Mother's Day weekend

KOA had their annual BOGO deal last weekend, where you pay to stay May 11th and get the 12th for free.  We went to the Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA, in the Adirondacks.  My sister and her family came with us, and we couldn't have had a better time.  It rained for a week straight before we went and for two days after we got home, but while we were there...the weather was perfect.

We played.

We played rodeo seesaw...Yee-Haw!

We hiked...Moms only!

We ate...and ate...and ate...

We got really nervous about how far away an ER was.

We played.

They rode many miles.

We laughed.  And loved.

We got a good picture of Brian (a miracle).

We "squatted" little girls in the grass. :P

We visited the Olympic Center.

We missed this kid...

But we did not cry on this trip.

It's okay to move on. 

It's okay to be a family of 6.

We will always love you, Nicolas.

And we will live, laugh, and love as the family that remains.

Adventure!!

Some of you know we went on a last minute adventure recently.  We thought Brian had a job, and had to be in Nashville for training.  (I'm not going to talk about that non-job here...just the adventure we went on.)  So, with a day of notice, we packed up the kids and what we'd need for a week of unknowns, and hit the road.  It was 40 hours of driving time, the last 18 of that being just the kids and I.  We got to meet 4 of my online friends and their families, and now can call them real-life friends!

I could write pages of all of our experiences, some good, some bad.  Instead, I'll just give some key observations...the highlights.  The awards, first...

• Best traveler...goes to the most unlikely.  Levi!  He loved traveling in the car, seeing all kinds of things, meeting new friends, and even sleeping in different places each night didn't phase him.
• Worst traveler...goes to a certain little girl who WHINES way too much.  Oh boy, my ears are still recovering.
• Most patient...does not go to me.  I tried though, and that must count for something. 
• Best at dealing with southern heat...Brian, of course.  Born and raised in Texas and Mississippi.  The rest of us would need some serious air conditioning to survive down there!
• Best navigator...Noah!  Well, he tried anyway.  He is only 11. :P
• Worst navigator...the Garmin GPS.  Seriously...stupid thing shut off at the worst possible times.  Going into Pittsburgh, and again trying to leave Pittsburgh.  Piece of garbage.
• Best potty-goers...Levi and Esther!  They peed all over the US.  LOL  Only two accidents the whole trip (one per kid), and none in the car!  Esther and Hannah learned to squat in the grass on the side of the highway, but you do what you have to do, right?
• Most dramatic driving conditions...West Virginia.  Woah, baby, those are some MOUNTAINS!!!  The drive from Pittsburgh to Brisbin, PA also had some extreme ups and downs.  So beautiful!
• Worst roads...from Richmond to Atlanta.  So very glad Brian drove those mega-highways.
• Scariest bridges...Pittsburgh.  And West Virginia.  Heck, they were all scary.
• Best people to visit...ALL OF THEM!  Even more amazing in person, Chelley, Jenn, Maggie, and Kathryn...all made us feel right at home right away.  They alone were worth the trip. <3
• Best food...pizza.  (more on that in the next post)

And now some stats...

• 40 hours drive time
• 2270 miles driven
• 11 states (NY, PA, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, AL, TN, KY, WV)
• at least 30 "potty stops"
• 2 fast food dollar menu meals eaten (also more on that in the next post)
• 7 grocery runs
• 1 night in a hotel
• 1 night in a KOA cabin
• 6 tired peeps

It was a wonderful adventure.  I really learned that we are great travellers!  I wouldn't have said that before.  I hope we have many more spur of the moment road trips.  I think the lack of planning/worrying time made it even better!

Some of my favorite things...

Watching my kids' eyes light up when they realize I remembered the dollar store glow sticks that are Kamping tradition.

Splashing in the rain with my babies.  And then coming inside, getting all cozy in jammies, and watching Bugs Bunny all together in my bed.

Belting out Veggie Tales, sound effects, funny voices and all.

S'mores for breakfast.

Knowing how blessed these little people make me...

I hope they always remember the little things. 

And I hope Nick remembers the little, random things.  This was our first family vacation without the whole family. 

We have to continue on...with all of our favorite things.