Hey, hey, hey!!! I hope you all had a grand weekend and Happy Father’s Day! We are back from our road adventure (the kids and I headed east to explore and visit friends), and what started as apprehension (Hello?! Driving cross-country alone with two kids?!?!), became one of the most amazing times I’ve ever had with my kids. With the absence of friends and home, and Mr. Sugarplum, we all turned to each other and really worked as a team. There was surprisingly less whining and bickering, and my son took his role as the man quite seriously. The confines of a car and an endless supply of Jolly Ranchers really encouraged great conversations, too.
And while I may never drive thru a McDonald’s ever again this week, I would absolutely road trip on my own with them anytime. The kids are even talking about making it an annual trek, so I think that’s a good sign they had fun with ol’ mom, too.
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| Texas/Arkansas State Line |
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| Road Trip Child Labor |
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| Car Picnic |
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| Gorgeous Sky from Who Knows Where |
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| Heck yeah, we travel with a box fan! |
I was very conscience about being present with them, and savoring each moment. (I talked about being bad at it in this post). I didn’t check the blog once, and barely glanced at email. Are my kids seriously this amazing all the time, I’m just too ‘busy’ to see it?!
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| Precious Moments |
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| Nothing But Time |
With no agenda or reservations, we just stopped when we wanted, ate when hungry, and checked out the local scenes.
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| Gus’s Famous Fried Chicken |
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| Balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot, Civil Rights Museum |
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| Crossing Another State Border |
The main reason for the trip was to visit our favorite people we miss so much. We moved from Nashville almost seven years ago, but our hearts still ache for the beautiful area and our sweet friends.
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| Batman Building, Downtown Nashville |
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| {Heart} |
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| My Sweet & Gorgeous Friend, and Part-Time Sister Wife (minus the whole sharing a man thing) |
My friend (I talked about her here) just had her third girl, so we all fought over the baby snuggles. Mmmmmm, the smell of a sweet baby head!
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| “Mom, I want one!” |
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| Pretending She’s Mine |
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| Sweet Girls |
Mr. Sugarplum flew in Thursday to join us, and we spent our last night together, enjoying a picnic in the country. (***Thank you so much for the amazing stay, June, and shacking all of us up! We had so much fun, and we miss you guys like crazy already!!***)
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| Arrington Winery |
As much fun as we were having on our own, I was thrilled to see my hubs…and let him drive us home! And just like this trip, Mr. Sugarplum always finds the good spots.
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| DeGray Lake, Arkansas |
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| East Texas Sunset |
In total, we covered 1752 miles….and according to the kids, we passed 32 McDonald’s, 8 cemetaries, and stopped for gas and food 19 times! It’s no wonder we didn’t leave the house (or our jammies) yesterday! It may look like all we did was drive, lounge and eat, but I also helped my friend with some house projects…those are coming up!
So how’s your Summer so far? Are you making memories, at home or on the road?
Looks like a fun trip! And wow – she is a rock star hair stylist. You have great hair and she made it look even better! It looks like virgin blonde baby hair.
Oh Cassie, I totally get your love for Tennessee. We were there a year ago and we loved it! Arrington Vinyards is so beautiful, we spent a lazy Sunday afternoon there sipping some great wine. I think one of the best parts of the trip were the people of Tennessee…they are so friendly and sweet. I am Canadian and we get lots of credit for our "niceness"(is that even a word?)but a lot of credit needs to be given to the fine people of the southern USA. 🙂
You're hair looks amazeballs! I want her to be my friend too! Looks like you guys had a blast of a road trip 🙂
Fun!! (And timely…I posted about road trip stuff today too) Your hair looks awesome! Mine needs to be cut so, sooo badly, but I don't think I'll get it in before Haven. :s
I love how you said that you didn't check the blog or email at all. We're heading to the beach next month, and with the exception of scheduling some posts and social media stuff, I think I need to do the same.
What an amazing trip! It looks like you had a wonderful time and got to spend lots of time with those you love. Also, your hair looks great. 🙂
OH, this was so fun to see. What a great trip and so many memories. Good friends are priceless so how nice to be able to share such fun memories with them. And your hair looks suh-weeeet!
I can never get enough of your adorable kids – the pic of them cuddling is priceless!! Your friend is a rockstar – your hair looks ah-mazing!! So glad you had a wonderful trip with the fam and got to see your friend. I love picking up right where I left off with old friends when we do get the chance to catch up! Hope you get some more pajama days in to catch up! 🙂
Glad you had fun. Hubby wants to take a roadtrip across country but I'm so not spontaneous like that. I want to know where I'm gonna stay each night and not just wing it.
There's no better road trip than The South!
PS – no shame in McD's…
Bahahha! I love that you travel with a box fan. It does get pretty sticky down south.
I drove cross country by myself just before I was married and it was one of the best trips I've ever had. I actually wish I would have taken longer. I wish I would have slowed down and stopped more. I'd love to do it again.
What a great trip! Isn't it nice not to get online or check email! So glad you all had a great time!
I love a kick-butt road-trip. I took my boys across Alberta in 2006. We spent a lot of time in cars, hotels, in museums and at roadside-attractions (my fave). We (hubs and I) took them to Daytona Beach last summer. I think road-trips are where you really get to HEAR your kids. Not just for 20 minute snippets while they are screaming for your attention either 😉 You look awesome and you all look like you had a blast. Good stuff Cassie 🙂 Fan noted for next trip.
Welcome back! My 3 are still under 5 so road trips are hell for us, even 4 hours yesterday left me cry-laughing at the end, but it's nice to see that it can change as they get a bit bigger. I've been to Texarkana for a wedding, fun times;)
Jessica
stayathomeista.com
Love, love the pic of your kiddos snugglin'! So precious!
Aside from that being a pretty great trip (hey, there's no shame in a lot of drive thru food!!!), that is just so sweet and cool having that time with your kiddos. It gives me hope that someday they might still like having me around! (c:
It looks like such a fabulous trip! What an amazing way to really connect with your kids! I'm totally inspired… maybe I'll get brave and try something like that with my boys.
It sounds like you guys had a wonderful trip! Your hair looks amazing! Glad you're back!
What a treat your post was! I was born in Texarkana and still have family there. And, we've had several reunions at DeGray Lake. I loved seeing the pictures. They brought back many memories.
What an awesome trip Cassie! Great memories for your family! We have a road trip planned later this summer, and seeing your pictures makes me anxious to hit the road already!
I recognize that fried chicken! Gus's….the very best I've every had.
Yay! I love your blog and you visited my hometown! It looks like you all enjoyed Las Paletas while you were here…it is just down the street from our house and we love it! I'm glad you could come back and visit Nashville!