Gieseke Family Stomping Grounds Tour.

Our family is lucky enough to have fantastic family stomping grounds close and drivable for a weekend reunion...Greenville Illinois.

I didn't realize that Greenville is also a place where the buffalo roam right outside your Comfort Inn breakfast bar... and of course I made them go pose for a photo... because really how often do you have breakfast with a herd of buffalo?

 And even better, a set of cousins to roast wieners with and give you evening golf cart cruises around the field. 

Cousins! 

Emma and Rosie were both delighted to realize that they were both moms to guinea pigs... here they are posing with Pookie Boo...the Illinois pig. 

Cousins again!

Karl and David, were not as good at comparing guinea pig parenting stories, and stayed with kid stories instead.  

On Memorial Day, we visited the little cemetery in Trenton where many of the newest to the United States Gieseke's made their home after they arrived from Germany.

Whats a visit to the cemetery without a group picture?

Here we are with Grandpa August and Grandma Katharina... born in 1826 and 1836.

Afterwards, we stopped for a delicious lunch at wonderful restaurant happy to accommodate our big family. Henry was particularly happy about lunch and gave it a double fist pump cheer! Yay, pie!

The day was perfect, and we headed over to the Rod and Gun club to swim and row and fish. 

Karl and Uncle Tom had a more relaxed demeanor in their rowboat, but Lily was wisely ready for anything in her googles and lifejacket. 

Jamie loves to fish... and apparently he comes from fishing roots. He seemed right at home on the lake with a rod. 

Uncle Hugh taught Henry the hold the fish far in front for maximum size while being photographed trick.

Here is my adored father in law Jim, with his little sister and dear wife.

This was the best part of the visit... a chance to be together breathe the same air and enjoy each others company. 

A personal highlight was watching home movies of my father and law and his cousins and little sis jumping in the lake... and then watching very similar movies of Karl and his siblings and cousins jumping in the same lake 30 years later. 

And then of course watching our own soggy wombats jump into the very same lake.

What could be better then that?

And here are my very favorite Rod and Gun Club Lake Leapers... 

Jim, Karl and Tom.

It was a very most perfect Memorial Day Gieseke Family Reunion Original Stomping Grounds Reunion Tour.