We made it!

For a 17 hour road trip that took a leisurely 4 days, the girls did very well!  Abigayle was our little sleeper and we had to work to get to her to stay awake at times, worried she wouldn’t sleep at night.  Norah was a champ and had a very good attitude.  After only 56min into the drive on day one she said, “car seat all done” and Dave and I looked at each other a bit worried about how the next few days would go.  We kept her busy with car activities and it helped that the drive was quite scenic.

All loaded up and ready to roll!

The first day of driving was our longest, 7 hours, then we stopped in St Louis for 2 nights to visit with one of my cousins.  I think that really helped the girls break up the drive (and hey, mom and dad enjoyed it too).  We just hung out our first night there and the next day we had a full day to sight see in St Louis.  We went to the St Louis Science Center and the Gateway Arch.  Norah had a great time exploring and running out energy at the Science Center and we all enjoyed getting to see the Arch.  No, we did not go up.  It was 630 feet high and you had to ride in a clothes dryer-like tram for 4 minutes each way.   Not gonna happen.  But it was fun to see.

2nd cousins: Aurora, Norah and Abigyale.  Rory & Abby are exactly 2 weeks apart.

Science Center

The Arch

The next day we headed off to Nashville.  Tennessee is a beautiful state!!  Gorgeous trees, rolling hills and rivers.  Driving through Tennessee was a great time and loved the views!  Being in Music City, we had to head downtown for dinner.  We ate at Hard Rock Café and walked along the streets in the District, listening to local musicians sing at every corner.  Downtown is also located right along  The Cumberland River and Norah has a love for water (takes after her mama, I could sit next to or on a river for days, I love them) so we let her check out the river for a while and got a few family pictures.  A fun family came along and took pictures for us.  They were so great with the girls!  They had these fun balloon hats and would make silly faces to get the girls to look, they were great! 

Norah learning to eat chicken wings! Uncle Joey should be so proud!  

 Meanwhile, Abigayle just wanted to stare at all the activity outside!  


 Trying to take a family picture on our own

The nice family taking the picture for us

On our last day of driving we headed down to Montgomery, our final destination for the next 8 weeks.  It was the shortest day of driving (strategically planned that way) so we enjoyed a slow morning before heading out.  The highlight of this portion of the drive was stopping at a fancy rest stop and then getting stranded at a picnic table under a small awning when it suddenly started to down pour.  That southern rain doesn't mess around.

Everyone enjoying the ride!  Norah wanted to take a turn driving, seemed like a good idea!

Road Trip Highlights:
Norah acting as though she is being tortured every time we changed her diaper in the car.
Abby pooping through every outfit we had for her.
Norah learning how to use a touch screen at the hard rock.  Watching the little boy at the other table and then copying him.
Giving Norah an apple to eat and her eating the entire thing, including the core.
Down pour at the Alabama rest stop
Abby sleeping like a champ during the drive

Next up .... we'll show you pictures of our new "home".  Stay tuned!