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We took a trip back to Michigan to visit Caleb's family March 10-15. It turned into a family reunion of sorts on Caleb's side. We had a marvelous time reconnecting with family and hanging out together. Our drive on the 10th began at 5:03am sharp. The girls were good little passengers and we arrived around 2:30pm. We were blessed to have a special day with just Caleb's Mom, Dad, and brother Joe. We enjoyed talking walks, playing on the bed, and chatting. Maddy went out for a special date breakfast with Caleb's Mom and Uncle Joe at the Mirage restaurant. (Meema went on to detail how, even though both of us parents gave food suggestions for Madge to to her, Maddy chose something entirely different all on her own to eat. Good for you, Madge. Keep us guessing!) They then went out birthday gift shopping together. (No, it's not Maddy's birthday anytime soon, but we probably won't see them again until after then.) Caleb's brother, Micah, arrived later on Thursday afternoon from Chicago. We all went out to meet Miriam and kids and to watch cousin Zelie play in a competitive floor hockey game--mouth guard and all, she was wailing on the court. Big family dinners at Caleb's folks were always a great time to chat and build relationships. On Friday morning, the guys went out for a game of tennis before the rain set in. Fortunately, we got in two full sets of doubles tennis. Very nice. Meanwhile, cousins were romping together and walking through the neighborhood. In the afternoon after naps, Maddy and Ari went out for a special time together. Also in the afternoon Caleb's Uncle Dan (Pita's Godfather) came by to visit and Caleb's sister Mary Theresa arrived home from Franciscan University in Ohio. The family is now complete. In the evening, we all went to St. Sebastian's Parish for the delicious Lenten fish fry dinner. On Saturday, a good part of the family made the trek to downtown Detroit to walk through the Eastern Market. (Funny enough, Madge continues to call it "Easter Market." On the way there she kept singing, "we're going to get eggs at the Easter Market....") It was a first for most of us--it was neat to walk through the hundreds of vendors and niche food shops. We enjoyed a breakfast In the afternoon, upon discovering the local CeasarLand and ChuckieCheeses were completely full (thanks to a rainy Saturday), we went to McDonalds with a big playscape to let the kids run around for a while. All our evenings were filled with family board games, food, and the occasional movie--does life get any better than that? Throughout the days, we enjoyed playing on Micah's Wii, particularly Guitar Hero which turned out to be a great multigenerational game. On Sunday, we all went to 8:30am Mass and Mares made her signature crepes for breakfast at the gracious home of Miriam and Natee (conveniently located two blocks away from Caleb's parents). At noon, there was an extended family birthday bash for all those celebrating birthdays in March and April: Caleb, Meema, Beeba, Grandma Young, Joe, Uncle Kirk, Uncle Jim. It was nice to see and chat with all the family members. In the afternoon, all the girls went to the movies to see "The Blind Side." In the meantime, Caleb and the girls went with Beeba and Uncle Joe to visit the girlies' great, great aunt, our beloved Aunt Helen. After breakfast on Monday, we hit the road one more time in route to Virginia. Fortunately, there was good weather, good behavior, and good conversation recalling the great time we had with family in Michigan.