The Long Road Home

The following people left out on a trip to my home state on Friday morning:

1. Susie (That would be me)
2. My mom
3. Dejah
4. Marlette
5. Alicia
6. Joshua
7. Matthew
8. Isaiah
9. Nicholas
10. Logan
11. Piglet
12. Keri
13. Melissa
14. Brittany
15. Little Matty

Count them, that's fifteen people. To be more specific that is seven adults and eight children traveling in three vehicles. First off we were running behind schedule. This was mildly irritating but not a big deal. We get on the road and have a fun trip. The children were well behaved. They did not require us to stop every hour to pee. They did not fight amongst themselves. Piglet was well behaved. He did not cry or scream hysterically. We enjoyed caravaning and having the secure feeling that we were all in this together. We were able to proceed with a minimum of stops.

Once we were close to the NC border, we stopped for gas. On a hunch, I bought a lottery ticket. I won 75 bucks. How great is that? I am not a big lottery player. I buy a few tickets here and there. I was very excited. See what a great trip I we were having?

We decided to stop for a picnic lunch at a very lovely rest area just inside the NC line.

See the beautiful rest area? Isn't it great?



See the beautiful mountains? What a lovely place to stop and eat lunch. We all brought food and we found a lovely shaded picnic table. We ate lunch and continued on our way. Our trip is still fun and exciting. Stopping and giving the kids a chance to run was a brilliant idea. I can't remember if I am the one who thought of it. Since it's my blog, I will assume that I did and take the credit.

The scenery on I40 is beautiful. The mountains are fabulous. I tried to capture the beauty, but I am unfortunately not an expert photographer as you can see.




The rest of the day was very pleasant. Well, mostly pleasant. Within about five miles of reaching our destination, Piglet filled his diaper. The odor was so revolting, I was afraid I was going to gag. We stopped at a gas station very close to our hotel. There was no way we could make it to the hotel and then wait to get checked in to get that diaper off that boy's backside. It was the most foul thing I have ever smelled.

Brittany's mom met us at the gas station to take her home. Brittany is Melissa's friend who had stayed with us for a few weeks. Only Dejah, myself, and our kids were staying at this hotel. The others had made other arrangements. We got to the hotel and checked in, then we immediately took the kids to the pool to let them get out some of their pent up energy. Another wise decision. I don't remember if that was my idea either. I am feeling extremely generous, and I will let Dejah take the credit for that idea.

We called my oldest brother B to let him know we were close by. Apparently, due to poor communication, he didn't realize that THIS was the weekend we were coming down. No one called him. Not me, Dejah, Marlette, Alicia, or Mom. B is a good brother, he took a shower and came right over to our hotel to see us right then.

We hung out and B said that he wouldn't be able to come the next day to our mini reunion. He didn't realize we were coming, and had already obligated himself to take care of some things. We were devastated. No one called my brother J either. He didn't know we were in town either. (Aren't we a well planned bunch?......Aren't you envious of our planning skills?)

Marlette decided that it was a good idea to call and wake us up early, since no one ever sleeps in on vacation. We had stayed up late the night before and Dejah and I were not impressed with her. We got our brother J on phone. It just so happened that he and his wife didn't have anything planned for the day. We changed our plans at the last minute and decided to meet at his house. It was closer to our hotel and closer to B. Maybe we could talk B into coming if the location was closer. We packed up all the kids and headed over to J's house. This worked to be a much better plan. B was able to come also. It is a very rare occurrence that all of us seven kids are together. We were missing my younger brother, but everyone else was there. Six out of seven isn't bad.

You want to know what the strange thing was? My NC dad was there. Him and my mom have been divorced since I was a baby. It was really strange to see them in the same place. I don't know if I have any memories of them being in the same room together. It's very weird I tell ya.

After our mini reunion which included all the above mentioned people and the following peeps:
I wonder if I can use real names? I don't know how my brothers feel about having their real names on my blog. Oh well, too late now.

1. Ben (older brother)
2. Jeff (older brother)
3. My dad
4. Paul (my other younger brother)
5. Becca Lynn (my niece I got to meet for the first time)
6. Gloria (my aunt)
7. April (Jeff's wife)

Those seven added to the original fifteen makes 22. My sister-in-law was sssoooooooo gracious to let us all raid her house on the spur of the moment like that. She was absolutely great. Thanks to April.

After we returned to our hotel and rested, we let the kids get back in the pool.





We let them stay in the pool for four hours. It's very difficult to have five children and two adults cooped up in one hotel room together. The pool kept the kids entertained and out of our hair and occupied. The good times were almost over, we just didn't know it yet. Stay tuned for further details.