Life as a Yowler

I can’t believe I’m writing this blog already. All Winter long, we’ve been anticipating this long trip of ours and now it’s nearing an end. We are making our way towards Ohio. Brandon’s dad’s side of the family was gracious enough to wait for us to do Grandma’s graveside burial service. So we will be stopping in Dayton, Ohio on the ride home for the service. We have done so many things and been so many places the last couple months. For the kids and I, It was been like a very long vacation. For Brandon not so much. He has worked most days, including weekends. Plus he has to drive the motor home, which is a job in itself. He has remained pretty positive through it all. He loves family time and he loves making memories. Those things we have done!

Today is our 10 year anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years already. We have decided it would be best to wait and celebrate later this Winter, when life slows down. We want to go on a kid free getaway trip. We have more business travel planned for the Fall, but Winter will slow down for us.

My mom was with us for 5 days. It was very nice having her here. We see her often back home, but it’s different having her live with us. The kids loved it. She introduced a brilliant way of preparing sandwiches. She cuts them into 4 squares. The kids have been asking ever since for the “grandma Jeannie squares.”

I’ll recap what we’ve been up to the last few days of our trip.

We went to the Peabody Hotel in Memphis to watch the duck march. The kids got to go to the very front of the red carpet to watch. When we were done, we rode the elevator up to the rooftop. We looked down at the city, plus we saw the duck palace. These ducks literally had a palace. 🤣 We also heard that they only bring the ducks in for 3 months at a time. Then they bring new ones in. That way they aren’t overworked.

We made a great discovery. Memphis is only two hours away from Little Rock. We got to see our friends, the Shupe’s. They traveled to us, since Brandon had store trainings to work around. It was so refreshing seeing them. We had a church service together. Brandon and Paul left after, for Brandon’s store training. My mom, Arin, and I were able to talk and catch up while the kids played.

When Brandon and Paul got back, we went inside a pyramid shaped Bass Pro shop. We rode the elevator all the way to the top of the pyramid. We ate lunch at a restaurant up top. Then we walked outside and looked down from the top of the pyramid.

We visited the Andrew Jackson Plantation while we were in Nashville. We walked around downtown Nashville afterwards. We ate dinner at a bar where they had live music. The bars were all kid friendly until 6pm. After that it was adults only. We went over to a juice bar. We have seen the Juice Bar featured in the show Christly Knows Best. They filmed several episodes there.

Last night as we were driving to St. Louis, we realized we were going to drive right by Lambert’s Cafe. It was the restaurant’s  third location( the one that we have never been to before). A spontaneous stop it was. We have now been to all three Lambert’s in just three months.

There are so many things that need done in our brief time at home. I am looking forward to being home, yet also dreading all that needs to be done. I know it will be a chaotic and exhausting time.  Joah and I both have a hard time readjusting to new normals. By the time we get adjusted to home, we will be leaving again and have to readjust ourselves to RV life. I wouldn’t trade it, but it doesn’t mean it comes stress free. I always try to work on my own attitude because the kids all feed off me and my reactions and behavior. God’s grace and caffeine will carry me through the next couple weeks. I know I’ll survive. I also know we will make a lot more fun memories along the way!