New Years in Virginia

A few days after driving home from Indiana, we made a last minute decision to take an even longer road trip out to Virginia to see my parents. We made the arrangements Monday afternoon and by Tuesday at noon we were on the road, praying that Jake would take a miraculous four-hour nap and be perfectly content for the remainder of the trip. (That didn't happen, FYI.) But we arrived in VA relatively unscathed and ahead of schedule thanks to Deric's ability to drive at warp-speed.

We spent our three days of "city life" braving the cold to walk to Barnes and Nobles and to Target (its a very good thing this close proximity was only for three days) to play with toys all morning, eating all our meals out (where have the parents I grew up with gone??), and running gleefully up and down the halls. We caught up with good friends and spent some time with Jake's could-be-BFF-if-they-lived-in-the-same-state. Jake had a great time climbing all over the world's best couch for toddlers (because the tops of the cushions bend back, no idea why its necessary) which was the perfect perch for people watching out the window with Grandma and Grandad.

So much driving over the holidays makes me want to never ever leave home again, but such is life with each family member living in a different state. Thankfully we always have a good time in between our six-to-eight-hour stints of purgatory! ;)

   ^greeting Mom and I from the toddler-approved couch // perfect parenting at BWW's