a Decatur weekend
Somehow- still not sure how it happened- we never made it back to Decatur this summer after our trip there at the end of May. When we realized that it had been over nine weeks since we had been there, we knew it was time for that to change immediately. This past weekend gave us perfect excuses to plan a visit- the Decatur Celebration and the 20th reunion of our high school graduation. (Though, I should add that it was NOT your typical 20th reunion at all. There was pretty much nothing formally planned and not many of the people I was most interested in seeing were making the trip.)
On Friday night, Luke, Drew, Kate, and I headed towards Decatur much later in the day that was the original plan. (Ben was staying behind to get some work done and to pick Grace up from camp the next day.) I had hoped to arrive in Decatur by 4:00 that afternoon, but because of many last minute things that popped up and a generally un-smooth day, we didn't even pull out of our driveway until 4:45. We then hit stand-still traffic approaching 55 that added another thirty minutes to our drive.
Our plans to go out to a Friday night dinner with my parents were tossed out the window and the kids and I stopped for food soon after we crossed into Illinois. Choices were limited, so I made a spur of the moment decision to try Denny's with them. It ended up being a great choice- the kids could not have loved it more. The boys and I had a good time talking and Katie circled every K, A, T, I, and E that she could find on all of the word searches on all of the placemats on the table. Our impromptu dinner date completely changed my mood from stressed out (my own fault for trying to do too many things in one day) to excited for a fun weekend away.
We arrived in Decatur around eight and hung out for a bit. Drew went off for a sleepover with Nini, and Katie and Luke and I stayed with my parents. Luke and my dad talked aliens and conspiracy theories while Katie and my mom read books together. Although I was not thrilled about starting a busy weekend with a late bedtime for everyone, it was a nice and relaxed evening.
Saturday morning we woke up and had coffee with my parents. This is always one of the best parts of visits to Decatur, just catching up and visiting in their sunroom first thing in the morning. After everyone got cleaned up, we met Patti and Drew and the Clarks at the Decatur Celebration. We watched the parade and then walked over to the Elephant Ear stand that my dad mans for his Sertoma Service Club. As he does every year, Grandpa showed off his grandkids to his fellow Sertomen and handed out free elephant ears. As always, they were a hit.
That afternoon, as part of the reunion weekend, I got to take a tour of my high school after a major renovation it had last year. It was a beautiful, state of the art high school and very impressive, but I was disappointed because it held no nostalgia for me. It didn't even seem like the same school I had attended... because it really wasn't. It was interesting to see some of my old classmates, though, and I am glad that I went.
After the tour, I met back up with my babes who had been hanging out with their grandmothers and we went over to Bridget and Will's to swim for a bit. It was then time to greet Ben and Gracie and hear all about her camp experience. She had a great time but was completely worn out. Staying up until midnight for nights on end and still getting up at seven will do that to you, I guess. It was wonderful to wrap my arms around her.
On Saturday night, Ben and I had the chance to go out, thanks to a generous babysitting offer from Nini. We went out for Thai food and then met up with some friends down at the Decatur Celebration. We heard Blues Traveler and did some great people watching. It was neat to just kind of run into three of my cousins and catch up over a beer. Never in Webster Groves do I ever just run into relatives! We visited with some old high school classmates, but there were definitely more people we did not know there than people that we did. We have been away from Decatur for a long time and this weekend made that very clear. When things were dying down at the Celebration, we piled into our car with some friends (Ben's car resembled a clown car for that particular drive) to go to The Winery for another beer.
Sunday morning was incredibly relaxed. Ben and I had coffee with my parents and then went over to his mom's to say good morning to the kids (we had slept at my parent's house). We spent a rainy couple of hours visiting and hanging out and then suddenly the sun came out and we decided to head back to the Celebration. Patti came along and the seven of us had a nice time eating Celebration food and checking things out. Katie got to "drive" an amusement ride car and the boys did bungee jumping stuff. (Gracie was kicking herself for wearing a skirt that day!)
After declaring ourselves done with the Celebration for the year, we took a slow, quiet drive out to the mall. A couple of late nights and LOTS of playing were catching up with the kids and everyone was a little on the tired side. Our hope was that a quiet drive might make the littlest of our group konk out for a bit, but no such luck. We did get a much needed Starbucks out of the drive (the kids weren't the only ones feeling a little sleepy) and a quick walk through one of our favorite stores, so it wasn't all bad.
Sunday ended with a cookout at my parents' house. We loved that my parents hosted a big fun get together with almost all of our closest Decatur family members. There was delicious food to be had, lots of play and giggling with cousins, and some baby Paige snuggles to savor. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday night, for sure. After the cookout, Ben had to head back to STL, but the kids and I stayed for one more night at Gram & Grandpa's house. After baths and books for all, we all got a wonderful night of sleep. It was very needed.
Monday was a fun day with my parents in Springfield. We went to the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Presidential Library. We had been before a couple of years ago, but we all got much more out of it this time around. I was so impressed with the exhibits and movies and learned quite a bit. Katie had a wonderful time hanging with my parents, so even though almost everything was over her level of understanding, she was still all smiles. She got her face painted at the Presidential Library because we happened to be there on a day they were celebrating something and had free refreshments and face painting. She was beyond thrilled to be a kitty cat. She declared the face painting her favorite part of the day. We ended our time in Illinois with a yummy lunch with my parents in downtown Springfield before making the drive back home.
It was a great weekend and I am so glad we took the time to make the trip. It's so easy to stay in St. Louis because every weekend lately is full of things to do here, but I am reminded by this getaway that we need to continue to make the effort and find the time to continue our trips to Decatur as often as we can. We are blessed with such loving family members and I want my kids to grow up FULL of memories of time with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.
On Friday night, Luke, Drew, Kate, and I headed towards Decatur much later in the day that was the original plan. (Ben was staying behind to get some work done and to pick Grace up from camp the next day.) I had hoped to arrive in Decatur by 4:00 that afternoon, but because of many last minute things that popped up and a generally un-smooth day, we didn't even pull out of our driveway until 4:45. We then hit stand-still traffic approaching 55 that added another thirty minutes to our drive.
Our plans to go out to a Friday night dinner with my parents were tossed out the window and the kids and I stopped for food soon after we crossed into Illinois. Choices were limited, so I made a spur of the moment decision to try Denny's with them. It ended up being a great choice- the kids could not have loved it more. The boys and I had a good time talking and Katie circled every K, A, T, I, and E that she could find on all of the word searches on all of the placemats on the table. Our impromptu dinner date completely changed my mood from stressed out (my own fault for trying to do too many things in one day) to excited for a fun weekend away.
We arrived in Decatur around eight and hung out for a bit. Drew went off for a sleepover with Nini, and Katie and Luke and I stayed with my parents. Luke and my dad talked aliens and conspiracy theories while Katie and my mom read books together. Although I was not thrilled about starting a busy weekend with a late bedtime for everyone, it was a nice and relaxed evening.
Saturday morning we woke up and had coffee with my parents. This is always one of the best parts of visits to Decatur, just catching up and visiting in their sunroom first thing in the morning. After everyone got cleaned up, we met Patti and Drew and the Clarks at the Decatur Celebration. We watched the parade and then walked over to the Elephant Ear stand that my dad mans for his Sertoma Service Club. As he does every year, Grandpa showed off his grandkids to his fellow Sertomen and handed out free elephant ears. As always, they were a hit.
That afternoon, as part of the reunion weekend, I got to take a tour of my high school after a major renovation it had last year. It was a beautiful, state of the art high school and very impressive, but I was disappointed because it held no nostalgia for me. It didn't even seem like the same school I had attended... because it really wasn't. It was interesting to see some of my old classmates, though, and I am glad that I went.
After the tour, I met back up with my babes who had been hanging out with their grandmothers and we went over to Bridget and Will's to swim for a bit. It was then time to greet Ben and Gracie and hear all about her camp experience. She had a great time but was completely worn out. Staying up until midnight for nights on end and still getting up at seven will do that to you, I guess. It was wonderful to wrap my arms around her.
On Saturday night, Ben and I had the chance to go out, thanks to a generous babysitting offer from Nini. We went out for Thai food and then met up with some friends down at the Decatur Celebration. We heard Blues Traveler and did some great people watching. It was neat to just kind of run into three of my cousins and catch up over a beer. Never in Webster Groves do I ever just run into relatives! We visited with some old high school classmates, but there were definitely more people we did not know there than people that we did. We have been away from Decatur for a long time and this weekend made that very clear. When things were dying down at the Celebration, we piled into our car with some friends (Ben's car resembled a clown car for that particular drive) to go to The Winery for another beer.
Sunday morning was incredibly relaxed. Ben and I had coffee with my parents and then went over to his mom's to say good morning to the kids (we had slept at my parent's house). We spent a rainy couple of hours visiting and hanging out and then suddenly the sun came out and we decided to head back to the Celebration. Patti came along and the seven of us had a nice time eating Celebration food and checking things out. Katie got to "drive" an amusement ride car and the boys did bungee jumping stuff. (Gracie was kicking herself for wearing a skirt that day!)
After declaring ourselves done with the Celebration for the year, we took a slow, quiet drive out to the mall. A couple of late nights and LOTS of playing were catching up with the kids and everyone was a little on the tired side. Our hope was that a quiet drive might make the littlest of our group konk out for a bit, but no such luck. We did get a much needed Starbucks out of the drive (the kids weren't the only ones feeling a little sleepy) and a quick walk through one of our favorite stores, so it wasn't all bad.
Sunday ended with a cookout at my parents' house. We loved that my parents hosted a big fun get together with almost all of our closest Decatur family members. There was delicious food to be had, lots of play and giggling with cousins, and some baby Paige snuggles to savor. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday night, for sure. After the cookout, Ben had to head back to STL, but the kids and I stayed for one more night at Gram & Grandpa's house. After baths and books for all, we all got a wonderful night of sleep. It was very needed.
Monday was a fun day with my parents in Springfield. We went to the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Presidential Library. We had been before a couple of years ago, but we all got much more out of it this time around. I was so impressed with the exhibits and movies and learned quite a bit. Katie had a wonderful time hanging with my parents, so even though almost everything was over her level of understanding, she was still all smiles. She got her face painted at the Presidential Library because we happened to be there on a day they were celebrating something and had free refreshments and face painting. She was beyond thrilled to be a kitty cat. She declared the face painting her favorite part of the day. We ended our time in Illinois with a yummy lunch with my parents in downtown Springfield before making the drive back home.
It was a great weekend and I am so glad we took the time to make the trip. It's so easy to stay in St. Louis because every weekend lately is full of things to do here, but I am reminded by this getaway that we need to continue to make the effort and find the time to continue our trips to Decatur as often as we can. We are blessed with such loving family members and I want my kids to grow up FULL of memories of time with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.
Comments