I never imagined I would be driving almost 20 hours in 4 days with a 5 & 3 year old, but our recent road trip to Alabama showed me anything is possible. I am grateful for my father-n-law Cliff offering to drive his car while I attempted to entertain Bella and Dean with constant entertainment (mostly movies)! I am also appreciative of his similiar appreciation for all things caffeinated (Starbucks) & calm manner in the face of insane outbursts (from me & the children):). Short road trips we take from here on out will seem short & sweet.
Speaking of short & sweet our time in Montgomery & Demopolis was nothing but. We fit in so much and the kids bonded with their cousins both big and small. We arrived Friday in time to see Christopher play a baseball game then spent Saturday swimming in the pool, playing & playing until total exhaustion set in. Bella discovered a new love for mini legos, nerf dart guns and her cousin's company!!! Dean blessed us with a strong nap after waking Mommy up at 5am central!!! He never paused in between splashes & trampoline bounces enjoying all the big kid toys he could get his big little hands on. Mandy, MeMe and Halle headed up for the day so we got to play with our sweet littlest nugget of a cousin Halle! We drove down to her hometown of Demopolis on Sunday and spent a fun day inside between raindrops managing to get a nice afternoon swim in. We finally caught up with Darren that night after the golf tourn and headed back to Annabella's (MeMe's) to meet the animals and crash.
It was sad to leave the cousins. Dean and Bella went through cousin withdrawel on the drive back, but were left with wonderful memories. Dean says his favorite memory of the trip was the donuts :), but I say it was the warm feeling of being surrounded by family. Thanks to my sweet nephews Chris & Josh for taking such great care of your little cousins Bella and Dean. They adore you. Thanks Pam and Mandy for daquiri's and margaritas during Dean's nap time....ahh a few moments of relaxation with libations. Hopefully we'll meet again sooner rather than later in either KY or AL! The four rainbows we saw on the way home were just the perfect ending to a perfect trip. Not to say I recommend 10 hours in the car to the faint of heart, but as Dora The Explorer says, "We Did It"! And we'd do it again.
