Last weekend Brian and I adventured to Northern Illinois, far from Chicago and the city life to visit Brian's (and now mine) grandparents and other extended family. Of which there is a lot of! Brian's grandparents grew up out here, just outside of Stockton, Illinois and they still live in the area of the farm they had when they were younger. Now, Brian's Uncle Ronny works the dairy and farm that has been in the family for many years. Here are some pictures from our trip.
Here is Brian with a young dairy calf. They loved attention from us. Underneath is Aunt Kay and her daughter Anne with a great raspberry pie she baked for Brian. Of course, who doesn't like to cook for Brian???
A bike-a-thon with Aunt Kay's church!
Cousin Michelle, awesome person, Brian and I. Not quite sure what Brian's face is doing. :)Under this we have landed in Galena, Illinois. A really cute town that I just wanted to walk around it. Luckily I got my wish and took a few pictures. Northern Illinois actually has some hills, which makes it a little more pleasant to look at.
The Mississippi River! Right close to Galena.
Finally, our milking experience. It was fun, and not all that hard to milk my first cow. Can't believe I've never tried to milk before, but we've never had cows. Uncle Ronny milks about 120 cows a day, twice a day, EVERY DAY... Seems like a daunting task, but they seem to enjoy it and know they have to do it.
It was a good trip and we both really enjoyed visiting family and seeing the country side.
