Road Trip

Just the two words, road trip, make my heart skip a beat and flutter just a little faster. It's what I grew up doing. We didn't fly to our vacations. We drove. Usually to our beloved Osage Beach in Lake of the Ozarks. And in college, my friends and I were the queens of road trips. It was our salvation. A little slice of something to look forward to rather than the next exam.

So when my hubs suggested we rent a motor home and drive to Florida, you can bet your breakfast I was game! His biggest sis lives in Pensacola. His dad's side lives in North Carolina. It is going to be a mini reunion in Florida. We were already going to visit my family in Iowa. It seemed like a logical chose rather than buying plane tickets, a hotel room, and renting a car. And it was a road trip!! Umm, sign me up!

Most thought we were crazy. A motor home. A one and three year old. Eight states. Round trip. I was super excited! Yes, maybe a touch crazy, but completely and totally pumped!!

So here (most likely in a few different posts just because that's the way I get things done lately) is our journey to Florida and back!



This was our home away from home!!



Tucked in tight for "take off"! He looks like he's saying "are we really going to do this mom?!"

Also ready to go but going through a "don't you dare take my picture" phase! Which was great timing for vacation and momma who loves her camera!!

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As always, so excited about life and "driving" the motor home!



He takes his job seriously!!



Picking up sticks at our first campground, Lazy Day Campground in Montgomery City, Missouri.



Exploring the campground!

Time for a little Dum Dum sucker snack!



After the snack!



Mr. Joe Cool, he had to have his sunglasses (aka. Daddy's safety sunglasses) with him at all times!

The Mississippi River. We saw lots of flooding! And sadly, even more on the way back home.

So I didn't think about taking a picture of each state sign until we were into our third state, but here's my first attempt!

This is what happens when you get really desperate for entertainment!

Not to be outdone, ever!

Watching Little Bear as a cool down before bedtime our second night. We camped at a beautiful campground in South Haven, Mississippi. I don't know what I was thinking that I didn't have my camera out when we were outside. The boys even had a blast swimming in the pool there!! (You'll notice I missed the state sign, but stay tuned for the return trip:)

Battleship Park in Mobile, Alabama just before we cross over the border into Florida! So close!!

And this is what you get for Florida because I had two boys who more than ready to be out and about! Jeff yelled "here comes your sign" and I bound into the front hoping I had left my camera on the right settings to just snap away. You guessed it! Not on the right settings! Oh well!!

And there's a start to our adventure! Didn't even get a photo when we arrived at Jeff's sister's because the camera was all but forgotten we stepped out into the Florida night air!! There was hugging to be done, running around to be had, and catching up to do!!

Stay tuned for more on our adventure!!

thoughts

• so i won the mower battle....finally....third day was a charm! maybe it's a little short in a few places because i didn't realize the blade had dropped down, but it's grass, right?! it'll grow back!
• we have been blessed with two days of fabulous sunshine! it's 11:15 pm and the sky is glowing a beautiful purpley-pink (yea i don't know if purpley is word but go i'm going with it). my living room is still lit up enough by the daylight that i'm letting mother nature shed the light. this, my friends, is why i love summer in alaska! the beauty is magical! and when the sun shines, you will do anything to be outside in it.

11:30 pm

• because of the above, my house looks like a cluttered nightmare and my floors....yeah, well don't look at them until it's dark because they're speckled with spots. but we're not sticking to them yet! i did manage to get the potties clean the other morning though! update: so that was yesterday and today was gray and rainy so i'm happy to note the floors are clean, rugs washed, and five loads of laundry are done. ahhh, feels good to say that!
• my lovely raspberry bushes took a beating this winter. don't know what happened but i'm not the only one who didn't get hardly any canes with regrowth! so sad! there's some new growth sprouting up but i'm not going to get anywhere near what i usually do. and i think gabe is going to be the most disappointed because he keeps asking about them on a weekly basis!
• gonna try my hand at a blueberry bush this summer! just gotta get him in the ground. he's been sitting on my driveway soaking up the rain and sun for over a week now. don't really expect any berries this summer but who knows. the boys each blueberries like they're going out of style so anything would be a winner in this house!
• our neighbors across the street moved a few weeks ago to oklahoma. they were the best neighbors a family could ask for. the kind you call when you realize half-way through making lasagna that you don't have enough eggs. the kind that will watch your kiddos in a pinch. or feed your dogs while your on vacation. the really, really great kind. and i miss them! miss the meet in the middle of the street chats. the exchange of recipes. the chatter about what's growing in the garden and what's getting eaten by the moose (if only i was the one with the garden...sigh...next summer). i just miss them. did i say that already?
• i finally broke down nick's high chair into a booster. i was dragging my feet because....your going to think i'm silly....i love to see his little pudgy toes hooked over the edge of the table. it was one of the steps where these is no going back, and it means he's turning into a big boy. i'm in a little bit of denial when it comes to that (if you hadn't noticed). he, on the other hand, is going to love it at breakfast tomorrow morning! pushed up to the table like gabe.....instant smile and squeals!!

Cupcake Smiles

We recently took a trip back home to Iowa, and my best friend trudged west across the great state to see me!! It was for far too short of a time, but we have learned to immerse ourselves in whatever we can get when it comes to our time. We even managed to sneak in an impromptu grocery store (see I told you we'll take whatever we can get) run in the morning. Dashing through rain to pick up a few items and the much needed Starbucks fix!

Found a few minutes to get four of the five kiddos together in between naps and other to-dos! We even sweetened it with a little cupcake timeout!!

Love that my boys are looking at everything but the camera and her girls are spot-on the lens!!

Hugs and kisses to you Lisa Jean! I loved our little sliver of time and am counting the days until we do it again! XOXO

Things I Love

That you are intently watching Gabe paint as seen through the reflection in your eye.

That both of my boys inherited my crooked pinkies.

The sweetness of your profile from the owie on your nose to softness of your eyes.

couldn't resist

going through my millions of photos i have from may and the road trip and family. couldn't resist this little dose of cuteness!

it's beyond crazy how much i love him and want to eat him up every day. and keep him at this sweet, irresistible stage right now, i would go to the ends of the Earth to bottle these moments and his sweetness!
xoxo baby boy!

Battle

The mower and I have a love/hate relationship. It loves to irritate the s*&t out of me. And I hate that I let it get the best of me. Today was day #2 of attempting to get the yard mowed. If it would EVER stop raining it might make the relationship a tad bit easier. But otherwise the grass is gonna be 8 feet freakin' tall by the time I'm able to mow the entire thing. If I have to put the belt back on one more time or unclog the chute again, I'm pretty sure my neighbors are going to turn me in for mower abuse. Hopefully tomorrow will be third times a charm, and I can finish, hang up my mowing shoes, and go wash my Kermit the Frog hands!

Happy Daddy's Day

Happy Daddy's Day to the best Daddy our boys could ever dream of having! We love you so very much!

Can't wait for the very near future when we get to have you home all to ourselves ALL the time! It's been a long haul, and we are over the moon with excitement!! Hugs and kisses to the love of my life and the one who hung the moon for our boys!! XOXO