OUR trip to Ohio

About 2 months ago, Shane hit me with the fact that he was thinking about going to Ohio with me. Now I have heard that one before. I have driven the 15.5 hrs on my own in the past because Shane changed his mind at the last minute. He hasn't been to Ohio with me in 5 years. So needless to say I was a little anxious up until the time we got in the car Saturday afternoon.

All in all it was a wonderful trip. On Saturday afternoon we decided to take a different path and headed to Des Moines, Iowa. It was an uneventful drive, that ended in a very nice evening. After we settled into the hotel, we went and did a little shopping, ate dinner at Red Robin and ended up at the hotel bar. Thankfully, that is where our night ended because we had a very generous bartender.

Sunday we got up and headed to Ohio. It should have been a straight shot, but about 30 min into the drive we were detoured off the highway into some little town that was mostly dirt roads and no indication of how to get back on the highway. FYI, a GPS is no help in this situation, so we stopped at a gas station and bought an Atlas. 2 hours later we were back on the highway headed to Ohio. We got in about 10:30 that night had a few beers with my sister and her husband and decided we better get to bed. Little ones have no concept of sleeping in.

On Monday we had a relaxing day with my sister and her family. The girls took to Shane very quickly(and he to them, even if he won't admit it). That was the first time he has even seen the twins.

On Tuesday, Shane and on headed to my parents house. When I got there I was suprised with a belated birthday gift. Mom and Dad bought me a laptop, it is amazing. I have had a wonderful time playing with it. I think I might become more addicted to FB though since I don't have to hide in a room to access the computer any more. That evening, My parents, Shane and I went to the casino. I think Shane was up $200.00 by the end of the night, but noone else had any luck. We finished the evening with dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant. I had twin lobster tails, they were decadent. Have you noticed a theme yet, food and alcohol it is what consumes my vacations. Besides my family of course.

On Wednesday we headed back to my sisters, watched a few movies and my parents came up that evening. Nothing beats the feeling you get when you walk in the door and 2 little girls throw their arms in the air and run toward you demanding up. My sister is trying to teaching them to speak more than one word sentences. So they say "I want" . . . up. It is sweet, it is still spoken like two seperate sentences, but they are getting there.

Thursday was Christmas eve and my father's birthday. We celebrated at my sisters house with an amazing dinner and dessert. Afer we shuffeled the girls off to bed Santa came visiting. It is a-mazing, my father in a santa suit. I've never seen a mall santa look so authentic.

Christmas Day was bitter sweet. We had a great morning, watched the girls tear through their gifts. By midafternoon, it was like a scene from "A Christmas Story" Gift wrap, toys, discarded boxes and clothes strewn about the floor and Payton sleeping in the middle of it all. But than it was time to say good-bye. There was a storm threatening to move in, so we had to get back to my parents, 1.5 hrs away, before it dumped snow on us. Back at my parents we had mom's lasanga, mmmmm and watched a few movies. It was a nice end to a wonderful week.

Well, that was longer than I anticipated, Sorry. I should have at least offered you a beverage or peanuts or something. Oh well, this is the end of another year. Here's to wishing you and your a wonderful and prosperous 2010.