Kansas and Germany Meet in Alabama

This time last week I was staring at an 800 mile road trip ahead that I was timidly prepared to tackle alone with my divas, but this week I’m happily in Alabama with the big road trip behind us, surrounded by a ton of family. A TON. I’ve been under the same roof since Saturday with my kids, parents, sister, niece, aunt, cousin, and grandmother, so altogether that’s 10 people. Whew. It’s been a party!

My sister Jennifer and 17-month-old niece Carly flew into our hometown on Friday from Germany to Alabama for their first visit since they PCSed (moved) overseas in March. Even though doing a road trip with Hadley and Sadie alone was daunting, there was nothing that would keep us from getting to Alabama and putting our arms around Jenn and Carly. Do you remember what a total wreck I was when we said our goodbyes in January? We’ve missed them so much!

Saturday was a relaxed, quiet day. Jenn and Carly were super jet lagged, and my kids were also a bit out of sorts after being in the car the day prior. We spent the day squealing over how precious the kids were playing together and talking all things pregnancy since Jenn is due with a little boy due in January. Hooray for adding a boy to the cousin mix. 🙂

On Sunday we had a relaxing morning before I hit the road to Birmingham to surprise one of my college roommates at her bridal shower. Hannah and I lived together in our sorority house for two years and then in an apartment with two other girls our senior year, so we were really close! We haven’t seen each other in almost four years, but still regularly keep in touch.

When I opened her bridal shower invitation and saw that it was the same weekend that I’d be arriving in Alabama for this visit, I almost did a back flip right there in my driveway. I was so excited! I kindly asked the hostess to keep it a secret that I’d be coming since I knew Hannah would never expect me to be there since I live in Kansas. She kept my secret, and Hannah was totally surprised! So (so so so) good to see her as well as about 8-10 other sorority sisters. We were a really close crew during our college days, so catching up with everyone for a couple hours was really sweet and totally worth the quick trip. Can’t wait for her wedding in May!

Fun fact: Hannah has the coolest job; She’s a sea lion and dolphin trainer in Miami! I visited her and got to see her in action a few years ago, and it was honestly so thrilling to see her actually doing what she always dreamed of doing. I cannot wait to take the girls one day to show them what Mommy’s college friend does for a living. 🙂

While I was at Hannah’s shower, the rest of our family went to the Huntsville Botanical Garden’s scarecrow trail. I was sad to miss the fun, but I was glad that the girls were having such a good time! Hadley has said 100 times that she’s “so happy to be in Alabama!”

Monday was chilly and drizzly, so indoor fun was on the docket! We spent the morning doing a little shopping and then brought the girls to check out Let’s Play, a moderately sized play place full of mechanical toys, a zip line, and all kinds of general mayhem for kids of all ages to get into. They seriously had the best time!

After we left Let’s Play, we ran over to Edgar’s and indulged in a quick lunch with a shared slice of strawberry cake on the side. The kiddos crashed on the way home, and we spent the rest of the day yesterday relaxing and playing with the kids at home.

When I sat down to type up this post last night, I actually had to dig my laptop charger out of my luggage that I’d packed Thursday night. The fact that I hadn’t charged my computer in four days proves just how little time I’ve spent doing any blog-related biz the last few days. 🙂 Glad to be back in business though. Even though breaks are nice (and necessary), I always miss this outlet and community!

Hope you had a nice weekend! See you tomorrow!