Roads Traveled

The last time I blogged something more than the Wednesday Hodgepodge was more than two weeks ago. As per usual we've done a lot of coming and going since then so let's catch up. This might be two posts or I might just jam it all in to one, so you'll want to grab your coffee. 

Rolling it back two Fridays ago which is when we made the trek to daughter1's house to spend a few days with her crew. Yes, three children constitutes a crew. The drive there should take six and a half hours but we have never made it in six and a half hours. This time it was nine. Ugh. 

Fifteen miles from their exit a tractor trailer caught fire and the authorities shut down the interstate. We sat for over an hour with our gas tank on the verge of empty before we were able to exit. We got gas then wound our way around what turned out to be some of the most beautiful Tennessee countryside we would have otherwise missed.  

Even life's little aggravations and irritations can have a silver lining. 

We wish we'd known about this route on previous trips because it was just that pretty, and this was likely our last visit to their current home. The movers come soon and then it's onward to another new home, new adventure, and lots of Graters ice cream and Skyline chili if that helps you figure out their new 'where'.  

The mileage from here to there will be about the same, and we're always grateful when we can visit by car. 

One bright spot en route to visit Daughter1 was a happy quick meet up with daughter2 and sweet baby J in a shopping center parking lot. Because of road construction on our usual route (always!!), the GPS directed us another way to Tennessee, which meant we'd be passing very near daughter2's exit. She happened to be on her way home from a friend's so we made it happen. 

His smiley face makes a long road trip feel less long. 

Hubs and I had a grand time with the grands doing all sorts of fun things. They have a huge pond in their neighborhood with a walking path all the way around and we are going to miss that for sure. It's been a wonderful spot to safely learn to ride a bicycle without training wheels, power a scooter, and identify ducks of every shape, size, and variety. 

Little miss has grown and changed so much since we saw her back in March and she gives the best smiles, rolls herself literally all over the house, and looks so much like her momma it makes my heart sing. 

You can relax. This will definitely be two posts. 

Saturday night daughter1 had gotten us all tickets to the local rodeo. You can walk to the venue from their house and it was set to begin at 7:30 PM. We arrived at 6:30 only to find the event had been waaaay oversold. There were almost no seats to be had, with long lines of people still pouring in after us. 

Daughter1 was wearing the baby and I had Max by the hand when a very nice lady offered to scooch over, move her kids to the floor in front of her, and let us have a couple of seats. The dads took the mancub and climbed to the top of the bleachers to squeeze in there. People were standing around the ring because there really wasn't anywhere else to stand so we honestly couldn't see a thing from our location. 

It was at this point daughter1 and I looked at each other and said, 'let's go home'. We gave Max to the dads and the boys were able to enjoy the show. I was going to write a review on the host's website but I guess now I can just direct them to this post lol. 

Did you come here to read about traffic jams and events that don't live up to their billing? Let's talk happier things...the great outdoors-

We went to a nearby playground that also has some walking trails throughout, meandered through the woods, along a stream, and then had quite a moment when the mancub alerted us all to a SNAKE!! right beside our feet. Fortunately for all we had the snake whisperer (aka the hubs) with us and all was well.

We walked another day along a trail that's been set up along an old community golf course. It's now a storybook trail and the boys had fun riding their bikes from 'page to page'.  I read online this was an Eagle Scout project so kudos to the creator. 

The setting was lovely with farmland all around, and we talked about how nice it would be to own land that had at one time been a golf course. A little bit manicured, a little bit wild, plenty of room for a house and garden, and a cottage for your parents to live in their old age someday too-ha! 

We have so enjoyed visiting all the places my daughter1 and her family have lived. I think about the staggering beauty of Washington state, the faraway Land of Morning Calm, and the wide open farmland of the Tennessee military town they've most recently called home. 

Moving stirs up all kinds of emotion and I feel the feels with her because I've been there myself. 

The sad goodbyes and the hopeful hellos. 

Pointing your eyes and your family in a forward direction.

Quietly tucking precious friends in your pocket and opening your heart to new people, new places, new experiences.  

To my girl and movers everywhere...

Unpack the boxes, hang the pictures, plant the flowers. Call the new place home. For a year or two or ten or forever. 

"You can have more than one home. You can carry your roots with you and decide 
where they grow." Henning Mankell