vacation to KY (jelly)

the new car was great for the drive out. the bad seat was the back seat - that person had to take care of the kids - here is nathaniel feeding holly somewhere in WV - you know, that area where there aren't any exits for like 40 miles (which naturally is when she woke up hungry as a bear) - and i'm sure it was snowing or something, we ran into bad bad weather on the way out. as nathaniel put it to my sister, going through the second tunnel was like going through the wardrobe into narnia.

granddaddy's lap expanded more than i knew it could this week (and this was just the start!):

holly in boy clothes. bad mama didn't pack enough cold weather clothes for her. it was much colder out there than i expected. i always forget that whatever the weather says for out there, i can always count on it being about 10 degrees colder and about 50 mph windier unless it is summer, then it is 10 degrees hotter with no wind. anyway, she is cute in boy clothes too:

cell phones (old ones) were the toy hit of the week. they all had one, and they all pretended to use them:

josh and "candle" (the way josh pronounced kendal's name) - talking about trucks outside:

sam was always on the move! he is crawling like a chimp now! (and when i say chimp, i mean champ!):

our usual morning routine in the hotel: fruit loops in bed. kendal slept like a rock and had a hard time waking up almost every morning:a common assembly area/pattern for the boys:

granddaddy and mamaw brought some of those nasty marshmallow eggs - we hid them and they found them over and over in the common area outside. even some of the neighbor kids got in on the action (which was a great way to get rid of some of the eggs). kendal again didn't care much for finding them, but he did like playing with them inside:

holly was always sleeping in her granddaddy's arms (sometimes he was sleeping too):

oh look, here goes sam again!:

guitar hero was the game of the week. even my no-rhythm husband could play (and sound good): melissa still won all the games though: monkey see monkey do:

mom and the girls and josh sometimes (depending on how bored he was) had lots of tea parties: tea time goofs grace and faith:

you should have heard all the giggling going on...:

funny thing is that i have not ONE SINGLE picture of ROB!!!!! holly loved him, she was especially interested in his uniform. kendal wasn't scared of him either, thank goodness. seems that last time there was a getting-used-to period we had to go through... and speaking of rob, we had an interesting time talking to him about his upcoming deployment. one thing he showed us is these new shirts the military got for them (they each get 2). the new time magazine cover has a soldier wearing it: it is a nice shirt, too - all season fabric, the kind that keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. he wanted to buy more but after looking them up to purchase, found out they cost like $130 or something. WOW! so he's just taking the two he was issued. i guess they have to wear them dirty because it isn't like they can do laundry every other day. anyway, i have a good idea of some things to send him during this deployment. that is one thing to look forward to ( on my part). unfortunately, unlike his iraq tours where mail took about a week, this time mail will take 6 weeks. so, i suppose i can have a box ready as soon as we get his address! to change the subject follow up on something i've talked about before in a previous blog, we watched movies in the car like the whole way home (thanks mamaw for letting us borrow your portable DVD player). kendal's legs were numb we think (he would suddenly grab his toes and scream), and thank goodness for the wonderpets... and little einstein. i think nathaniel is convinced now about the usefulness of a DVD player PERMANENTLY installed in the car. before our next BIG trip (whenever that will be), we'll get one put in. ok, melissa, use that ghetto "control-alt-delete" computer you have and post some pics!