We began our journey to Central Illinois on Tuesday, July 1st for Sam's wedding. We were excited to see both the Carters and the Diemers on this trip. Gotta love multi-tasking!
We had an early flight and awoke around 4am to get the travel day started. Clearly, Sage was exhausted even before we boarded. Nap-time on the airport floor.... Lovely. You just can't be a germaphobe when you have a toddler. It's not possible!
The highlight of Sage's day was riding on the shuttle bus in St. Louis. He was thrilled to be in a moving vehicle with no car seat! The shuttle took us from the airport to our rental car - so that we could drive the last leg of the trip. It was a short 3 hour drive. We stopped at Culver's in Springfield for lunch.
And before we knew it.... we had arrived in Morton!
That night the Carters and Diemers gathered together at Avanti's for a big birthday bash. We had cupcakes in honor of Sage (July 30th) and Maelyn (July 11th). And we had cake in honor of Matt (July 12th). Gary and Jeff also have July birthdays. But I suppose you can only handle so many baked goods in one evening....
Now that is the way to eat a cupcake!
"Delish! Here Mae Mae....let me feed you!"
Then it was time for gifts.
The kiddos each scored a sparkly pink microphone, where they tried to outshine each other by singing the lyrics to "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen. Maelyn would sing. Then Sage would bellow his own rendition. Funny thing is... he's never seen the movie! He's just a master copycat!
Sage also scored a super cool backpack, filled with a bunch of fun treasures. He definitely brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "school is cool." Have you seen a more stylish kid?!?!
On Wednesday, Sage and I met up with Jack and my mom to check out the Peoria Caterpillar museum. Sage has a fascination with construction equipment - what he calls "diggermans." So this was THE perfect place to go.
The tour started off with a private movie screening in seats that actually moved and rumbled right along with the video.
Then it was time to climb and explore!
Afterwards, we went to lunch at a nearby Irish pub. And Sage got to cross a set of real railroad tracks. And then he saw a real choo choo roll on by! (This was a big deal, as he also has a fascination with trains. Pretty much everything on wheels. How did he become such a mainstream boy? I swore I was never giving into gender stereotypes. But I've been beat. He is 100% male.)
On Thursday, Gary and Sheryl took Matt and I to Funk's Grove, Illinois - where we took a tour of a mineral museum developed and owned by the famous Funk family.
Matt said he's installing a rock wall just like this one in our house.
Thursday also marked the day that we all learned some shocking news. Wedding cancelled! Sam had a change of heart, and decided not to go through with the wedding. While a bit upsetting at first, we all pushed on and had a fabulous weekend together. Friends and family from all over the country flew in to reconnect. Most people I hadn't seen in four years. Which is simply way too long to go. I'm glad we all had an excuse to rekindle our relationships - wedding or no wedding. And I was excited to introduce Sage to everyone!
Sage was a handful for most of the weekend. So many places to explore. No structured bedtime. And way too much sugar! Everyone pitched in to help me wrangle him. My huge belly and his 35 pound body just don't mix very well. He's way too strong for me!
My mom was such a good sport. She tried so hard to help control her grandson. But boy can he be ornery when he wants to be!
On Friday, Sage explored Grandpa's garage and stumbled across some fun toys. Wheels, wheels, wheels. The boy loves anything with wheels!
Then it was back to Bloomington to hang with the Carters.
That was the pattern for the weekend. Half the day in Morton. Half the day in Bloomington. It was a lot of driving back and forth. But we sure did accomplish a lot.
Friday evening the kid cousins had a water balloon fight.
Good thinking Aunt Sue!
Then Sage claimed ownership of the tiny "river" running through the hotel grounds.
He and Jay really bonded.
Jay was a great babysitter, and a friend, to my little man.
Then it was fireworks time!!!
We traveled with Mike Carter and family to Fairvew Park for a free show. Great parking, no crowds, and a perfect view of the sky. Sage LOVED it! He sat on Matt's lap for the majority of the show and "oohed and ahhed" the whole time.
"It's big one!" he kept saying.
Grandma provided the extra-large glowsticks.
And then it was Saturday.
Sheryl made us french toast.
And Sage gave it his stamp of approval! A-OK!
Someone is learning how to smile on command...
That will make the photographer's job much easier!
Both of these carseat shots were official poses made by Sage at my request.
After breakfast we headed out for a tour of the Peoria classics. We first visited tricentennial playground in Glen Oak Park. I hadn't seen this playground since my childhood - but I had very clear memories circulating through my head. Sometimes memories are best left as memories. But not in this case. This playground was just as cool I remember it! A huge castle of a playground - with nooks and crannies and secret passageways to explore.
Strong man!!
Afterwards, we stopped at Emo's for a nutritious lunch of chili dogs, french fries with radioactive liquid cheese, and huge servings of ice cream.
Saturday evening we were back in Bloomington for a big family and friends dinner at Anjou Above. The event was originally supposed to be the "rehearsal dinner," but it was re-framed as a "reunion dinner." On the way to the restaurant, Matt and I drove past our old apartment on Grove Street. Memories! We lived in the upper corner unit of a victorian home (the yellow one on the left). Rent was just $425 a month! I spent my last year in college in this house.
The older kid cousins finally adopted Sage as one of them, after a rigorous initiation phase. They did a great job keeping my wild man entertained for the majority of the evening.
And then it was Sunday, our last day in town.
There you go Sage... let petite little Maelyn push your giant butt around! He's got 10 pounds on her - which is a lot when you only weight 20 to begin with!
On this day, we traveled to the Peoria Riverfront Museum with the whole Diemer clan.
Sage and his daddy grew dragon tails!
Maelyn's face print is in the upper right corner. The other two faces are Matt's. Scary stuff!
And then we hit the jackpot!
A diggerman goldmine!
Time for a snuggle and a book.
Each child carefully placed on either side of my giant belly.
Finally, it was time to head home. This was Sage's last free flight as a child "under two." Next time he will have his very own seat. Probably better that way. He is too big to be sitting on someone's lap for two hours. We kept Sage quiet by showing him non-stop ipad movies and shoving a giant lollipop in his mouth.
It was on this return flight that we made an important discovery. Sage now knows his name! While boarding, the flight attendant asked him, "What's your name?" And to my surprise... he answered "Sage!" I was beaming with pride....
Until I got to my car in the airport parking lot, in the middle of a rainstorm, late at night, only to learn the battery was completely dead. Idiot parents! What a way to end the trip!
We finally pulled into the driveway around 11pm.
Home Sweet Home!
