2600 Miles and Lots of Fun!

I don't know why we have the notion to take our boys on these long and crazy road trips...perhaps it's because while we were in Sicily, you could only drive 3 hrs. before you were off the island...perhaps it's because they are SOOOO good in the car (we only turned on the DVD player on ONE day)...or most likely it's because we love visiting our friends and family--regardless of how long it takes us to get to them! :)

Anyway, here is our journey from the past two weeks:
We had a quick but wonderful stop in Indianapolis Fri. the 3rd. We stayed with our college friends, Jill, Chris, & Hugo, and had dinner with them and Emily, Pat, & John (who we met for the first time...and is SUCH a cutie)! Jill & Chris whipped up a wonderful French dinner for us that was soooo yummy! Henry & Andrew had fun playing in Hugo's dog bowl. I'm still looking for the picture of Andrew with it on his head.

Our next stop was my sister Jan's "lake house" outside of Pittsburgh. It was a blast! She graciously invited our friends Alex & Kathy (& boys) over for the 4th too along with some of her friends, so we had such a fun 4th of July on the lake! Here are some fun pics:

Our next stop was Washington DC where Luca & Michelle, Navy friends from Italy, hosted us in their cozy house just a walk from the DC metro with LOTS of Lightning McQueen toys. Henry was in heaven. Andrew also slept in his first "big bed" there! We had so much fun. Luca took us on the metro to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum and then a walk through the Memorial Mall. (Too bad we only had one stroller!) Mike even took Luca to a Wilco concert while the rest of us met some fun neighbors.

After DC we drove to Williamsburg, VA where we met the newest member of the Radich family (only 5 weeks old)!! The Radich's lived next to us in Sicily and boy do we miss them!! Although Henry played with all of Thomas's toys by himself, Andrew & Thomas played really well together!! So wish we could have them as neighbors again someday!!On the way out of Williamsburg, we had a "spontaneous" dinner with our good friends the Gibbs. (Also neighbors/family in Sicily!) They actually live in DC but weren't there while we were there. We are fortunate enough to have planned both our 2008 and 2009 vacations in an area where they have been stationed!!! :)

After Williamsburg it was on to Raleigh, NC. We stayed with one of my best friends from highschool, who has a cute house (and yard!), two friendly dogs and a cat. The boys had a blast. The picture is of us on a train in a very cool public park in Raleigh. Beth also introduced us to North Carolina barbecue and hosted a cookout while we were there -- where we got to meet many of her very nice friends. We know why she loves it there!

On the Friday that Beth had to work we were able to see three other families from our Sicily "Extended" Family. They all live in various portions of NC and were soooooo sweet to make the drive to meet us at Raven Rocks State Park for a lunch and a "longer-than-we-expected" hike!! :) It was SOOOO great to see them all...I think we could have spent another year together "catching up." Andrew met them all for the first time, and fell in love with Emma, who was kind enough to carry him on some of the long hike! We miss you all!

From NC it was back to St. Louis to spend a couple of days with my parents. (This was the 16 hr. car day where we "gave in" and plugged in the DVD player!) :) On the way "home" we hit Metropolis, IL with it's gigantic statue of Superman. It was a quick dinner stop, but well worth the 3 mile detour off the highway! :)

We had a blast in St. Louis too. Here is the best picture ever of my mom and Andrew at Purina Farms in St. Louis. Such fun. I was also lucky to have met up with my Girl Scout friends for a WONDERFUL dinner.

My parents drove me and the boys back last Wednesday and stayed in town for a few days. They're now off on a European vacation with some friends.

Thanks to ALL of our generous friends and family who hosted and made arrangments to see us on this journey. We had such a good time and

feel remarkably blessed!!