Our only previous road trip lasting more than five hours was three years ago to see DB's brother graduate from high school with George and Olivia when they were babies. Of course we had our concerns, but they were babies, what could go wrong?! Ha! It was actually a great trip! Plus, we were so happy to have that time with family.
Which, is why I think we braved another one... this time, with three 3-year olds. Well, that and we certainly wanted to be there to see DB's brother now graduate from college! Yes, in only three years!! And once again, it was another great trip :) Of course, this time the kids didn't sleep the entire ride, and we found ourselves listening to children's song's that are incredibly hard to get out of your head... but this time they were also old enough to enjoy their family. I love that!!!
Friday we left right after school and drove until dinner time, then found a hotel and crashed. The kids were thrilled to be on a road trip and loved staying at a hotel! Luckily we arrived in time to get them settled down and get some sleep. Overall a great first day! Well, too much fast food for my liking, but I suppose it's a small price to pay :) Plus, the kids meal boxes provided lots of entertainment in the car - hooray!
Day two we continued on to Virginia and saw some family friends - three sisters and their parents that DB grew up with who just happened to be in town from all over the country. It was so much fun to catch up but also to introduce them to our kids. While we've see Dear Ann and Bob a few times since the kids were born, the sisters were so excited to see DB as a dad!
It was too short of a visit and we were back on the road to celebrate Cousin Kelley's graduation from college! Seriously I have no idea where the time has gone. Three years ago, Kelley spent three weeks of her summer helping us care for G and O while S was going through the dark days. I can't believe she graduated! It was so much fun to be able to hug her verses telling her congrats over the phone!
YEA Kelley!
Photo actually from the next day - I was so busy talking I didn't take many pictures, oops :)
Plus, the kids got to spend time with their cousins :) Well, DB's cousin's kids... so, 2nd cousins?
Whatever, they loved it! And I loved it! It took some time, but George was first to join in, then Olivia, and of course Samuel was constantly trying to sneak by me and back into the house to explore. Ha!
That night we continued on and arrived in C-ville late that night. While DB has been able to catch a few moments with Tish and Jeb, I haven't seen them since we moved into our new house, so it was great to be there. Got the kids settled in for the night and started catching up right away :)
The next morning was full of exploration! Really Samuel...
... Webster's Dictionary?! Ha ha!
Since the kids didn't think to sleep in, we had plenty of time to enjoy a gorgeous morning! Hmmm... they actually knew what they were thinking when they woke up early!
This neighborhood is absolutely the best for walks, so off we went...
There were a bunch of events planned for Jeb's graduation, but we decided the kids should probably just attend the last one... the after-party! Not sure our crew would have been welcome at the ceremonies by anyone but our family, but DB did get a chance to go see the actual diploma handed over.
At the after-party, every time we let go of Samuel's hand, he made a bee-line for Jeb. It made me smile every time! In fact, I found myself smiling a lot the entire weekend. Hard to explain, but seeing the kids with family and friends that have been hard to get to, just made us so happy. The way our kids felt at home fairly quickly, and the warm smiles and hugs from everyone for them, was just perfect.
I couldn't choose... above is definitely better of Samuel...
... but this one is the best for George and Olivia :)
Of course, Tish and Jeb were good in both... when will all three kiddos look at the same time?! Ha!
The afternoon was great. We loved celebrating with everyone!
We also got to spend some fun time with Uncle Jay and Linda... it was really sweet, G and O were so excited to see them. Even though they loved all the "new" family, I think it was also nice to see someone they already knew :)
The next morning we had breakfast and headed for home... geared up for a long day in the car, woo hoo!
Oh wait, back to that comment in the last post about our month full of sickness... I forgot to mention that Olivia woke up that last morning about 3am and started throwing up... and was a complete rock star riding all the way home (9+ hours) throwing up in a plastic cup in the back seat. Ew. Poor kid. George was also great, and let Olivia sit in front all day :) The good news, she waited until the party was over to get sick - that's my girl!
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