It's pretty well known that I come from a family of eleven children. Most of us have lived away from "the mothership." At this moment, however, it turns out that only two of us are outcasts. She is child number two, living in Indiana, and I am child number nine. I've always admired her, but with the distance between us in the family I couldn't exactly say we grew up together. I love that age becomes more of a non-factor once you hit your twenties. Or...your thirties.
About two months ago I was chatting with my sister and she told me her family was heading to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break. I said, "Hey, that sounds fun, we should do that sometime." With that she said, "Well, why don't you come?"
So, I packed the kids in the car and took off down the freeway. Aside from the one part where we were stopped for, oh, three hours with me thinking "huh," looking around at barbecue grills, beer cans and cars painted with "Bristol or Bust," my good husband informed me (cozy in Virginia) that I was in the middle of Nascar traffic. Hilarious. Mapquest said it would take 7 hours 45 minutes and it took 11 hours. My kids are champs.
We finally made it there relatively unscathed (though I confess I was missing most of my taste buds after whittling my way through several packs of Cinnamon Mentos) and had a great time with my sister and her family. Rarely do I get to spend time one-on-one with a sibling so this was great. She's amazing and so is the rest of her family.
We drove through the Smoky Mountains, ate sushi, made large quantities of salsa, let the kids soak in the hot tub and talked about anything we could think of. We had a great time and the kids are asking when we're going again.
The cousins. As you can see, Luke joined the picture pretty hesitantly.
He was busy digging for bugs.
This is their dog, Elvis. My sister bought the girls construction paper, scissors and glue. Elvis was the recipient of their creative outburst. When my brother-in-law saw him he said, "Elvis is King!" Poor dog. :o)
So, thanks Kristen and family! This is long overdue, but we had a great time!
7 comments:
That little boy of yours better watch out. The girls will be swarming him in a few years. What a handsome dude.
glad you're back. it sounds like a fun trip - except for the stop on the freeway. :)
Oh, how I have missed you. I look forward to reading your blogs more than I look forward to eating ice cream (which means a lot if you know me and my eating habits)! You have such a way with words, your pictures are always amazing, and I just know our kids would have a blast if we could get them on the same coast!
I love to see little glimpses in your world. Maybe you could blog some of your photo tips! I got a camera for Mother's day and it is fun to use, but you are magical with a camera! I hope someday you and I can reunite with our kids!
Don't know why, but this post just appeared on my blog today. Weird! Sounds like a fun trip. I love those spur of the moment trips, they always seem to turn out to be so much fun!
sounds like fun...minus the 11 hour drive!
I love those pictures, all of them. What cute kids your sister (and you) have.
Post a Comment