A Blast From the Past

One of the great things about my trip was getting to see friends from way back in the day. 

In Arlington, TX I stopped for lunch at my friend Terah's house.  I really enjoyed getting to sit and visit with my besty from high school.  Our girls had a blast playing together.  (The one w/ bows on her head doesn't belong to either of us)

On our drive home I ended up making a last minute route change the took us through Logan, NM where my friend Amy lives.  Her and her hubby fed us and let us bunk at their house for the night.  Again, it was great to be able to catch up with an old friend from high school.  We were as close to next door neighbors as one can get living out on ranches.  We were 7 miles apart. 

Remember me????

Hello!

Remember me?


*crickets*


I would be so broken hearted if you forgot about me :(

I am finally home.  We have traveled over 4000 miles and I am tired.  When I get organized I will post some of the best stuff from our trip. 

But...goodnight for now.

Oh ya... thanks for sticking it out with me :)

Beale Street and Graceland

Memphis. 

Memphis was a lot of fun, despite the humidity.  Since it's been a few days since we were there, I can now look back on it and remember other stuff we did without my brain being completely turned to mush by the 1000% (not a typo) humidity.  I think the heat index was 105 degrees. 

It was the first time my girls had ever seen the Mississippi River.  Where we were at it wasn't spectacularly big because there was an island, Mud Island, in the way.  So they weren't too impressed. 

We rode the trolley down to Beale Street for lunch.  And no, I am very sorry to say I didn't get to have world famous Memphis BBQ.  Most of the places we came across didn't really allow children so we ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. 

After Beale Street we headed out to Graceland. 

I must reiterate that I am not really an Elvis fan.  I was born too late and I don't like his music much, or his movies.  But I did feel that when in Memphis, one must visit Graceland.  I will also point out that we were some of the youngest people there.  Most definitely one of the few with kids in strollers.  Like the only ones with kids in strollers. 

Here we are in front of the mansion.  The headsets are for the narrated tour of the house and the grounds. 

Here is Elvis' living room.  Lots of living in this room...until, well, until he wasn't living anymore.  (Was that a bad joke?  LOL, sorry)

This was the ceiling in his TV room.  He had a bunch of TV's and mirrors all over the room. 

This is the jungle room.  Green shag carpet on the floor...and the ceiling.  Can't beat 70's fashions. 

Outside was where he kept his horses.  Um...duh.  I caught this picture just a second too late.  Krysten was climbing on the fence and the horse came over and she was petting him on the nose.  Despite the sign that says do not pet the horses.  But what is a 3 year old to do when the horse sticks his nose out begging for attention????

Elvis had a raquetball house built in his backyard.  Since he's no longer playing raquetball, they've turned it into an Elvis record shrine.  They play his music throughout the room and of course Krysten took advantage and started dancing.

Here is where Elvis is buried.  Along with a memorial to his twin brother, and his parents and grandmother.

Where We've Been

Greetings from the Land of Lincoln!!!  It's been a loooooooooooooong and humid drive, but at long last we finally made it.  We have had some interesting driving, but no mishaps.  I was worried about staying alert, but that hasn't been a problem at all (thanks for praying). 

In Texas we came through some crazy storms.  The roads were flooded and completely under water in some places.  I had planned on camping in Texas-but there was too much rain!  We wisely stayed in a motel. 

We spent the night in Little Rock at the KOA.  The humidity was intense!

In Tennessee we went to Memphis.  Beale Street and Graceland we our touristy things of the day.  We rode a trolly downtown which was great fun for the little girls.  I wanted to eat in an authentic blues restuarant, but unfortunately most of the places you can't be under 21 to go into and it was too hot to search for one, so we ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe.

After Hard Rock we drove to Graceland.  And Elvis took all my money.  The tour was pretty neat, but not $30 worth!  And I don't even like Elvis!  His house was pretty cool and we kept spotting bits and pieces of things that we had read about (only those of you who have read The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan will know what I am talking about...sorry to the rest of you- but you should read the book!) Can I mention again how HUMID it was!  Holy blue suede shoes.

We stayed in Paducah, KY.  That's about all the excitement we had there.  

 

And that brings us to Champaign.  We are staying at my cousin Jill's house.  I will report back with our adventures here.

Adios Amigos

It's that time folks. 

Time to embark on My Big Trip.

Where am I going you ask?

Well, my first goal is Arlington, TX to visit my best friend from high school.  I'm very excited to see her...it's been a long time.

Then on to Memphis, TN.  I don't really like Elvis, but I plan on trying to make it to Graceland.

From there we're heading up to Champaign, IL.  My cousin lives there and that's where we'll stay for awhile.  We are planning lots of day trips, including up to Chicago.

Then we're going on to Zumbrota, MN to stay at my relative's dairy farm.  My kids will love it there.

After that, we'll be heading home.

I am going to try and blog and facebook as much as I can, so keep in touch!

Once upon a time....

Once upon a time there was a lady named Lucy who lived alone.  

After a time she discovered a great castle and moved there without hesitation. 

This new castle was a wonderful place.

 No more laundry.  No more cleaning.  No more cooking. 

Instead of cars for sale, there were Jazzy powerscooters to be had.  With a horn, I might add.

Canasta, gin rummy, and yahtzee games galore.

For the young at heart...Wii bowling.

Now Lucy was a lady who soon caught the eye of the most eligible bachelor. 

He was quite the catch- he could drive at night and didn't need a walker. 

Lucy was the envy of the castle.

Lucy and Roy decided to wed,

but it had to be early before the other residents went to bed.

Look!  Smiling siblings!

Look! New siblings!

Look!  New cousins.

The End.

Tombstone

My mom and I decided to take a little detour on the way home from Sierra Vista. We visited Tombstone, AZ- The City That Refused to Die!

We took a stagecoach tour of the town.

Big Nose Kate's Saloon. According to the story, she got the nickname because she was always sticking her nose into other's business.

This is the Oriental Saloon, where according to the movie, the Earps were owners of. It is now a jewelry store/gift shop. (along with just about every other store in town)The legendary Bird Cage Theatre. A definite must-see in Tombstone. It's the original business in the original building, with many of the original items still inside. It was once referred to as the wildest, wickedest night spot in America.

It was named for the 14 birdcage crib compartments that are located above the regular floor. In these cribs was where the 'ladies of the night' plied their trade.

Not really a lot of privacy.

Our side trip to Tombstone was a lot of fun and I'm glad we did it. We also attended a gunfight, but not the Gunfight at the OK Corral. I did meet Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp on the street, though.

Cinderella

Kylee started ballet classes this year and her ballet studio ended the semester with a spring performance of Cinderella. Kylee's group were 'cobblers' and performed at the end when Cinderella tries on the glass slipper the next morning after the ball.

I was too busy taking pictures to get any video. A video would've been much better...oh well, next time. I'm learning still. I couldn't use the flash for any of the pictures so my pics are all blurry since my subjects wouldn't stand still...lol!

Cinderella in her tattered clothes.

Cinderella with her prince. The Cobblers :)

She's such a cute ballerina.

I enjoyed our time dancing this semester and I am looking forward to doing it again next year. Maybe we'll even have Krytsen try it since she'll be old enough next year. I'm going to put them both in a Tot-Hop class this summer-- that should be lots of fun for them.

Rumplestiltskin

Every night we tell the girls a story before they go to sleep. Sometimes they want made up stories and sometimes they like the same story. Over. And. Over. And. Over. I kid you not- we told Goldilocks and the Three Bears for an entire year before we could get them to want to hear something else.

Lately their current story of choice is Rumplestiltskin. I've only been retelling that one for about 2 weeks.

Now McDonalds has totally (totally? I am so a child of the 80's) made Kylee's day. Her happy meal toy just happened to be our newest nighttime buddy- Rumplestiltskin. Joy.

Since he just might be around for the next year I am trying not let him get to me. But if that blasted little toy is going to cackle and say "Rumplestiltskin" every 10 seconds....it's gonna be a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong year.

Apparently he's also Barbie's new best pal.