To Ohio We Will Go

We are back in my "mother land" and having a great time!

To Ohio we went on Saturday morning at 6:30am--my plan was to drive my crew the 5.5 hours to Pittsburgh, stop and see some ND friends there, and then head onto Toledo another 3.5 hours. Everything *praise God* went according to plan, which was really great bc this was a solo trip just me and the kiddos! The roads were smooth, Big Blue was humming (good, old boy!), and the kids traveled well, playing nicely with some car survival kits (thanks, Mimi!) and our laptop serving as the DVD player.

The stop in Pittsburgh was so lovely, thanks to Carol and Tom and sweet boys! My crew enjoyed playing with new toys and seeing C and T's two adorable boys. Their family seems to be thriving after only two months since welcoming child #2. It was really great to see them. The coffee they provided was also vital for my last leg of the journey. Never did I feel sleepy or unfocused, so that was a huge answer to prayer (I can be a sleepy driver!)

We pulled into my parents' place around dinnertime on Saturday, no worse for the wear and all in great spirits! We had done it! :) Mama was probably the happiest kid in the car! My sister and fam drove in to have dinner with us--such a nice treat to see people we love beyond measure after a long day in the car. I couldn't get over how big my twin nephews are--they are up to my shoulder in height and are only 10mos. older than our M! :) And gentle giants they are, playing so nicely with my little ones and taking orders well from M. He's usually the ring leader and they are kind enough to go along with him. ;)
The last three days have brought all sorts of adventures, including lots of swimming in my sister's pool, some fun workouts with old friends, a nature walk with my family in my most favorite woods...

Cooking some of the biggest s'mores with Uncle Chad and Aunt Jess. Check out those marshmallows.

Learning about an orange moth from Pappy. My biologist roots are evident here!

The nature kiddos--they *loved* the nature window we visited later, complete with frogs, 2 groundhogs, visible bee hives, and an array of birds.

Can you imagine getting to run here every day?! I was so spoiled as a kid!!

On the docket for today--family pictures to be taken by a family friend and a girls' night with my most favorite girls from high school!! There will be eight of us there and I'm sure plenty of stories shared from our youth. Can't wait!!

We send our love to our Virginia peeps, especially to our GG/Daddy who is most missed and loved! We wish you were here with us... xox

God bless,