On Wednesday we took the long drive from Northern Illinois to the bottom of the state to Murphysboro. It was Sam's first trip and he was amazed how the landscape went from flat cornfields to rolling green forests. It was really difficult pulling up to my grandpa's house and not having him there...but walking in to a house full of family warmed my heart. It didn't seem so painful when you are surrounded by loved ones. Abby and Luke brought some much needed laughter to the room as well. We were pretty busy with memorial stuff for most of the time but we did manage to sneak in some fun...grandpa wouldn't have it any other way. A few trips to the park, swimming in the hotel pool, drive around the lake and lots of eating.
One event my grandpa always loved doing was taking his family out to dinner. At Giant City Lodge they have an all you can eat fried chicken dinner...yum! It was one of grandpa's favorites. So the evening of the funeral 32 of us went for dinner. We pigged out and had some good laughs. What is crazy about a funeral is that it brings family together. There were so many distant cousins, aunts and uncles to catch up with. Makes you wonder why we don't stop everything more often to spend time together.
Another thing grandpa loved doing was going for car rides in the country. So one day we loaded the twins up in the car, hoping they would take a nap, which they did and drove the wine tour. Southern Illinois has some great little wineries. Grandma and Uncle Randy joined us as we took turns hopping out to sample wines and treats. We did go to a winery called Hickory Ridge. Grandpa lived on Hickory Ridge road when he was growing up. We drove by the old homestead on our way up a small curvy road to a cute little winery...with really good wine.
After a long week we woke up early again to start our drive home. We made it from Southern Illinois all the way to Hayes, KS. Abby and Luke did great in the hotels the entire trip. They loved sharing a room with mom and dad, plus we got to swim at the hotel pool almost every day! They were amazing travelers, it wasn't until the last day that Luke decided he was done with road trips. Right when we pulled on the highway he told us his diaper was wet and he needed to stretch his legs. :) Poor guy. We made a quick stop to visit Sam's great aunt and uncle in Atwood KS and made it home by mid afternoon. We were all ready to be home and see Dexter...who was thrilled to see us. The twins were so excited to see all of their toys...funny how they seemed new again.
We know this won't be the last Penn Family Road Trip. We had lots of good laughs and some mistakes (like going to a sit down restaurant after 12 hours in the car) but tons of wonderful memories to hang onto.
One event my grandpa always loved doing was taking his family out to dinner. At Giant City Lodge they have an all you can eat fried chicken dinner...yum! It was one of grandpa's favorites. So the evening of the funeral 32 of us went for dinner. We pigged out and had some good laughs. What is crazy about a funeral is that it brings family together. There were so many distant cousins, aunts and uncles to catch up with. Makes you wonder why we don't stop everything more often to spend time together.
Another thing grandpa loved doing was going for car rides in the country. So one day we loaded the twins up in the car, hoping they would take a nap, which they did and drove the wine tour. Southern Illinois has some great little wineries. Grandma and Uncle Randy joined us as we took turns hopping out to sample wines and treats. We did go to a winery called Hickory Ridge. Grandpa lived on Hickory Ridge road when he was growing up. We drove by the old homestead on our way up a small curvy road to a cute little winery...with really good wine.
After a long week we woke up early again to start our drive home. We made it from Southern Illinois all the way to Hayes, KS. Abby and Luke did great in the hotels the entire trip. They loved sharing a room with mom and dad, plus we got to swim at the hotel pool almost every day! They were amazing travelers, it wasn't until the last day that Luke decided he was done with road trips. Right when we pulled on the highway he told us his diaper was wet and he needed to stretch his legs. :) Poor guy. We made a quick stop to visit Sam's great aunt and uncle in Atwood KS and made it home by mid afternoon. We were all ready to be home and see Dexter...who was thrilled to see us. The twins were so excited to see all of their toys...funny how they seemed new again.
We know this won't be the last Penn Family Road Trip. We had lots of good laughs and some mistakes (like going to a sit down restaurant after 12 hours in the car) but tons of wonderful memories to hang onto.
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