Salad Days: Why I wish Ohio was closer to Virginia

This has taken me weeks to post because apparently blogger was not a fan of how many pictures I wanted to put on here! Last month the girls and I made the trek to Ohio. It used to be an annual event until life got in the way and an eight hour drive with the kids seemed too overwhelming! It had been a few years and it was finally time to go back, especially since we were going to be staying with some awesome friends!

I made a lot of preparations for the drive including travel tickets and car games found at this site. They did help pass the time and encourage ~~tolerable~~ great behavior! As soon as we pulled in to Columbus I was overwhelmed by the freeway. I have been spoiled living in a small town and the most freeway driving I do is on 64, so the insanity of Columbus's freeway system was too much! In addition we were hit by a MAJOR storm as we rolled in. Yes, I was the one driving 40 miles/hour with my flashers on! Way to roll in to my old stomping grounds!

We arrived at Shawn, Theresa, and Mali's house damp and frazzled. The girls, of course, made themselves right at home. Theresa was kind enough to let me invite my friend Angie to drop by with her triplets for a few minutes. Angie's family was headed out of town the next day and I didn't think I'd get to see them again. Angie and I have been friends since high school and her triplets were born just 2 months after Laurel. It was always stunning to think that she was handling three "Laurels" at the same time when I was barely pulling through with one and my toddler Sierra! After they left Sierra, Laurel, and Mali headed to the pool where they spent most of their time when we were at the house. (I guess we didn't need to spend money for our in-ground pool... they were just as entertained by the blow-up one!) We relaxed that evening which was nice after a 10 hour road trip.

Friday we headed to The Columbus Zoo, home of Jack Hanna. I think most of the animals were as hot and tired as we were as they were pretty inactive. We all had fun though, seeing the animals that were out, feeling at home in the place where I grew up going to school trips, watching the kids play. Theresa and Mali headed to speech therapy so Shawn got to join the girls and I on my trip down memory lane. We drove around Westerville and my old neighborhoods as I pointed out place after place, memory after memory. The girls ~~grunted~~ ooh'd and ahh'd when I was excited about something. I guess the sentiment wasn't there for them, or Shawn for that matter, but he was a good sport! That evening we headed out to Uptown Westerville's Fourth Friday shindig. We went to the Dairy Queen that I frequented in high school when my best friend worked there. On the way home we stopped by and saw some of our old neighbors. We spent Thursday and Friday evening setting off floating lanterns, having glow in the dark egg hunts, and ~~finally~~ after the kids were asleep relaxing with a drink and chatting.

Saturday was off to breakfast with my mom and her old coworkers. I grew up knowing these friends of my moms and it was so good to see them again! One of the craziest things about our random friendship with Shawn and Theresa is that they live in the neighborhood that I grew up in and it is connected to the neighborhood where I lived throughout my high school years. When the kids and I got back to their house Saturday Theresa and I took the girls out for a walk around both of these neighborhoods and a great path in the woods that connects them. The girls got to play in the same park and same creek that I grew up playing in as Theresa got an ear full of my younger days! We discovered that Theresa adopted her dog from the animal shelter that I used to volunteer at and then randomly some volunteers walked by us taking dogs on an outing at the park! Not only do we have obvious things in common (girls adopted from China) but we seem to keep finding all of these other tidbits that link us. Not to mention that all of us (husbands, kids, etc) get along fabulously, we feel so lucky that Shawn, Theresa, and Mali have found their way into our lives. Sometimes connections with people happen so randomly and turn out so awesome, it can seem meant to be (like the red thread!) I think the feeling is mutual!

Playing in the pool

Floating lantern (as far as we know it didn't land on anyone's house!)

Shawn made a friend at the zoo

I thought trying to get a good picture of my three kids was hard. Try four!

These HUGE bears were playing

Feeding the birds

Sierra and Gramma

Sierra overcame her embarrassment at getting up in the firetruck if I wouldn't call her "my baby" anymore

Mali and Cadence got a lift!

Awesome sunset

I don't know what they enjoyed more.... eating donuts from Schneiders or being silly!

Cadence loved to hide things in this cabinet. Like balloons, her blanket, my purse, the room key!

One of my very favorite pics ever! Do you feel the love?!

The creek behind my house in Strawberry Farms that I used to play in

Being silly at the hotel pool (the loudest place EVER with 4 rowdy kids!)

Being silly with Gramma and Papa

Saturday night we checked in to our hotel and I went out to dinner with my friend Kim while my parents watched the girls. Although I've loved bringing my girls with me, being a single parent while living out of a suitcase can be exhausting. It was great to get away for a few hours and enjoy some drinks and memories and catch up. When I got back to the hotel I found out about another freakish, random meet-up. My brother and dad ran into my brother's high school girlfriend (and fiancee) as they were walking in to the hotel. She currently lives in Wisconsin and was in Columbus visiting family... and staying in the hotel room right below us! Even more weird, the day before we had left for Ohio she had messaged me on Facebook, although I hadn't seen it yet since I just had my phone. Crazy!

On Sunday I head out to see my friends Jody and Kim and their girls. The kids swam while we ~~tried to~~ talk. It had been a busy weekend and was definitely catching up with my three kids. Our visit was too short but I had to get back to the hotel to meet up with my brother. I briefly stopped to see another old friend from high school. It's so strange to think that our times together were soooo long ago! When I see my friends, though, it sometimes feel as though no time has passed at all... things are just as they were way back when! Our meet-up with my brother fell through and Shawn, Theresa, and Mali came to the hotel and brought dinner and we swam in the pool. It was good to see them one last time before we headed home to Virginia.

Monday morning we had breakfast with my brother. It was great to see him and the girls love being with him. I just wish it happened more often. Maybe he'll eventually make his way to VA! I made one last stop before we left Ohio to see one of my best friends from high school. We've know each other since 7th grade and have been through so much together... from getting caught sneaking out in high school to being in each others' weddings. Her oldest daughter Mia was my first "unofficial" niece. Even though we don't talk all of the time, I know that our friendship will be lifelong! The girls and I finally headed out of Ohio. I had checked out www.roadsideamerica.com to break up the trip on the way home. It's a very cool tool that I highly recommend if you are into ~~weird stuff~~ that sort of thing! We saw the pumpkin water tower and stopped at a pet cemetery. Who knew so many people used a pet cemetery?! There were all sorts of animals and gravesites to check out. By the time we were in the area to check out the much anticipated Batboy statue the kids were exhausted and so was I. Maybe next time we'll hit that one. It was good to get home after a wonderful long weekend with friends and family. I am blessed!