Road Trip part one

We decided last minute to go on a road trip the week of July 4th. We made a few calls and arranged some places to stay and set off on Friday!

First stop: Bloomington, IL and la casa de Patten. Sarah grilled us a delicious meal and we all hung out and escaped the crazy heat by watching a movie and playing games. Just like old times! If it looks like my kids are crabby and tired, it’s because they were up at 4:30 am. Blame it on a new sleeping arrangement, all 4 of us in one room (never again) and a nice early sunrise. Needless to say, we were up and ready and hit the road by 8 am, which was great because we had a 6 hour drive to Columbus to make that day!

Halfway to Columbus is Indianapolis, so of course we stopped at the Motor Speedway and had ourselves a look see. We did a little tour around the 2.5 mile track, which was pretty interesting and about 10 minutes, which was just perfect for us and our kids. Oh, and only $10 for all of us, which was perfect for our wallet!  Don’t mind Hannah’s death stare…I can’t get that girl to smile at the camera to save my life. I’m pretty sure if she looks you in the eye you’ll melt. Beware. 

After the Speedway we ate lunch at the scariest McDonald’s I’ve ever been to and continued on our way towards Columbus to see our friends Grant and Ashley Myers, who used to live here in Milwaukee but moved 6 years ago. And sad but true, it’s the first time we’ve seen them since they left. It was so so so much fun to see them and their adorable kids. We had a great dinner from Ashley (how can you go wrong with Cafe Rio burritos??) and after the kids went to bed we spent the night watching the Olympic trials and catching up on everything. We slept great (and late!) in their pitch black basement, with Hannah and her loud constant pacifier sucking in the unfinished part with the A/C unit. We had a delicious big breakfast and lounged around Sunday morning until they all had to get ready for church. It was so great to see them, and felt like it had only been a week since we last saw them, not 6 years. Our kids played really well together, which I think helped the overall experience.

After we left Columbus we headed to Canton to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I begged and begged Derrick to go here, and he finally relented. Haha. The kids weren’t really having much of it, and luckily it’s not a very big place. Derrick seemed to like it though, and that’s all that mattered.

Derrick and a Superbowl trophySteve Young!  

Stay tuned for part 2, where we spend 4 days in Erie with my grandparents! I know you’re all just peeing your pants with excitement!