June 11, 2013 was Vivi's last day of school. I dropped her off, then headed back to Janet and Steve's to get all of our things packed up because June 11, 2013 was also the day we left to move to Georgia. Oh it was a hard day! While Vivi was at school, the other kids and I finished packing up the car, said a very teary goodbye to Janet, then we went back to the school to get Viv. The second I walked in to her classroom, the tears I had just gotten under control from saying goodbye to my mother-in-law started up again because as soon as Vivi saw me, she started bawling. Which of course set off a round of fresh tears for me. Out of all the kids, Vivi was probably the most upset about moving. After seeing her teary face, I was such a mess I totally forgot to get an end of year picture of Vivi with our most favorite teacher ever, Mr. Kennedy. I have never missed getting an end of year picture of my kids with their teachers! I still, a year later, could kick myself.
Here is the only picture I have of these two, taken at the CU game in Nov, 2012.
After picking up Viv, the kids and I drove over to my mom's to pick her up. She was so nice to volunteer to go on a road trip with us. To make the move more exciting for the kids, we stopped and did a lot of un things on the way.
Day 1
Not on the first day though. This pretty much sums up our first day of driving. Just blue skies and wide open spaces. We stopped that night in Kansas City, KS.
Day 2
We got ready the next morning and headed straight over to Liberty Jail. The kids and I had never been to any historic church sights before, so thought we better take advantage of the ones that were right along our route. There was a sister missionary their (wish I could remember her name) that was the most gifted story teller. And she had some of the coolest analogies that helped so much for my kids (especially the younger ones) to be able to understand better the things she was teaching. I wish I could remember those too! That's it. It's about time I start a journal.
Some pictures of what the inside of Liberty Jail looked like at the time the prophet Joseph Smith was there.
Look at the thickness of these walls! No breaking in or out of this place. They are 4 feet thick.
The view from up above. There was only one door to the building. This was built only a few feet from where the building was originally.
I still can't believe all the prophet Joseph Smith went through and endured in the months he was in Liberty Jail. What an amazing and faithful man.
While driving through Missouri, we saw a sign for a little historical museum off one of the exits, so we decided to go check it out. We never found the museum, but we did find this beautiful park! It was a great place to get out and let the kids run and stretch their legs for a few minutes. Plus there were bathrooms there. Double bonus!
Sometimes I forget that this little one used to have a binky. She was so happy and content when she was sucking on that thing that I often wonder why I ever stopped giving it to her.
Group hug!
The cool thing about moving was seeing my kids bond together. All they really had was each other that first little while after we moved. The coolest though was watching how Trenton matured through the whole thing. He was like a rock for the rest of us, always staying so positive about it all. Our last Sunday at church in CO, the other kids and I were a mess. We cried the whole way there, I cried during (good thing I was in the nursery with the babies!), and we cried on the way home. Trenton was amazing though. He kept telling us all of the positive things about the move and that we were going to get to have a new adventure! I am so grateful for his strength during that time. He was the one I worried about the most when we found out we were going to move. In the past, he had really struggled when there was any kind of big change going on. It usually took him a while to adjust to not only big changes, but sometimes small simple changes too. I felt like with the stage of life he was in, just going in to high school and everything, that it would be a really hard adjustment for him. I need not have feared though. He was a champ through the whole thing! And like I said, a rock for the rest of us.
That night we stayed in St. Louis, MO. My original plan had been to take the kids to check out the Arch while we were there, but after talking to a friend who used to live there, we decided we needed to go to the City Museum.
Day 3
This place is seriously A-MAZING! It is worth taking a trip to St. Louis just to go there! My kids were in complete heaven!
Not only was this place as fun as could be, but it was amazing to see as well! I have never seen any other place like it. My kids climbed and ran and slid and explored for 4 hours straight. They were so busy and having so much fun, the only thing they ever asked me for was a drink of water occasionally.
P-Diddy, at the bottom of the two story slide.
Look at these mosaics. And they were everywhere! There were so many different textures and so much detail, it was amazing. Have I mentioned it was amazing?
Everything was very industrial, such as this ladder.
The big boys were so nice to take Jilly exploring with the.
I have since decided that I need one of these giant hamster wheels in my house. Endless amounts of fun and entertainment! Especially for me as the observer.
Hall of mirrors.
More mosaics.
There was also a giant turtle tank, which Jilly thought was beyond fascinating.
Everyone's happy! There is also a ten story corkscrew slide, which we made ourselves sick on by going down it several times. This was the absolute best place to take the kids after having been in the car so much the two days prior. Not only did they have a blast, but they were completely worn out by the time we left.
After leaving the museum, we decided we couldn't leave St. Louis without at least stopping to walk around the outside the Arch.
The kids were starving at this point, so it was kind of torture for them to have to get out in the heat and walk around some more, but they were really good sports about it.
If I lived in St. Louis, I think I would have to take a stroll through this park every day. So beautiful!
Walking through the park, we saw a cute little pup. Trenton sat down to pet it, and it jumped right up in his lap! It didn't want much to do with anyone else, but it sure liked Trenton!
I honestly couldn't believe how big this thing was in real life!
Exhausted and tired at the bottom of the Arch.
If you are standing (or lying) at the bottom of the Arch and look up, it looks like it will tip right over on you!
I think we wore these kids out!
After checking out the Arch, we went in search of a place to eat. We went across the bridge to the other side of town and quickly realized that was a big mistake! That side of town looked a little shady. We crossed back over the bridge and found a place that looked kid friendly. After parking, paying the meter, then walking to this place, we realized it was closed. So we went to the place next door, (a Peruvian restaurant) which was definitely not kid friendly, but we were desperate for food so decided we would make it work.
And this is what a day at City museum and walking around St. Louis will do to your kids. Success!
We drove through four states on this day. I'd say we packed a lot in!
Driving through Illinois. Much more greenery than there was through KS.
Once we entered the South, my mom got a hankering for fried pickles. We stopped at a diner in Kentucky, and what do you know, they had fried pickles!
And we finally made it to Tennessee! We stopped for the night in Nashville, and boy were we tired by the time we got there!
Day 4
We got up the next morning and drove on to Chattanooga, where we visited the Incline railway. We were going to try and find some caves we had heard about, but when we realized the only shoes my mom and I had were flip flops, we opted to not go hiking in a cave. We also drove all around up by Lookout mountain, which was beautiful! There is actually quite a bit to do in Chattanooga. Lots to see and explore. We have been up there several times since moving to GA and find something new to do every time.
Frosty's at the end of the day made for a yummy, cool treat.
And we finally made it! It was a fun four days, but by the time we made it to our destination, we didn't want much to do with the car for a while. At least not for any extended period of time! We are so grateful for my sweet mom for taking this trip with us. She was an enormous amount of help through it all!
