The journey home

Since Jason had taken off the week after Easter, we decided to break up our trip home from Tennessee into two days and do a few things on the side. Our first stop was at Louisville Slugger. (Assuming I don't have to tell you it's in Louisville, KY).

There was a museum, a tour, a movie and some adult/kids batting cages. It was definitely hard for our kids to enjoy since they were probably a little young for it, but they did get excited at the end of the tour when we were all given individual mini baseball bats. I was excited because the factory smelled like the woodshop my grandpa used to have in his basement when I was little. They were making bats while we were there so it was neat to see the process, although I was a little bummed that we weren't allowed to take pictures in the factory. We got these cute shots though.

After leaving Louisville we continued north, stopping in Newport to eat at Pompilio's, one of our favorite places. The kids shared a spaghetti, I tried the lasagna and Jason got his favorite dish a cheese tortellini with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes in an artichoke cream sauce. It's so good but I never get it myself because it's just too much cheese and dairy for me, so Jason always gives me a bite. We took a risk eating on the patio since it was about to storm, but we made it out of there just in the knick of time.

Back across the river we stopped for the night at a Hampton in Fairfield. We love Hampton Inn because they are so consistent wherever you go. On this particular visit the kids' sofa bed was broken and they couldn't sleep on it, so we were upgraded to a jacuzzi suite. The next day we took a trip to the Bass Pro Shop. Jason has been wanting to go and it's the closest one to where we live, so that's why we chose to spend the night in Fairfield. The kids didn't really make it a very enjoyable experience, but they were impressed with the giant fish tank and this Kodiak Bear.

I was impressed with what appeared to be a two-story Kohl's next door, but I didn't go to check it out because it could have been a little dangerous. My desire had been to stop at Jungle Jim's, so we went there after leaving Bass Pro Shop. Jungle Jim's is a large international grocery store. The kids really didn't want to be there so we didn't get to spend a lot of time, but they had some things I haven't been able to find in Columbus so it was a succesful venture. Before heading home we stopped for lunch at this yummy restaurant. The kids were very well behaved and Jordis even politely called the waitress over to ask for a refill. We were quite impressed. And now that we're back home, we just wait to see who gets the first injury from the baseball bats.

That state up north

Last weekend we took a little jaunt up north for our anniversary and spent the weekend with some friends. Joe used to work with Jason and decided to move back home where he ended up meeting and marrying Jen, who I love. They're a lot like us and they "get" us since we lead similar lives, so we really enjoy their company. We were welcomed to Detroit by a gorgeous double rainbow. In fact, there was a rainbow each of the three nights we were there. I figured it was Michigan's way of laughing at me because I'm an Ohio State fan and was coming up there to spend money.

Joe and Jen also had a welcoming committee of their own.

I'm not a fan of big dogs, but Popeye and Armund were sweet puppies. On Saturday we went to breakfast and then they took us up to Frankenmuth, home of Bronner's the world's largest Christmas store. We spent three hours in there. They had everything Christmas that you could imagine, but my favorite part was the huge selection of ornaments. We left with four.

Then we went shopping and to eat. Frankenmuth is set up to look like a German village and had pretty flowers as well.

That night we stopped for ice cream and watched a movie before bed. On Sunday we got up and went to lunch, then to the marina to take a ride on Joe and Jen's new boat.

They keep it docked at Lake St. Clair so they can just go hop on at their leisure. These are the Twin Sisters Lighthouses.

We rode out to Harsens Island and docked at Riverside Grocery, a cozy little place where you could get some basic staples, ice cream, or a meal from the tiny pizzeria.

As if Jason wasn't already wanting a boat after our trip to Louisiana, Joe is on my bad list was kind enough to let Jason drive us back to shore. Here's Crockett and Tubbs...

After going home to walk the dogs and take a rest, we ended up at Olive Garden for dinner and then sat in the hot tub for awhile before calling it a night with some TV. On the way home we stopped at Motown.

They had a large group there so we got to jump in on their tour instead of roaming around on our own. We had two different guides and their presentations were very informative. Both were very knowledgeable and I was shocked that they could answer random questions from the crowd about things that went on way before their time. It was a fun way to end the weekend.

Jordis' Christmas Plans

I don't put out any Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but I have been faithfully listening to the two all-Christmas music stations since we got home from vacation (they start all-Christmas on Novembmer 1st around here).

This morning I turned it on and the first song was I'll Be Home for Christmas. The kids were in the kitchen eating so I asked them if they had planned to be home for Christmas. Xander said he was, but Jordis said no. Then this discussion ensued at the breakfast table.

Xander: Where are you going?
Jordis: I'm going to visit Santa.
Xander: Wow, that will be a lot of packing.
Jordis: Yep.
Xander: How are you going to get there?
Jordis: In the car. (note: Jordis is the WORST TRAVELER EVER).
Xander: Oh. (insert slight pause for pondering)
Xander: Wait! You can't do that, Mom and Dad won't let you drive.
Mom: Plus, Santa lives at the North Pole, which is in the middle of an ocean, so you can't drive there because of all the water.
Jordis: Oh, okay, I'll get a boat.

So, if you plan on visiting with Jordis for the holidays you might want to get a jump on it. She'll be leaving soon, as she has a long trip ahead of her.

Florida Revisited

We've been back 3 1/2 days and I haven't posted any vacation photos yet. I'm sure you're all just dying to see them, because other people's vacations are so much fun. Ha,ha. We took over 400 pictures, plus have over 50 on the Disney photo pass. I have a feeling once we actually look at them closely quite a few will be deleted since we attempted to take them inside rides. So I will spare you all of the photos and try to just pick a nice sampling.

We're firm believers that sometimes the journey is just as fun as the destination, so we started taking pictures before we even left the house.

I'm always the last one in the car.


Pajamas, babies, pillows, movies, we're all set.


Our fearless overnight driver, full of Diet Pepsi MAX.


We discovered early on that Jordis isn't just a bad traveler during the daytime, but more like ALL the time. I thought she cried most of the night, though Jason said it was only some of the night. So I think it must have been that she just cried everytime I was almost asleep.

3 a.m. Jordis with Daddy at a rest stop that I think was somewhere in northern Georgia.

Jordis couldn't wait to taste her orange juice from the Florida Welcome Center.

This is what you do to entertain yourself and two kids when you get to the resort early and have to wait to check in.