I went on a 2 week family road trip.
Drove on a Friday night to Ohio, mom was waiting up for me outside on her porch when I got there.
Spent Saturday with my sister Sunny, her kids: Dylan, Ben and Ensley.

Went to church (yes church!) with my mom on Sunday. She had a church meeting after the mass and I got to see a bunch of her friends that hadn't seen me in awhile. Then went to my nephew Dylan's birthday party at an ice rink, they played broom ball. His friends are really cute and sweet, very good boys.

I went with my sister to her gym, me and Dylan hung out by the pool while she did a class and the younger two were in daycare.

Monday mom and I drove to Birmingham Alabama to visit family. We stopped in Nashville and checked out the Opryland Hotel for a driving break and lunch. Really pretty, huge glass ceilings, boat ride, gardens and waterfalls all indoors. When we got to Birmingham, I went out and played on the trampoline with my cousin's kid Justin and his friend, then we had Golden Rule BBQ for dinner and everyone came over. All my Aunts, Uncles, cousins and all their kids live there.

I spent a lot of time with my cousin Lesa's daughter Sidney watching Hillary Duff movies in the back of the car as we drove around. We even went to go see a chick flick with all the girls, The Traveling Pants movie. I am supposed to be too cool to admit I liked it...but I'm not that cool. It was a cute movie, and I even like watching the Hillary Duff movies too. We went to the Cedars Club, a Lebanese club some of my family are members of, went swimming and had a big Lebanese dinner. Grape leaves, stuffed cabbage, stuffed squash, kibi (not sure if that's the right spelling...) We left Thursday morning, it was a nice visit, I hadn't seen them all in awhile.

That Sunday my sister and I participated in my mom's church bake sale. I made cupcakes and brownies. And they sold! :) It was for the Feast of St. Anthony, kind of a big deal at the church, had a lot of stuff going on.

My cousin Jennifer twisted my Uncle Franks arm into letting her fly to Ohio and hang out with us. This was her first plane trip. Very big deal. She came out on Sunday, after the bake sale we went to the airport to pick her up.

I took her to the zoo since she said she had never been to a zoo before. She loved it. My sister took her out on her boat with the family. Great fun...my first time on their boat too! Took her to the OSU campus, North Market, Polaris, Easton..had a huge list of stuff that we ran around doing! Also took her to Shadowbox Cabaret. A place where they do Saturday Night Live kind of skits and music. A friend of mine has been with the group for about 10 years now, it was nice seeing him again and catching up.

I had a great trip. Really enjoyed the time with my mother and sister. Usually I only get to spend a few days and it just isn't enough time for me. And I really got to get to know my cousin Jennifer, I think her and I were good for each other and kept each other busy. After she left I was whooped! The night before I left my brother in law watched the kids so me, my sister and mom could go out together. We went to see Mr & Mrs Smith (it was ok) and then out to dinner in Grandview at Lulu's. We split fried green tomatoes, beef medallions, and a cheese plate. Got back home to Chicago yesterday afternoon. Good to be back! I missed my Brad.

Way too many pictures!! :)

Ensley


Ben & Ensley


Ben


Opryland Hotel


Uncle Anthony


Jennifer & Sidney at Cedars Club


My cousin Benard


Church Bake sale lady I think her ankle was bothering her...


Ben: "Mmmmm sprinkles"


Dylan poolside


Out on my sister's family boat at Alum Creek


Dylan


Flamingos at the Columbus Zoo


Penguins


Baby monkey


Baby Gorilla


Baby Elephant


Ben, Ensley & Jennifer