Sibling Love

So what does a picture of downtown Chicago have to do with sibling love? Everything!

My sophomore through senior year in high school I attended the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, IL, about 5.5 hours from my hometown, Bowen, IL. Leaving home at age 15, Ted was only 11 years old and Laura was only 9 years old. After high school I went to the University of Illinois, graduated in 4 years, got married, and moved to St. Louis. The point of this autobiography is that Ted, Laura, and I didn't really spend a lot of time together when growing up. However, now, we LOVE getting together and do so as much as possible. This past weekend we took Carlie up to Chicago to see Ted and Alicia. Along the way we picked up Laura and Jordan in Springfield IL. The trip was full of laughs, inside jokes, funny memories, lots of pictures, and plenty of souvenirs.

Besides all the fun I have with my siblings I also love how much we truly take care of each other. We talk at least on a weekly basis and try to vacation several times throughout the year (even if it's just a vacation at the "Ufkes resort"). This particular weekend in chicago, Ted and Laura decided to take care of Bill and me.

Ted had lots of hotel points accumulated from his weekly travelling and had to use them by the end of May. He reserved a hotel room on Friday and Saturday while we were in town and it was decided Laura and Jordan could have the room because we knew our kids would want to stay with Carlie and Carlie would want to stay with her daddy (therefore putting my whole family at Ted's apartment). When we got into town late Friday night, Ted and Laura decided Bill and I should have the room and THEY would watch all the kids for us! That alone, was a wonderful treat.

But that's not all...

The hotel room got upgraded to a luxury suite, at $1500/night. We had a suite larger than Ted and Alicia's apartment, with TWO full size bathrooms. We had fruit, a bottle of wine, and a box of chocolates waiting for us. We were on the 29th floor overlooking the city. The workout room covered three floors and the pool looked like something out of ancient Greece!

Now the funny part: There was a card next to the wine saying, "Here is a small thank you for being our loyal vistors, Mr and Mrs. Al-Keefeela." The hotel had already placed the thank you card when the couple cancelled and Ted got the free upgrade! The next morning we felt like Tina Fey and Steve Carroll on "Date Night" - stealing someone else's identity to seem more important than we are! If someone comes looking for the Al-Keefeela family, it's NOT us!!




Thanks Ted and Laura - we appreciate the night get-away!