West Virginia, Mountain Momma

Thank you, Aunt Maureen and Katie, for the wonderful photos! After a week that felt like an endless loop of diaper changes, boo-boo kisses, time outs, spit-up clean-up, and the like, I have a moment to write about about our trip to West Virginia two weeks ago...

After a disastrous drive to Elkins that culminated in a 2:00am tour of the foggy West Virginia mountains (cue the banjo music from Deliverance) we finally arrived at my parents' cozy house. Charlie was awake for the last couple hours of the trip and I ran out of answers to his legitimate questions: "mommy, where are the cities? Where are the other cars?", "Shhh, daddy, this road is night-night", "mommy, is this where monsters live?" Billy was getting less and less patient with our Tom Tom navigation lady and when she led us to a dilapidated covered bridge that disappeared into the fog with no sign of land on the other side he almost lost it. It was not our best family vacation moment.

However, the drive was completely worth it the next morning when Charlie and I discovered the amazing playroom Baba created. For a two year old, the neat old room full of trucks, books, a secret reading area, an "office" space, and tons of stuffed animals was better than Disney Land. And the only thing that made it more exciting was having two grandparents willing to play with Charlie endlessly in it. And while Jimmy might not have fully appreciated the playroom, being held and smiled at all day was better than Disney Land for him. Our trip was even more special because my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Rick drove all the way down from Akron and showered all four of us with love and attention. I love it that Charlie is old enough to talk about people when he's not with them--Baba and Coach are regular characters in Charlie's stories and plans and he and his puppy have already been busy on their "cell phones" planning their next trip to their house.

On the drive back to Oxford, we stopped in Columbus for a (too) short visit with Katie, Jack and Ruthie, and Charlie's dear friend Annie. (Somehow Charlie is convinced he has dibs on Annie. He has a way of making us feel that he's being generous for sharing her with us at all.) Ruthie couldn't be cuter or sweeter. Looking at her is like looking at a miniature version of Katie, which is a complement to both of them.

On Wednesday we're departing for our first vacation as a family of four. Considering the forecasts of 50 degree days we probably won't be swimming in Lake Michigan, but nevertheless I'm excited for the first of what will hopefully become a family tradition!