4th of July Weekend

The Friday before the 4th of July, Ed, his mother, Nico and I flew to Milwaukee, WI. Once arriving, we rented a car and drove three plus hours north to "The Farm." The farm has been in Ed's family for years and years. His grandmother, who recently turned 90 lives there and his family gathered to celebrate her birthday and the 4th of July. Nico and I got to meet lots of family members we never had before and Nico had a blast playing outside (since we certainly can't play outside in TX during the summer). We were actually in an area of the country in which going outside in July was very tolerable...with bug repellent.













Nico got to play with his 5th cousins, who were his age. They splashed around in the baby pool so much I thought the kids were going to turn into fish! Water fun did seem to be a trend for our little man. Nico and Ed, along with Uncle Louie and Kasey went swimming in a nearby lake. The water was so clear you could see the little fish swimming around.







Nico was able to have his first experience of fireworks while at the Farm! He got to stay up way past his bed time which was a rare treat for this little guy. Unfortunately, Nico was not a big fan of fireworks; however his experience was not a typical one. Being at the Farm, the fireworks were extra loud which scared Nico. He walked around all day saying, "oh no, boom boom!"






After the visit to the farm, we headed south to Chicago and stayed right outside the city for a night so Ed could run a race with a cousin of his. Then for the 4th of July, we traveled back north to Libertyville and spent the day and night with more family. Nico was able to squeeze in a lot more swimming and running around outside before heading back to Texas.




On the day of departure to return home, we decided to take a detour to Antich, IL, where Ed grew up. He showed his Nico the house he was raised in and they waded in the nearby lake. It was a nice was to end our trip up north.