Summer Road Trip

We just got home from a short summer road trip to visit my parents and sisters in our old home outside of Kansas City, MO.  I haven't had time or energy to post pictures yet--but I will.  I just thought I would take a minute to post some of the highlights.

Driving there was a breeze!  First of all I guess I should point out that it was just the kids and I, the timing didn't really work out for Justin to go.  Thankfully with his help packing the car the night before, we were able to just get up and go.  Getting on the road early in the morning is definitely the way to go!  We had just the right snacks packed that we didn't need to stop to eat at all.  I also froze water bottles the night before for the kids and then I brought along a couple of gallons of water, so we just re-filled as needed while there was still ice in the bottles.  It was great!  I will always do this from now on.  Something else we loved and were glad to have--books on CD.  I think our favorite one was the first book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, "The Capture."  Kelly has read the whole series, and I thought it would be a good idea for all of us to listen to this book since they are coming out with a movie soon.

Something that I learned not to do--give Kenzie a small piece of gum.  She usually does pretty well with it, however, somehow she ended up gagging herself with it and threw up all over herself about 20 minutes from our destination.  Y--U--C--K!!  Thankfully my older sister was right there waiting for us with a bath all ready and she took apart the carseat and got everything in the wash!  Thank you Dianne!  It was a huge help!

Something about my older sister--we haven't seen each other for about 5 years!  That is just too long!  Unfortunately, I think that is just something that comes with everyone living so far apart.  Anyway, it was wonderful to see her and her family.  They have grown so much! 

My two younger sisters, Kimberly and Susan, live not far from my parents.  It was a great opportunity for all of us to get together, even if it's just for a couple of days.

Let me see if I can "sum up" a few of the highlights:

--Dianne and her husband got to enjoy a night at the Roller Derby where Susan and Kimberly help as part of the crew.  Tons of fun!

--Attending church in our old ward and seeing good friends again.  Also, enjoying listening to Dianne sing in church.  She has an amazing voice!

--Staying in a hotel with my kids, where everything was "the coolest ever!"

--Shopping with Kelly, (and all of the other kids) at our favorite resale clothing shop "Mary Margarets".  Kelly and I came across some amazing finds.  I was wishing that we had more time, money, and of course a babysitter for all of the other kids. :)

--Participating in a 3 mile run/walk with my sisters and my Mom.  My mom recently celebrated her 60th birthday and had been training for this for a while in honor of this special day.  It wasn't a formal race, just something that we did on our own.  It was a lot of fun and we are hoping to do it again sometime.

--Playing, playing and more playing!  I re-learned how to play the card game "hearts."  I'm not too bad either.  Also, my kids had so much fun playing with all of their cousins.  I'm happy to report that really, everyone got along very well.  We ended up staying an extra day and Kate was wondering where all of her cousins were.  We will definitely miss them!

--While there, we couldn't resist a visit to Historic Liberty Jail.  It was wonderful as always!  I learn something new every time I visit.

--On our drive home, (which sadly didn't go as smoothly as our drive there--more on that later), the kids and I visited Ball Town Cemetery, in Rich Hill, Missouri.  We found the grave sites of my ancestors, I think they are my great-great-grandparents and my great-great-great-grandparents.  I'll take the time and look it up for sure.  I just tried to find the information 'real quick' and it's going to take a little more than that.  It was pretty awesome to be standing there with the realization that if it weren't for these ancestors, one who was born in 1815, I and my children wouldn't be here.  I'm glad that we were able to visit their grave sites.

Well, that's about it.  I guess it wasn't that quick.  I will try to post some pictures in the near future.  All in all, it was a great trip and I'm grateful we were able to go.