Our Annual Family Reunion Camping Trip with Mike's Extended Family

Our extended families both get along well and enjoy doing things together. We grew up living less than a mile apart and knew each other for approximately ten years prior to our marriage, and our families knew each other as well. We have been very fortunate that our families get along well. Instead of having two separate extended families it is like we have one!

Mike’s mother currently lives in Tennessee near where she grew up, but we still get together multiple times a year, usually around holidays and birthdays. She is very active with music and has shared that passion with our daughter, even spending time attending a music camp together for multiple years. Mike's Father passed away when Mike was still in high school.

Mike has one sister, whom is married and has one daughter. They live in the Detroit area where we all grew up. Cindy and Mike's sister speak on the phone multiple times a week. They are more than sisters-in-law; they are more like best friends! Until we moved to Illinois in 2005 our families would get together nearly every week to go out to dinner, see a movie, go shopping, or just hang out. We also go on vacations together quite often, visiting amusement parks or going on Caribbean cruises.

Cindy’s Extended Family

Cindy’s parents still live in the house where Cindy grew up. She remains very close to her mother and we visit them two to three times a year and stay with them at their house. When we lived in Michigan we saw Cindy's parents multiple times a week. Cindy has a brother who has a three year old daughter. We see him nearly as often as we see her parents.

We also have an annual tradition of spending a week in northern Michigan with Cindy's parents. Her parents have a time-share condominium on a beach and we spend a week up there with them relaxing on the beach and visiting some of the sites in the area. Some of the activities we enjoy on these vacations are putt-putt golfing, climbing the sand dunes, and attending the local county fair. Cindy's brother usually is there as well, and in the past Mike's sister's family and Mike's mother have also joined us!

We do not see our extended families as much as we used to since we moved in 2005, but we still make it a priority to spend as much time with them as we can. In addition to the times we travel back to Michigan, most of our family have visited us several times since we moved. We also vacation regularly with our extended family. In 2005 we went on a cruise with the three of us, Mike's sister's family, Cindy's parents and brother, Mike's mom, and Cindy's Aunt! Every year we also get together for a family reunion camping weekend with Mike's side of the family. This year we had 24 family members in all at the camp out!

Our Home

We live in a family-oriented suburban area in northern Illinois. One of the main reasons we chose this area to live was the high quality of the schools, which is a direct reflection of the strong family values in the community.

Another thing we like about this area is the abundance of parks. One of the things that most attracted us to our house was that it backs onto a wide open, well maintained, grassy park. One end of the park also has a very nice playground that is a short walk across the open field from our house. Less than a mile away is another park that has a sledding hill that is very popular in the winter.

Fabulous Neighborhood Beach

We live in a two-story brick home with four bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a finished basement. Our kitchen flows into an eating area and the family room, providing an open space where we can all be together as a family, even if we are doing different things. The family room has a sliding glass door that leads to a large deck in the backyard, where we enjoy eating outside or just sitting back to relax and enjoy the view.

Our community is built around a lake that has a beautiful public beach. We live approximately two miles from the beach, which makes it very convenient to visit. In addition to swimming at the beach, the lakefront area has boat rentals, a picnic area, and an elaborate play structure.

Another feature of our community that we take advantage of is that it is on a train line into the city of Chicago. The train line makes it very convenient for us to travel into the city to go shopping, visit museums, see plays or concerts, watch sporting events, and take advantage of the numerous recreational and cultural activities that are available in the city. Living where we do gives us the advantages of living in a smaller, quiet, family-oriented community, with all the advantages of a big city a convenient train ride away!