On the Road

Early on Thursday morning (and I do mean early; 2:00 A.M.), we loaded the kids and an assortment of belongings into our van to begin the 14 hour drive to my parents' home in the Sunny South.

Usually Handyman does most of the driving, but this time, I would like to state for the record that I drove more than half. I know this for certain because I got all the way to the "Hermione figures out what the monster is in the Chamber of Secrets" part of the Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets audio book. I can't stay awake while driving unless I'm entertained, so an audio book is a must. (And yes, I've read the book before. Several times. It's a great book, but even better on audio.)
The drive went fairly well, although we did suffer some minor mishaps like another vomit incident from Gabe. I'm beginning to worry that he gets car sick any time he's in the car for prolonged periods. As we're planning to have a leisurely drive back home, this is a big concern.
Mum and Dad's house is a beautiful little Southern place that overlooks the mountains.
After a good night's sleep, Handyman and the kids were ready to begin household renovations. Mum and Dad purchased a huge playground for the kids which needed to be put together.
I think it's doubled the square footage of my parents' place.
At noon I dragged myself away (*cough cough* skipped gleefully out the door) to drive by myself to Atlanta to spend the weekend with my sister Lynn and Rob.
The first stop, after a fill-up at the nearest Starbucks, was the dress shop where I went to have my second dress fitting. It's amazing what a judicious amount of pinning can do. Look, I have a waist!
From there I met Lynn and Rob at an interesting restaurant. The food was delicious, but I had to question my sister's appetizer order. Deep fried pickles? Uh, not for me, thank you.
When we got back to Lynn and Rob's lovely home, I gave them their wedding present from me, a piano song that I had written especially for them. (If I get the chance I'll record it and put it on my blog later.)
It was a very full two days, so we decided to go to bed early, and ended up falling asleep around 4:00 A.M.