Summer Vacation 2010

We are officially back from our summer vacation- Luciana's first real trip. Well, we have been back for over a week, but who is counting? We had such a blast. Here are some highlights:
We first went to Indianapolis (with Elisa's mother along for the ride) to visit some friends from our Ball State years. Though we were there a short time, we had a great time catching up and hanging out with Abby's nieces the following morning.

Then we headed off to Delware, OH, so Luciana could meet her Great Grandpa Gus, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Jim, Molly and Libby. We were able to see Grandpa's new apartment, which is quite nice, and visit with the family. The girls just loved Luci. 

We left at 8:30 pm that night, leaving Elisa's mom to spend time with her father, and headed out to New Jersey. We thought we might need to spend the night in a hotel, but Luciana passed out, and we listened to a book on CD, so before you knew it we were there! In New Jersey we visited Lee and Brandie, great friends who were wonderful hostesses. We went to the local small animal farm, where the llamas were very friendly. We hung out with Brandie's nieces and nephew, who were tons of fun. We also went blueberry picking, which we had never done before. Luciana seemed to enjoy it- well at least she enjoyed playing with the tin can!

On the fourth of July we left New Jersey and headed for Hudson MA, to see Elisa's dad's side of the family. We got there early afternoon, and enjoyed time at the lake house. We took a swim, which was refreshing on such a hot day, and spent some time with the family. Luciana was able to meet Great Grandpa Russ for the first time, as well as her Uncle Jon, Aunt Emily, and Jordan. Coincidentally Elisa's dad and Sue were there at the same time, so it was nice to have everyone together. Kind of like a mini-family reunion!

We left Hudson just before dinner, ate at Applebee's with Steve and Sue, and then hit the road to head for Amherst. We arrived there just in time to see some fireworks (Carolyn was sad that she was going to have a fourth of July without fireworks). We stayed with our good friends Kathy and Laura, and their two great pups Tucker and Dexter. Luciana was especially keen on Dexter. 

After spending a few days in Amherst we got in the car (again) and headed to Cooperstown NY. Yes, it is the location of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but it is ALSO the location of our good friends the Iversen's -much more important than the hall of fame :). We had a ton of fun swimming at the lake (which was exceptionally warm) and hanging out with everyone. It was in the Iversen's living room that Luciana pulled herself up (on bongo's no less)- which was an awesome thing to witness.

Then we left for our last leg of the trip- Zion IL for Karyn's 11th birthday party. We arrived there a little before 1 am. Luciana did such a great job in the car. We celebrated Karyn's birthday with a ton of food, and spending time with the Abrego's and their wonderful friends. 

Sunday morning we packed up (for the last time) and drove back home to Madison, where our pups were anxiously awaiting our arrival. It was an awesome vacation- truly one of the best we have had. Luciana had a blast, and was such a trooper. It will be hard to top this one!