Hittin' The Open Road

I bet you didn't realize Addison and I are sooo popular that we frequently have to "tour" nearby towns just so everyone can see us. Welp, it's true! It's a nice problem to have - being loved/adored by everyone along our path. Seeing the throngs of people clamoring to eat lunch with us or visit with us.

Recently, we hit the open road to visit some family/friends who were LONG overdue for a visit. Our ultimate destination was Columbia, MO. Where I spent 7 years of my life single, working, going to school, and hanging out with friends. However, we did manage to find a few people to visit along our way as well. All in all, it was a GREAT trip and very seamless when it came to all the details that one can have when traveling by themselves with a very antsy 1 year old!

We headed on our tour last Tuesday right after nap time (yes for both Addison and I since we had to wake up early and get John to the airport for his trip). First stop on our way was Grandma Bell (my mom). We swung by her work and had a quick bite to eat while Addison ran some laps in the gym.

Then we hit the open road yet again (right at naptime mind you :-D) and headed to our next stop - Uncle Kyle & Aunt Cassie's house. This is where we spent the majority of our time. We couldn't have picked a better place to do it either. They were very hospitable and didn't mind at all that we basically moved in with them for three consecutive days. At least they pretended like they were happy to have us ;-).

Day 1: Addison loved playing with cousin Alexa. She's the closest to her age on the "Bell side" and they always seem to hit it off. We lounged around the house and divvied out naps to the two little ones and had a very relaxing day. We did venture out for some shopping and the park but of course not until about 5:30 pm. It was quite nice visiting and enjoying a laid back day.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Needed: nice quiet shopping moment with two 1 year olds in tow. Invented: portable dvd player strapped to the cart. Mission accomplished! And yes, we got quite a lot of stares along the way. I'm sure they were just jealous of our creative genius! :D

Day 2: Addison and I loaded up and headed to our next destination: Columbia, MO. My old alma mater, hometown, and old place of employment. Once we arrived we met up with these folks for lunch:

L to R: Tracy, Addison, Me, Emily, Kim, Dave, Pat (we missed you Joy!)

These are all my old co-workers that I spent 5 years working alongside at MBS. It was so nice to have everyone come for our lunch visit despite their busy schedules. It had been wayyyy too long since I've seen them and this was their first time meeting Addison! Needless to say, I think she won them over pretty quickly.

Tracy was a doll and helped me try to get Addison's wiggles out. I think we were successful, especially since we went to visit my old work after lunch and she spent most of her time running the halls while we visited.

Then we headed right on over to visit Uncle Quentin and give him a much needed break from all of his school work. I hope we were a pleasant distraction. You can't lose when you come bearing butterfingers and skittles upon arrival - we take this "break" thing very seriously ya know! It wasn't long before Aunt Natalie joined us after she got off work. We just sat around and visited until it was time to reunite with these people for dinner:

L to R: Brayden, Kami, Karra, Addison, Wanda, Quentin, Natalie, Aliisa (we missed you Lisa!)

These are all my old friends that I made while I lived in CoMo and miss a lot! I wish I could move all of them to Arky with me. We had a great dinner at Shakespeare's and a great visit as well. It was so nice to see familiar faces that I hadn't seen in such a LONG time. Now that makes TWO trips for me to see them - it is now their turn to wander down this way! Ahem...ahem!?

After our long day in CoMo, we headed yet again back to our temporary home at Aunt Cassie's house and they once again welcomed us with open arms. Alexa even got to stay up past her bedtime just so she could see "her Addison" one more time before nighttime. We got to visit a little more the next morning before we pushed off and headed for home.

Addison spent 90% of her time in this car. I guess we now know what to ask Santa Claus for Christmas this year.

Of course, we had to make the lunch pit stop in Springfield to visit Grandma Bell again and get our wiggles out. Can I just say it's soooo nice to have family/friends strategically placed along your driving route? Along with our two-hour driving segments between stops, and LOTS of Yo Gabba Gabba playing on the laptop, Addison and I had a VERY pleasant drive. And frankly, that was the part of the trip I was most worried about. She handled all the change of schedule beautifully and even seemed to enjoy her visits w/Mommy's friends. I don't know if they were more excited to see me or her!

Thanks to everyone who made our trip so fun and such a success. Hopefully it won't take me near as long next time to head back that way. Keep in touch and drop me an email sometime!

Here is Addison helping me unpack. Her version of unpacking is chucking everything across the room. So kind of her 'eh?