Road trip Oct 2012

Finally catching up on vacation pics from our trip to the Outer Banks back in October...  here are some highlights from the road trip.  I joined AAA the day before we left and got a triptych for navigation - first time I'd ever used one and it was super helpful - I totally recommend it.  (Side note:  The AAA store has TONS of great FREE travel info for members - maps, brochures, etc.  I came out of there with a big pile of stuff with future field trips in mind!)  I really love road trips - in my opinion they are half the fun of going on vacation.  I love being "stuck" together in the car and getting to enjoy each other's company, while watching interesting new sights pass by our windows.

On the trip, I decided to make it "my thing" to take a picture of every state welcome sign we passed.  I got all except the elusive West Virginia.  Somehow I missed it both on the way down and on the way back.  My OCD was really itching.  Grrr.   

The DS kept Monkey pretty happily occupied...

While Bug found other ways to entertain himself.  (Whoopie cushions are SO hilarious to a 2yr old!)

This cool toy that I picked up on Amazon also helped keep him busy.

I love driving through the mountains.

Tunnels are exciting!

A scenic group of windmills.  We passed several of these clusters.

The boys snuggled into their bed in the hotel room (where we stopped halfway overnight), watching cartoons on CABLE - what a treat!  (We do not have cable at home, which makes us pretty much Amish, I know.)

Next post:  Our arrival at the beach!

Just some thoughts I wanted to record...

Ok, I have tons of homeschooling-related stuff to post, but I just wanted to quickly record some thoughts that came to me today...

Bug's birthday is coming up, and this evening I started to reminisce about my pregnancy with him... which eventually led me to think about my uncle who passed away about 6 weeks before he was born.  Not only is it amazing that Bug has been here 3 years already, but I can't believe Uncle Kim (Bug's middle name comes from his middle name) has been gone for 3 years either.  I was remembering being very pregnant at his funeral - the only occasion I had to wear "dressy" maternity clothes during either of my pregnancies - and having my distant relatives fawning over me and asking "Boy or girl, when are you due, do you have a name picked out?" type questions, which was actually kind of a helpful distraction since I detest funerals.  Different memories and images of him are flashing through my mind.  I remember his voice, the distinct way he talked, his laugh - and how he always seemed to be laughing.  I remember running into him at work one night, when I was pregnant with Monkey, and I remember him timidly asking if he could feel the baby kick... and I remember him standing with me, smiling, in the middle of my store, with his hands on my belly.  (Side note: strangely, I normally do not like other people touching me or being in my personal space, but when I was pregnant I actually liked letting people feel my belly, sharing that.)

I still feel a twinge of anger that he's gone whenever I think about it.  Just not fair that this world had to lose someone so smart and fun and full of life, so early.  So, that's all.  Just missing you, Uncle Kim, and don't really have anywhere else to address that feeling so it's going here.