Travel Recap: Fun Week Back Home in Illinois!

I spent the last week back home with family & friends in Illinois and it was a blast! It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, due to COVID/quarantine, so it was so nice to be back and catch up. We spent time swimming, grilling out, staying in watching shows, and more!

Traveling Home to Illinois for the Week

I had the whole week off work because I was supposed to travel to Colorado for an Intensives week in my Master’s program. This got switched to a week of Zoom calls, due to covid, so Jeremy & I decided to high tail it back home. We hadn’t seen our family & friends in months, so it was really good for us!

It’s been hard to decide what to do travel-wise recently with the pandemic. We were planning on driving home, but decided that with 15 hours in a car, we’d probably be just as at risk as flying. So my Mom sent us some N-95 masks, we brought what’s left of the Clorox wipes & hand sanitizer, and we booked a flight.

We were hoping that there would be hardly anyone on the plane, but it ended up being about half full. We just tried to stay as safe as we could, maintain social distancing as much as possible, and sanitize everything. I was also surprised to see how many people weren’t wearing masks.

We’re in a Challenging Time Right Now in 2020

I’m currently off work until I can get the results of a COVID test. We changed our policy last week from half of the employees working from home to everyone being in the office. So they implement a rule where if you travel, you have to work from home for 2 weeks or get tested.

I’m getting the test done today and will hopefully receive my results by the end of the week. It’s a crazy time we’re living in right now and this is never something I would have expected a year ago. But this is the new norm, so regardless of the changes, we have to stay as positive as we can and try to remain safe/healthy.

But anyways, I’m sure everyone is already worrying about the pandemic and everything going on a lot right now. So I’m trying to remain positive and focus on the good things in life. It can be really challenging right now, but I always think positivity and gratitude are important, regardless of the circumstances.

The Week in Illinois!

We spent the week hanging out with our families and close friends. I spent time frisbee golfing with my brothers, swimming with Jen & Mary, and hanging out with my parents! I also got to meet my fam’s new pup, Sunna, who I’ve been dying to meet!

She’s the cutest little Goldendoodle I’ve ever seen with the softest fur! She looks so happy in these pictures. She’s like a little teddy bear.

That cheeky smile!

Meeting Sunna definitely gave me more dog fever than I already had. I can’t wait to get a pup to cuddle and take on walks around the neighborhood. We’re waiting right now until we have a bigger place with a backyard, but waiting is so hard!

She’s so goofy and hides under anything she can find. It’s like she feels safe and protected if she hides under the bed!

She took it to the next level and started hiding under her own bed too. We may or may not have been throwing her toys under there to try and get her to do it… Hehe

Pool Time!

Jen, Mary, my Mom & I went swimming and had a little photoshoot! They’re super photogenic.

We tried out some of the Barefoot seltzers and they’re super yummy!

The pool was really warm because it had been 80’s & 90’s in Springfield all week. I think we brought some of the FL heat back home with us!

An actual cute photo! We tried to do a… cheerleader pyramid too?

It didn’t always turn out that well…

Ignore the hair falling off my head, but this one turned out cute!

My brothers, Sam & Luke, & I went frisbee golfing!

I’m a pro now so don’t try to challenge me. 😉

We grilled out at my house the last day I was there. Mary & I decided to have another photo shoot then! We were feeling really photogenic because we took a billion photos.

Get a good look at these first two because they’re the last cute/normal ones we took all night!

Smelling the flowers? Making out with the flowers? I’m not sure…

Frat boy pose?

We tried to get some dunks in too! #Jordan

Mad skills.

Mary’s tall so she obviously was the top dunker in this battle!

Did she even have to jump?? I don’t think so!

Crushing it.

Dunking is scary! What do you do after you make it in, just let the ball hit you?? Let me know MJ.

Missing Home

Being back home was so nice and I loved getting to see my friends and family. I love Jeremy’s & my life in Florida, but I still miss my friends & family in Illinois tons! It’s hard being so far away from them and only seeing them a few times a year.

Honestly, I just want all of my Illinois fam to move down to Florida… But I know that’s not realistic or what everyone else wants. So for now, I’ll have to get by with seeing them as much as I can throughout the year!

Staying in contact is, of course, a lot easier now with technology. But it’s just not the same as seeing someone in person. It’s always sad to leave, but I know we’ll be back soon.

Or hopefully they will come visit us in Florida pretty soon, hint hint! 😉

Comment Below With:

1. Do you still live in your hometown or have you moved elsewhere?

2. How do you cope with not seeing friends & family as much after moving away?

3. What are a few of your favorite things about your city?