It was a lot of long hours on the road but as far as road trips go, this one wasn’t bad. Being Spring there weren’t quite as many cars on the roads as we normally see on Summer road trips and the scenery was never better. Spring was arriving in the good old U.S. and we got to see lots of flowering trees and shrubs. It was a constant patchwork of areas still awaiting the awakening warmth and others that were already lush with bright green grasses and leaves.

We stopped in Nebraska to spend a couple of days helping my mother clean out and pack for her impending move to Texas. Two days isn’t very long but we did what we could making a big dent in the garage and dining room. While I was there I took this picture of my grandparent’s old farm house. They lived just a few miles up the road from where my mother was living. It’s changed a bit since my childhood days. My uncle has removed a lot of trees and I think it use to have wooden posts and railings on the front porch. I remember at one time there was an old porch swing out there. Oh well, nothing stays put forever and neither did we. We loaded up some items my mother was giving to my daughter and headed back down the road to Illinois.

When we got to my daughter’s place my old pal, Yoda, was more than ready to pose for his close up. He is such a camera hog. His brother Roo is a bit more shy and preferred to spend his time burrowed under the bed covers. We spent a few days visiting with my daughter and her husband, SciFi Man then we jumped back into the car and headed up to Wisconsin.

We stayed with Recliner Man’s Aunt Betty and Uncle Chuck. I really love Betty and Chuck. Anytime they want to dump Recliner Man and be MY aunt and uncle they only need to say the word. I’ll jump on that bandwagon so fast it will make their heads spin! They are truly wonderful people. I’d tell you just how wonderful but I don’t think my vocabulary is large enough to do them justice. They also have an amazing warm and giving family. In the above photo you can see Recliner Man with his Aunt Betty and two of her sons, Dave and Rick. You also see Betty’s Kitchen. I love Betty’s kitchen. Being there made me feel like I was home.

A stop in Wisconsin always means a trip to the local lunch spot for a grand gathering with many of Recliner Man’s aunts, uncles and cousins. This time there was a special treat. See the second gentleman from the right? That is Cousin Charlie, Recliner Man hadn’t seen him since 1975! My how time flies! They both did stints in the Navy and then settled in different parts of the country. It wasn’t until this trip that they both found their way back to Beloit at the same time. Sadly, Charlie was in town because his mother had fallen and suffered some serious breaks in her leg. We were very sad to hear this and wish only good healing things for Kay.

I actually had a little play time on this trip! Aunt Peggy invited everyone over to her house for lunch and some stamping. The men just drifted off and we ladies set to work making get well cards for Kay. That is Cousin Marjie, Aunt Josephine and Cousin Betty Ann getting in touch with their inner artists. Once again it was time to get back in the car and head down the road.

The big day had arrived and we were back in Illinois to witness SciFi Man’s graduation from Southern Illinois University. Do you think he looks just a tad happy? This was a real big day and we were so happy that we could share it with him.

We were also very happy to share the celebratory pitchers of Sangria at Blue Sky with him! SciFi Man’s parents, Ray and Sharon, were enjoying the celebration too!

And once again we found ourselves driving down the road again…

We made a quick stop back in Nebraska to pick up a desk that had belonged to my paternal grandmother. It’s suffered a bit of abuse over the past 13 years but I know someone who can give it lots of tender loving care and return it to it’s former glory. I always loved this piece when it sat in Grandma’s house and I’m thrilled to have the chance to be it’s caretaker for a while. I hope one of my two children will one day love it as much as I do so that I will be able to pass it on to another caring home someday. Guess what’s coming next…. back into the car.

This time we ended up back home in Arizona and were greeted by this wonderous sight. The Jacaranda tree was now in full bloom. This is my big tie in with the Abbey picture. Not that big, eh? Maybe I am just addicted to posting pictures of her.