2 weeks or 2 days?

Well, F has been gone for 2 weeks, and we have been gone for two days, sorry to worry anyone who looked yesterday to see where we were and saw... nothing. We were having so much fun at our friends' house that I didn't get on-line at all.

We left Saturday morning by 8:30, which was particularly good because my goal was 9. I had been up since about 5:30, restless and knowing there were still last-minute things to pack before heading out. I prepped almost everything that was left, then K woke up and started helping me unpack my handiwork, until H woke up and then it was just time to get going. Whatever I forgot (like our Power of Attorney), I hope I don't need while I'm gone! If I do need it, I left a key with our neighbor, and I'm sure she can overnight anything I need or whatever. Not too concerned at this point, I just wanted to hit the road.

The audio Backyardigan's CD we got just before leaving was a HUGE hit before we got the DVD player in Hattiesburg (good old reliable Target). After each song was ending, K would say "more songs, more songs, more Pablo, more Tynone, more Niqua." It makes me laugh when she says their names, because they are almost, but not quite right and its pretty adorable.

We made really good time, and H did a fantastic job letting me know when he needed to use the restroom and all. The only time we got caught short on Day 1, was just across the AR border from LA, and I pulled over on this backwoods highway and he peed out the passenger side slider of the van onto the shoulder and thought he was the coolest thing ever. (Day 2 we also did this twice and he thought it was hillarious to knock the feathery seeds from a dandilion with his urine; he laughed so hard he cried.)

But H's favorite part of Day 1, other than arriving at our friends' place, was this truck we saw driving in AR. It was a Fish & Game truck, pulling a trailer that had huge catfish in a tank on the back, so it was like a little mini-aquarium, and H thought it was the best. We actually saw it twice because K dropped her milk and had a meltdown, so I pulled over to grab it and the truck passed us, then we passed it again later and he thought it was another one. The rest of the day he kept asking for more fish trucks.

The lowlight of the day was probably almost hitting a snake in the road. It was HUGE to me, but my friend who is a native Arkansan (?) said what I was supposed to do was hit it, reverse and run over it again to make sure it was dead. Personally, I was more worried about hurting my car - it seemed enormous to me.

So, nine and a half hours after leaving home, we arrived at R&E's house, and were welcomed by a storm of pink toys that the kids had a blast playing with - from a huge Dora tent and Princess tunnel to a giggle vaccuum, the kids were in HEAVEN. We all had so much fun and it really was hard to leave, I felt so spoiled by their hospitality and they were so generous to open their home to us and feed us and let us relax and play for a while. H kept asking is we were going back to their house tonight.

Instead, we made it past our target stop of McConnel AFB (since there was no room at the inn) and on to a little crossroads town in KS that had plenty of hotels and places to stop. We found a nice place with a pool thanks to Grandma H's online shopping and stopped to get a little R&R and swim. I, of course, simply HAD to get online and share our trip thus far. Today was not as much fun, likely because yesterday we had the anticipation of R&E's place, and their kids and the fun I knew our kids would have there.

Today I knew it would be a hotel and strangers, but at least we did find an indoor pool, which we barely had time to extract ourselves from the car and the kids were chomping at the bit to get into. It was a great pool because it was only 4 1/2' deep, so I wasn't too overwhelmed with both monkeys. H had his floaties and he splashed and so forth in the 2 1/2' end while I'd take K swimming to the other end, then she sat on the steps while H got to make the rounds.

Its late, and tomorrow is another day driving, but I wanted to let those who are following us know that we are safe and sound for the night and all-in-all I am blessed that these kids are such resilient monkeys and great travellers. I know there is a ton of detail that I am forgetting that I had intended to include, but I guess it will have to wait for another day. Tomorrow we are hoping to make it to another set of friends, J&L, who also have a monkey H's age. It will be fun and I can't wait to see what happens next!