Spring Break trip 2010

On the Sunday that the Lads to Leaders convention ended, the kids and I met up with my mom in Nashville to leave on our Spring Break trip to West Virginia to visit my grandmother. Unfortunately, Mark did not get to go with us, but we hope to try and fix that in the future! We always have a good time while we are there. This year, we got to ride the ferry across the Ohio River, about 30 minutes or so from my grandmother's house. The kids had ridden it several years ago, but it had been closed the other times we've gone since then. They enjoyed riding it again - something you don't get to do every day...
While we were there, my cousin Wendi and her kids came for a visit. They all had such a good time! They always play so well together and are great company for one another. This year, I believe we started a new tradition....the Annual Cousin Basketball Game...!!! They waived the price of admission, but charged for snacks and autographs! It started out Parker & Blake vs. Camye & Chloe. Kinlee ran the concession stand, and Paul was there for moral support and half time entertainment!

At the beginning of the game, the boys thought they had it "in the bag", but the girls gave them a run for their money! About half way through the second half, Camye experienced an injury, so they had to call in the reinforcements (the concession stand girl) to fill in. She did a great job, but the girls just couldn't pull it out. They lost by a measley two points!!!
Here is a picture of their concession stand. Kinlee said, "We put it on the steps and then when someone pays for something, we slide it down to them....except for the older people. They probably can't bend down that far, so we'll just hand it to them." I was glad to see that my purchase hit the slide - I guess they don't think I'm too old yet!:) Fun times. I definitely see a repeat game next year!

Before we left, I had to stop on the side of the road and take a picture of my favorite "West Virginia House"...I love this place. It is so pretty, I just couldn't resist. I look forward to driving by it every time we go...

Spring Break in West Virginia

No, don't get excited, this is not the kind of houses you will find in Middlebourne, WV where we went for Spring Break, but this is a really cool castle that we pass on the way. I can remember waiting and waiting to pass it when we traveled that way when I was little, and my kids get excited, too. Thought it was a cool picture:We went to visit my mom's mom. We only get to see her once or twice a year, so we really look forward to the trip. She has had her fair (or unfair) share of health problems in the past few years, but she is doing well, and we had a really good time visiting with her. In the picture below, we are at the "Meadville Mall" (a.k.a a really small general store out in the middle of nowhere!!) Whenever we go out to the cemetery to visit my grandpa's grave, we always stop in here for a snack:

Also while we were there, my cousin, Wendi, and her 4 kids came for a visit at my aunt and uncle's house down the road. The kids had a blast playing together! The weather was a little on the chilly side, but besides that, it was so nice. They spent time playing outside, playing on the computer, and just hangin' out:
Toward the end of our visit, "the cousins" split up for the night, and had sleepovers at the two houses. The girls were thrilled when they got to witness the clock turning to midnight before they headed to bed, and the boys took great pride in the fact that they didn't sleep at all! As a matter of fact, they even did what they had to to MAKE eachother stay awake!! Below are the pictures of the kids the day after the sleepover. Can you tell who got some sleep and who didn't??? I had to laugh after seeing Parker the morning after the "sleepover" - I asked if he had brushed his teeth while he was there. He said (in his oh-so wise 9 year old logic), "We didn't brush our teeth before we went to bed because we never went to bed. We didn't brush our teeth when we got up because we never got up." Needless to say, I sent him in to brush.

We had a great week, and we were sad to see it end. We were happy, though, to return home and see Mark - he was very lonely, he said!!! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Out of Pocket.....

Just to let everyone know, I am in West Virginia this week. Some people go to Florida for Spring break, I go to Middlebourne, WV (and I love it!) It's the kind of place where you HAVE to relax, because there isn't a whole lot else TO do. As a matter of fact, they used to sell a T-shirt in the drugstore here in town that said, "Middlebourne Night Life" and below it was a big black box. That pretty much sums it up! My grandmother and a lot of my mom's family live here and I really enjoy the slow-paced life here. I'm not saying I want to change my entire lifestyle or anything, but it sure does help to put things in perspective.

Sad thing is, though, that Mark did not get to come with us. I am missing him terribly, but we are able to talk "in spurts" on the phone while I stand outside on the driveway in the freezing cold because that's the only place I can get a LITTLE BIT of service. (See what I mean). I am at the library now on the computer, as a matter of fact.

SO, my point of this blog is to let you know that you probably won't hear much from me in the next week or so, but I promise to have pictures from the trip when I return!! Until then, I'll be checking yours (when I can get to the library)!! :o)