Stop Eleven - That "Other" Bieniek Family
On Saturday, we had only one stop to make: we were going to visit Uncle Joe and Aunt Marge. Uncle Joe and his family moved out to California back when I was really little. We have seen them every couple years when they pass through Chicago, and we thought it would be nice to go see them while we were out there. So the five of us piled into both cars (neither car will hold five people safely, how's that for planning!) and head out to Uncle Joe's place, in a trailer community about a half-hour away from Chris and Laura's place. We lost sight of Chris' car early on, but we also missed a major turn, so they wound up getting there first, and getting the only parking spot near the trailer. We knew we were in the right place when we saw the license plate parked outside. (Hey, Dad, why don't you have Illinois BIENIEK plates?)We parked around the corner and went inside, bring the pies we bought that morning. Uncle Joe and Aunt Marge look great, and their place is really great, too. It almost seems funny to call it a trailer, because it probably has more space inside than our apartment does.
We have to include a couple shots of their bird, Keno:
Uncle Joe made it a point to show us how thin he is. He said this picture is for you, Dad!
And a shot of all the Bieniek boys in attendance:
Next thing we know, there's some motion on the front porch, and who comes walking in but our cousin Mike, with his family. I haven't seen them in almost 20 years! They were going from one event to another that day and stopped by just to say hello! They didn't stay long, and we spent so much time talking that I didn't even take my camera out of the bag! (Sorry about that, guys. Maybe there will be some pictures in Stephie's rolls when she gets them developed. If so, I'll post them then.)
Not too long after Mike's family arrived, there was some more movement on the porch, and in comes our other cousin Joetta and her family! Unfortunately, Mike's family had to leave, but we had a great time hanging out with everyone else, talking about family stuff and generally filling each other in on what's happened in the last 20 years! We even used Uncle Joe's computer to show them this web site, specifically the Grandpa's Wallet page.
Uncle Joe is not only losing weight, as you saw above, but he's also losing height! Either that, or Cameron is really sprouting up! Actually, click the picture to see what really happened!
As I said, we had a great time! Thanks to Uncle Joe, Aunt Marge, Joetta, Darren, Cameron, Darrah and Morgan for making it a real special day. Before we left, Chris set his camera up on the timer and got a group shot. If you click the picture, it should open up another window with a larger version, suitable for framing or setting as your wallpaper.
On to the Next Stop
