Illinois Visit

Carlson Side of the Family

We were able to go to Peoria a couple Sundays ago to visit with my dad's side of the family. It had been a while since we visited them, so it was great to see them! We had a great time at my Aunt Debbie's and Uncle Tom's house. They had a wonderful lunch prepared for us, and then we played a board game. My dad's side of the family are board game players. Now you know where I get my competitive side! I have such wonderful memories of going into my grandparent's garage (where they kept all their games) and looking at all their games and picking out one I wanted to play. It seems like there were hundreds to choose from, but I'm sure that was just my young imagination at play.

Here are the guys: my Uncle Bob (dad's brother), Uncle Tom (dad's sister's husband), Scott & Garrison, Dad, Nathan & Max

Megan & Grandma Carlson

playing Apples to Apples
my cousin Beth Ann, Aunt Debbie (dad's sister), Grandma, and Uncle Bob

Dad, Aunt Betsy (dad's sister), and Beth Ann in the midst of play

Grant, Gavin, Ali, & Kaitlyn with my cousin Becca

Gabrielle got ahold of the camera and took some pictures. Some of them weren't too bad for a two-year-old. Here's Kaitlyn...

and Uncle Tom

Hutson Side of the Family

We had a great time with the Hutson side of the family (my mom's side). As soon as we got to my Aunt Marsha's & Uncle Ronnie's the boys found my cousin's son, Owen, and they started doing their boy thing...wrestling. The boys were in heaven! They even spent the night at Owen's that night. It was fun seeing them play together.

Here are all the second cousins together: Owen, Grant, Gavin, Allison Whitlock, Alison Call, and the back of Garrison (not sure where Gabrielle and Kaitlyn are).

They played a game of Candyland.

Scott and Gavin getting ready for that awful game... Colts v. Chargers. Gavin was happy after the game, the rest of us not so much.

Dad and Uncle Ronnie chilling out.

My cousin Jennifer and Megan

Allison and Kaitlyn also got a game of Candyland in.

As did Gabriele and Jenn. Paula joined in a little later.

Look who's crawling!!!

My uncle Tim, his wife Paula, and my cousin Katie also stopped by, but I didn't get any pictures of them. It was great seeing everyone!! Thanks for letting us come visit. We need to do it more often!