Santa!! Santa??

On our way to West Virginia, we were visited by who may quite possibly be the REAL Santa Claus. It was a lovely visit, special for the girls, as well as for Eric and me. Today, as we leave West Virginia, we are headed to Santa Claus, Indiana, for what has become a yearly trip for us. We will see Santa for a second time on our trip, and our kids are thrilled about that. (and frankly, so am I)

Right now we are in Chillicothe, OH. We started out our trip from WV on US HWY 50 and are taking it in to Cincinnati. It's not a huge two or three lane (both sides) Hwy that we are on right now. It's two lanes, one each way, and it's the way we would rather travel any time we can. 

Oh...and it's raining. :-) 

Oh...and now it's not. (like 45 seconds in between pictures)

Aww...Hansen just pulled over for me so I could get a "WEST 50" pic for y'all. He's so sweet. 

Oh...and on 50 today we've seen probably 20 vans and several bike riders that are part of the "Race Across America". For my friends that bike, you can look them up here... http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raam/raamfp.php?N_webcat_id=1. They bike from Oceanside, CA, to Annapolis, MD. 

We had a lovely visit with our family. We fished, took fire truck pics (ok, Eric did that), played in the Hughes River, cooked out, caught lightning bugs, went to the doctor (I got sick), took 4 wheeler and tractor rides, and relaxed when we could. 

Oh look...I've typed so long that we've hit another town. Bainbridge, OH. :-)

Tonight we are staying with a friend of mine just outside of St. Louis, MO. I plan on staying up entirely too late chatting the evening away while our men and kids blissfully sleep. 

Ok.I'm missing lots as I type. I'll try for another post tomorrow. (which probably won't happen lol)

On our way...

Well, we are on the road and on our way to West Virginia. I started out driving...that's something that I never do unless it's me and mom going somewhere. By 11am, I'd already driven three hours, which is three hours longer than I had planned to drive all day. I feel as if I have done my good deed for the week. 

We started out as a car load of 5, with one Mamaw traveling along either in front or behind us. However, we quickly learned upon passing said Mamaw, that the oldest child in our car would much rather be traveling with her. So, when we stopped, we took some oatmeal creme pie cookies from Mamaw, and gave her a child in exchange. I think that worked out well. We passed them at one point and Sydney looked happy as she could be, singing what I am quite sure was "Over the Rainbow". The Wizard of Oz is her current favorite movie and I'm positive she'll do a great job at keeping Mamaw awake during the drive with her singing and movie quoting. 

Currently we have one child being very cute while she watches the Nightmare Before Christmas 

and another that has herself tucked away in her fort she has made.

If she were wicked smart like she says, she'd have part of the blanket tucked under the head rests in front of and behind her. She's still learning, I suppose. 

Right now we are currently 98 miles from Little Rock. From there we go to Memphis. Instead of going north from West Memphis and bypassing Tennessee altogether, we are going to torture ourselves with the most boing ride in the United States. Memphis to Nashville. It's brutal, y'all. I know I've said it before, bypassing Tennessee on the way to West Virginia from Texas, is like trying to get to Mexico from Oklahoma with out going through Texas. I think this is the first time in at least four years that we've taken the drive between the two cities. This may force me to talk instead of napping after I turn the iPad off. I'd hate for Hansen to sit through that drive alone. 

I somehow made it out of the house, with the help of the girls, with some school work. I figured while we were in West Virginia, I'd take advantage of the fact that one of my aunts is a teacher...and, said aunt used to be a MATH teacher.

This just in. One has fallen asleep in what appears to be the most uncomfortable position she could possibly fall asleep in. She's got a pillow and blanket, but maybe the door offers her support she can't get from the fluffy things. 

More later...hopefully. I always seem to say that and then before I know it two months has gone by.