It was a special day as the excitement was mounting.  A day we looked forward to for many – many months.  This was the day we were on our way to the wedding of our nephew.

But before our trip, we had to make a quick stop at the local Wal*Marts.  We still needed to pick up a card for the bride and groom.

I love their display as there is no doubt what part of town we were in.  This was Cardinal Nation, baby. Best fans in baseball.  My hubby has been a fan since he was a toddler and I’ve been a fan since the beginning of our time together.

Are you thinking non sequitur?  Me too.  But this is what happens when a display like this hits me.

So we secured the card for the couple, then off to the next great adventure.

The evening was a flurry of family and friends arriving from far and near.  And we had brief visits with many we had not seen in a while = good times.

While the rehearsal was underway, hubby and I found a great place to dine and we were back in time for a big family gathering on the outdoor patio.

There was so much excitement in the air.  Children were splashing in the pool and good times lasted long into the night.

It was a night that the camera stayed in the room and the meaningful visits with loved ones will remain in my heart forever.  I’m learning there are times when it’s nice not to be in camera mode.

Blessings – Debbie

Hubby and I are back home and getting settled from a little vacay up north to see our daughter.

What a joy to spend time with Kristy.  She is a delight and we were blessed to get to help celebrate her birthday.

We also had the treat of meeting a couple of her really good friends.

The Birthday Dinner was celebrated at Benihana.

This pic did not turn out so well but I think the blur made it interesting.

I was so disappointed with the way those pix turned out…I could cry.  I think I like them in sepia the best, but still, I’m sick about it.

While visiting Kristy, hubby and I had a chance to scoot over (an hour away) to visit with Grandma and her two sisters Great Aunt Ruth and Great Aunt Barb.  Left to Right – Aunt Ruth, Grandma, Aunt Barb and me.  ‘Twas a lovely afternoon where hubby and I treated them to lunch.

I’m happy we were able to squeeze in another trip this year.  So many good memories were made.

Blessings – Debbie

Sunday was quite a special day as we were gathering with more family.  We took a little two-hour road trip to see hubby’s sister Cindy and family.  Little did we know a feast was in the works.  Ham, pot roast (with potatoes, carrots & gravy), pea salad, salad, homemade rolls, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, hash brown casserole…Hmmmm, what did I miss?  It was all so delicious and prepared by our nephews.

We also celebrated our great-nephew Ben’s birthday.

We had cake and homemade banana ice cream…So yummy!

And played on the front porch with Ben’s new “Fire Truck”.

It took no time to figure out the duties of a fire chief.

His hose could reach nearly 15 or so feet.  There was lots of fun, especially since the adults were playing along.

Big sister quickly caught on…

At times there was a driver and two willing Chiefs.

Love that Sam posed side-saddle on this old tricycle my hubby and his siblings used to ride.

Precious Connie – She was my little buddy…

Big sister was willing to pose for pix…

I had to get a shot of her pretty boots.

Connie always had a smile when I pointed the camera her way.

It was such a joy to cuddle with Ben.

Three of our great-nieces and nephews.  We got to see our other great-nephew last week.

Hubby’s sister with her two sons and families.

While the children played into the night, the adults rustled up a fun game of Texas Holdem’ Poker.  By the end of the night,  Brad ran away with all the chips.  Good Game!

A visit to Cracker Barrel before heading back to St Louis yesterday.

Great-aunt Debbie can’t take too many pix…

Little Ben fell fast asleep before our meal arrived and slept all through his breakfast.  Hubby took good care of him.

We have more family to see before we make our way back home.  I’ll be back with more pix later.

Blessings – Debbie

A visit to St Louis is not complete without a trip to Ramon’s.  This has been hubby’s favorite Mexican restaurant ever.  It became my favorite Mexican restaurant back in our dating years when he took me here for the first time.  He always judges Mexican food to this place.  I understand why.

So, this was the plan last evening for our sit down meal.  We have been doing so good on our healthy eating that we neither wanted this basket of chips that sat in front of us.

After dinner, hubby took me for a little drive thru his old hometown.  We passed by the old Collinsville water tower.

Drove by the worlds largest CATSUP bottle.  I was impressed.

But to see the Kahoks play football, would have the be the highlight of the day.

Our nephew Luke # 48 made us proud.

Even though the team lost, we left feeling we were already winners.  It was pretty amazing to hear screams from the stands to pass the ball to #48!  I couldn’t help but feel proud of all the hard work Luke does for his team.

Our nephew Trey, he was a hard one to catch.  But oh so cute!

Our great-nephew Austin showed up for the game too!  His grandma (my sis-in-law Chris) had just given him a cow bell to ring during the game.  Good job ringing that bell Austin!

Our nephew (body builder) Eric and his son Austin.  These two are two peas in a pod.

Children who sat right in front of us but were too cute and wanted their pix taken too.

Back home after the game.  Two very proud parents of four of the finest sons you will find.

Luke, Gerry and Trey.  We wish Eric would have been able to make it over after the game.

Gerry and Beth – Our newly engaged (this month) nephew.  She is such a doll, I totally love this girl and welcome her with open arms to the family.  They drove 3 hours one way just to see his brother play and to see us.  Great kids!

Chris had just finished taking care of Luke’s wounded arm after the game.  I think she was telling him to never get hurt like that again.  (I kid) She is such a great mom, loves her boys but I love how she lets them be boys.  She and my bro-in-law have done an amazing job with these guys.

As our evening came to a close, all felt right with the world and quality time with family.

I never tire of passing by the arch night or day, it’s such a beautiful sight to behold.

This wraps up another glorious day in St Louis.

Blessings – Debbie

Hubby and I took a trip to St Louis this week.  A trip to visit with family and friends.

What do you do on the plane to pass the time away?  I played games on my phone like:  Reversi, Sudoku and the most fun was playing Color Touch.

I took pix the other day when I had my mani/pedi and found color touch to be a fun app to toy with this pic.  + the fact that it helped the time pass quickly…

Soon we landed and were greeted with a heat wave, like I’ve never experienced in all my live long days.  There was no gradual introduction to summer as it clearly slapped us in the face.  And I recall exclaiming to hubby “This is so UN San Diego”.  I’ve been a little under the weather ever since.

We quickly gathered our things and secured our rental car, made our way to the hotel and bathed in our nice air-conditioned room.

That evening we went to visit hubby’s son Ryan and his choice was to go for a little sit down at the local Starbucks.  Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a soft spot in my heart for the place.  But I snubbed it kindly while visiting with Ryan while he enjoyed his iced something or other.  Great visit we had.

Yesterday we got to spend time with Ryan and Lauren.  Mostly Ryan as his car was in need of attention.  It was a long ordeal, ask the mechanic.  All is can say is at day’s end, the mechanic offered Ryan a car and at day’s end, Ryan secured that new car!  Not without hubby doing his homework, but I won’t get into that long story here.  We can all say what a great day and deal all the way around!  And we topped off our evening spending quality family time at Panera Bread.

Sometime during the evening hours back at the hotel, I caught myself dreaming of home.

And I spent all night long in Southern California.  In my dreams…

Blessings – Debbie