Cousins, A Niece, Great-Nieces and Great-Nephews, Oh My! (Road Trip Day 85)

While growing up our family would visit my dad’s sister, Betty’s family. Betty and her husband, Red, lived in a farmhouse during much of my childhood. They had five children.  Today we met up with the oldest three, Dewey (Denny when we were kids), Mike, and Rusty in their hometown of Defiance, Ohio. We have not been able to connect with their two sisters on this trip.

Oh my gosh! Joe and I enjoyed our visit with them as we shared memories and caught up on our lives. Dewey and Mike have retired from their jobs. Rusty works third shift at a food processing plant. Up until three years ago he worked as a carpenter; the company he worked for closed when the owner retired.

All three of the guys cook, something they have in common with Joe. Mike also enjoys baking. He is known for taunting his previous co-workers with photos posted to Facebook of his bike rides and the pies he makes while camping. Rusty also enjoys cycling – however, to my knowledge he does not taunt his co-workers.

I ‘borrowed’ this photo from Facebook and edited it to exclude a few people that I do not have permission to use their name in my blog. The photo is of Rusty, Mike, Aunt Betty, and Dewey taken before Aunt Betty passed on in December of 2018. Betty was my father’s only sister, and we all loved her so much. I miss her as much as I miss my parents.

By the way, Mike looks different today (from the picture) as he was clean shaven. Waiting for him to put up a photo on Facebook. He and Rusty look very similar now. Maybe that’s why he’s worn his beard - so people could tell him and Rusty apart.

Mike baked a pan chocolate chip cookie for our visit today. It was amazingly delicious and while I stopped at two pieces, I could have eaten the entire skillet full. It wasn’t a little skillet either!

One of the best parts of the visit was how much we laughed… and laughed,,, and laughed. I had forgotten how much our two families laughed when they were together. I am so grateful for my cousins!

Next, we went to my niece, Courtney’s home in Defiance to visit with her and her four children, Tatum (13), Adeleigh (Addy, 9), Joss (8) and Liesel (4).  Courtney is the oldest daughter of Todd and Cindy (my baby brother and his wife) and sister to Jacob and Caity.

We made and ate personal pizzas. Joe went out to the store and purchased strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, and cocoa powder. He made chocolate syrup with cocoa, and we all had fruits of our choice drizzled with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Liesel mostly ate whipped cream off the of her strawberry and then went back for refills of whipped cream. I’m not sure she ever ate the strawberry.

After dinner the children went out to play. Joe went with them, which gave Courtney and me an opportunity to chat.

The gift of time with my family is one of the best parts of this 3-week stay at my brother’s family cottage in Michigan.