Our 7th grandchild/grandparent trip is in the books! #7 has always wanted to go to St Louis, going back three years, to our very first one! She announced to everyone her trip would be to St Louis! St Louis is amazing as there is so much to do! The Gateway Arch, St Louis Zoo, Grants Farm, Forest Park, I could go on and on! We did it all and then some! After settling into our hotel we ventured out for dinner at Salt & Smoke. We actually ate at this same restaurant on a previous trip to St Louis. It is quintessential St Louis BBQ, featuring slow cooked ribs, brisket,…

My husband asked #5 what she wanted to do on her trip, her response was parasailing, paddle boarding, horse back riding and have a massage. His response was, “I know just where we are going”! Mackinac Island! It was absolutely wonderful! They say it is like stepping back in time. Remember the movie “Somewhere In Time”? Christopher Reeve is transported back in time to 1912. You truly feel as though you are transported back in time. Literally! You arrive on the island via a ferry and the moment you step off that boat, your magical journey begins. Mackinac Island is located in Lake Huron and was long ago home to…

Here we go again! Our fifth grandchild/grandparent trip! You could visit Chicago every weekend for a year and still not see or do all the city has to offer! It is truly a treasure chest full of gems! Picking a hotel for our stay was easy! We love The Drake! It has the perfect location to everything. After getting settled, we headed to Water Tower Place for lunch at Harry Carrys Tavern! Next stop, The American Girl Store! This year will be #4’s golden birthday! She celebrated with a shopping spree! One of my favorite things to do is take a river cruise! We hopped a cab and headed over!…

Our fourth grandchild/Ama/Apa trip was amazing! Our granddaughter is a horse lover and her father suggested taking her to a dude ranch! It was the perfect idea! We settled on a working horse ranch in South Dakota, where she could ride everyday and help with horses! South Dakota was actually where we went on our first grandchild trip! We were very excited and careful not to repeat any experiences. We wanted each child to have a trip custom made to their desires, only for that one child. Here we go… Our first stop was Wall Drug. Our dinner here included the best cheesecake any of us had ever had! We…

My husband and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary last year. 45 years is a very long time and I thought it would be fun to throw an anniversary party…rent a ballroom, with a band, have it catered with wait staff attending our guests, carrying silver trays adorned with glasses of champagne! Then in my head, I started to think about whom we would invite! The most important people, the people I thought “this wouldn’t be any fun if they weren’t here” were our children, their spouses and our grandchildren! Nineteen people, whom our lives literally revolve around. When that thought came to my realization, the next thought followed immediately….we…

I love the month of August even though it precedes something I do not look forward to…summer being over and school starting! I wanted to do something fun that we’ve never experienced before! The Wisconsin Large Cat Rescue was perfect! I should first start with a definition of terms… A liger is the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. A liliger is the offspring of a male lion and a female liger. A tigon is the offspring male tiger and a female lion. A litigon is the offspring of a male lion and a female tigon. A titigon is the offspring of a male tiger and a…

June 30, 2023 Our third Ama, Apa, grandchild trip is in the books. We are truly having more fun than we could have possibly imagined! One child to have all to ourselves and indulge every wish. #3 wanted to go to Boston! My husband and I traveled there on our first anniversary and also took our three children there on a family vacation when they were growing up. We could go to Boston three more times and still not see everything. I have always wanted to see the fireworks over the Charles River, so this was perfect. Once again, our mode of transportation was rail. Boarding at Chicago’s Union Station…

We have our second Ama, Ama and grandchild trip successfully completed. This time we took our very first grandchild, aka #1, to Washington DC. My husband and I took our three children there as a family vacation when they were growing up. I have always wanted to go back in the spring to see the cherry blossoms and that is exactly what we did this past April. Our last AAG(Ama, Apa, grandchild)trip to South Dakota, involved traveling in an RV. We opted to travel by rail this go around and thus our journey begins. Chicago’s Union Station is huge, very architectural and comes with celebrity status. I sat in the…

This past summer my husband and I decided to go onto a road trip to South Dakota…..in an RV. We have never done this before and the initial reason behind the decision was because we wanted to take Atticus with us. My husband planned EVERYTHING. He did an amazing job and when we were reviewing his plan, we looked at each other and said “we have to take one of our grandchildren with us”! Thru the process of elimination, grandchild #6 was the clear choice! He adores my husband and would literally did a hole with him, if he could spend time with Apa. This whole idea emerged into the…

A magical weekend celebrating my precious daughter-in-law to be. St. Simons Island is absolutely beautiful and our home away from home was spectacular! My beautiful daughter-in-law. Our home for the next four days. Our first day was spent leisurely relaxing between the pool or the beach! Friday night we had dinner out at a local favorite, The Rooftop and it was delicious! Our second day was spent touring the island. With low tide, we were actually able to walk along the ocean to downtown. Our mode of transportation was a delightful “trolley car”. St Simons Island, one of the famed Golden Isles, was aptly called “San Simone” by 16th century…