Ohio

Hadleigh and Annelise with Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma

Annelise chilling on Great-Grandma

I just have some major catching up to do here! Two weeks ago my mom flew in from Cali and we loaded the girls in the van very early in the morning...and drove. My grandparents were celebrating their 60th anniversary, seriously! So, mom said she would drive with me so that I could attend. Since it was a 10 hour drive, and neither of my girls sleep in their carseats, I thought it best to divide up the trip. The first night we stopped in Lexington, KY. I went to school up there, so it was fun to see some old stomping grounds. I would have liked to go to Asbury, but time did not allow. We did get to visit with Joe and Julie and their two kiddos, Will and Lauren. Julie and I actually grew up together and both went to Asbury together. Hadleigh has a great time playing in the snow (her first time) and playing with their HUGE dog, Molly (who is very sweet), and of course, playing with Will and Lauren! They were dancing all around to music before bedtime, it was pretty hilarious!

The next morning we left early again, and drove the rest of the way to the small town where my mom grew up. Both drives went fairly smoothly and Annelise actually slept both days! We actually stayed at this great bed and breakfast that had little cabins. It was nice to have a quiet place where the girls could sleep. And the breakfasts there were AWESOME! The girls enjoyed sitting on the porch playing with the cat who was really friendly and liked to come into our room.

It was fun to go out to my grandparents farm and play. HC got to play with Buttons the dog, Henry the bunny, got bitten by Peaches the parakeet, and loved to watch Rusty the horse and the chicken (not sure what her name was). Now, all the bunnies in our house are called Henry. She also enjoyed playing with my cousins Sabrina and Lacey who live with my grandparents. Annelise was definitely along for the ride. She liked the animals in theory, but didn't want them to come near her.

(Mom, Pam, Debbie, Nancy, Amy with my grandparents)

This was also the first time the girls had met their great-grandparents on that side of the family, and their only living great-grandfather! It was fun to see them interact with them, and all their great-aunts (my mom has 5 sisters), and who knows what number cousins (are they second cousins...or).

Sunday after church the sisters had planned a special lunch for everyone. I think it was enjoyable, I myself was pretty busy trying to keep the girls happy and fed. But I think it was a big hit.

Sabrina and Annelise

One other fun benefit of being in OH, was that I got to visit with my good bud, Ashleigh and her second little boy, Josiah who is a super sweet boy! She drove up from Columbus to visit with us. The last time I saw Ash was at my wedding, so we had a lot of catching up to do. It was such a blessing to see her, and we stayed up WAY too late talking, but it was worth it. She is such a super cool chic and it is always neat to hear what the Lord has been doing in a dear friend's life. Love you Ash! Let's not wait another 5 years!

Ashleigh, Josiah and Hadleigh

Mom and I decided that since the girls did such a great job on the drive up, that we should at least try to drive all the way back to Atl in 1 day. We were on the road at 5.45 and just flew through the drive. Annelise slept a couple times. Mid-way through TN HC had a major melt-down which led to her sleeping for about 30 minutes. Once we past Chattanooga she freaked out again, but I managed to appease her with some twizzlers! I mean once we got to Chattanooga there was NO WAY we were stopping. It was a great trip overall and I am so glad that I was able to go, and that Mom flew out so that I could go (no way I could have made that trip without her).