48 hours

we had a fantastic weekend up in chicago.  i left my camera at home.  i know...i'm the worst.  i wish i could show you the mass of folks we were surrounded by for our whirlwind trip but you'll have to settle for stolen facebook shots. 

there were kids, babies, aunts, uncles, grandmas, brothers, sisters, & cousins as far as the eye could see.  it was lovely.

friday evening ben & i ventured on up to northern ky to meet up with his mom, pop & brother.  i got to visit my dear friend cory for a few hours which was dream.  it's hard when you don't get to see your close friends very often!  james {her babe} was asleep but i didn't sneak a peek into the crib where he was sleeping with his arms straight up, just like superman.

after staying up much later than my old lady bedtime, we took a quick wink & then hit the road once again.  up, up & away to the suburbs of chi-town for some much needed visiting. 

ben's aunt mary jane & uncle joe had everyone over.  they have a great home for entertaining: a big ol' room connected to the kitchen for catching up, a patio for relaxing, a pool for cooling off {it was a billion degrees}, a pond for fishing, a yard for playing.  my favorite parts of the day: just being together, going down the pond, squishing the little baby cheeks AND seeing ben's aunt mary jane get around with no problem.  when we were up for christmas she was struggling to breathe & she could only walk a few steps without being totally exhausted.  now, since she's had her double lung transplant, she's up moving around, running all over the house, cooking & enjoying her time with people she loves.  it really is a miracle.  how awesome that we get to be a witness to that!? 

.two of the cutest babies in the world.

look at that curly hair.  love.

i'm not sure if anyone took any good group shots this year, and if so they aren't on fb yet {that i could find}  here's some of the gals & guys from last year.

sunday we slept in a tad & eventually got up and ate platefuls of mada's pancakes.  we always stay with ben's aunt mada & uncle rob when we come to town & they are so hospitable...they take such great care of us & are incredibly welcoming.

from there we went to D & D Foods, which is an italian deli & shop owned & operated by benny's fam.  i'm not italian so i never know anything about what different foods are, how you eat it, where it comes from etc. but it is so fun to be there!  an atmosphere like none other that i've been in.  since the deli has been around for such a long time {and is run by such great people} folks flock from all over to come visit grandma ada, uncle guido & the rest of the fam.  if you are ever in the chicago heights area i highly recommend you stop in and see them!  tell them we sent you!

we haven't even gotten to the actual family reunion yet!  that's where we headed next - to the family reunion, which is held at a local park which houses an awesome pool & water slide.  the kids loved it.  we ate {and ate more} and hung out with an even larger group than saturday.  sadly, our time in chicago had to come to a close.  we all had work monday morning & needed to get back to kentucky.  so back into the car we went. 

just another road trip with my best friend.  so lovely.