Spring Break in PA

Maia, Evan and I made our way (by car) to Pennsylvania for our Spring Break. It was a whirlwind trip, but great to see our friends and family!

We left about 5 p.m. Friday and after taking an hour to get out of Houston, we followed 59 North until we headed towards Arkansas at Texarkana and ended up staying the night in Hope, Arkansas - "the birthplace of Bill Clinton"...I considered driving to the next town, but I had decided to drive until midnight and it was already 12:30 a.m. We woke up early and continued our trip around 7 a.m. crossing into Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia until we reached Pennsylvania and Scottdale at 1 a.m.

The next day we went to one of our favorite places we miss Eat n Park where we saw a ton of people we know. It made me realize it's good to have some anonymity when your out in Houston. It also amazed me how many people didn't realize we had moved! From there we headed to Monroeville to visit with my in-laws and the kids could play with the cousins.

Monday - my friend Kelli took the day off work to help me start sorting through stuff we had left at the house. I was so proud of myself that I gave away two lawn and leaf bags of sweaters to Goodwill! We decided after Maia and her friend Abbey who was skipping school and stayed the night woke up to head back to E n P for breakfast...yummmm! Later in the afternoon I took my mom to the cataract specialist where we waited for an hour to have a five minute consultation for him to tell her to do nothing and they would check her eyes every six months. A conclusion that seemed to satisfy everyone including my mom who had already made her mind up she wasn't having surgery. For dinner Kelli, her daughter Kaitlyn, Maia, Abbey and I went to Friday's and then Gabes. Boy do I miss cheap clothes! :)

Tuesday - slept in until 9:30 with Maia, worked more at the house. Evan and I had dinner with my friend Janet at NY Pizza and Pasta in Connellsville since it was St. Patty's Day at Bud Murphy's was a mad house. Maia had taken off with Abbey for Sea Base after school.

Wednesday - Lunch with my friend Marilyn and the kids at Italian Oven. Later that evening we had a casual get to gether at Carson's where Evan, Maia and I all had friends come join us for wings and a drink!

Thursday - Evan went to Southmoreland High School with his friend Matt Thompson and so Maia and I went to Olive Garden for breakfast, then stopped at Gabes where I picked up a dress that I should have gotten the first time we were there! That evening we had Fox's Pizza (double yum) with Grandma! :) Abbey stayed over again since she was skipping school again.

Friday - Last day in Scottdale. Kind of bittersweet, but I was missing Eli a ton and was ready to get back to warm Texas weather. I drove Evan and his friends to the mall and Maia went to HotShots with Abbey and met up with Kaitlyn. Meanwhile Kelli and I got a bite to eat and a drink at Carson's and then hung out at her house until it was time to pick up the kids.

Saturday - We left about 9 a.m. and went a different route than we had come up because I wanted to meet my friend Tracey's new little girl she adopted from China this summer - Sophie. Contrary to popular belief, traffic wasn't bad around Bristol even though there was a NASCAR race there that weekend. We arrived in Knoxville about 6 and had dinner with Tracey, her husband Michael and their children Nicholas (who is two days older than Eli) and Sophie. We then got back in the car and drove as far as Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Sunday - Got up early and headed out at 7 a.m. to head home through Mississippi and Louisiana before getting to Texas around 5 p.m. I've never been so happy to see Texas license plates and familiar roads once I got off awful I-45!

It was a good trip. Don't think I'll be driving it any time again soon. Last week was spent putting finishing touches and getting photos in for the Summer edition of Cy-Fair Magazine! :)