A few random APRIL pics

Between all the road trips (posts coming soon-ish...I promise!), there wasn't much down time in KC in April (...that mostly came in May).

• Seriously, what did we do before Apple products and technology? ;)  One Macbook and two iPads = three happy kids!

• The sunsets in the Midwest just never get old.

• Hadley has loved my guitar for years now, so I decided it was time for her own mini-version:  a ukulele!  

  

I just got her a cheap one from eBay to try out...but she was oh-so-excited!  Next up:  we're starting our own band. ;)

 

• The house saga continues.  The house that was supposed to be done in February is still not done.  (It's MAY now...)  But we're getting closer!

• I finally decided on some new skis and boots to replace my old ones that were ruined in the fire.  I got the Black Pearl skis by Blizzard and the Atomic Backcountry boots (not the ones pictured here...those went back to the store).  I'm going with a "shades of purple" theme this year with the gear. ;)

• Nap time with Hudson.  

• This was day 6 of not washing my hair.  It still looks okay, right!?  (Okay...maybe looks a little like a rats nest)

• I flew home early from a little west coast trip to do my moms taxes.  Every year I tell her I'm not going to do them for her if she waits until the last day...and every year she waits until the last day and I still get stuck rushing around to do them.

• That face.  That hat.  I have no words.

• I found my old Nike running watch and decided to try it out.  It works fine, but I still like holding my phone and using that instead of the watch.

• My friend, Angie, was back in KC (from Boston) to sell their pictures at the Strawberry Swing Arts & Crafts fest, so of course I had to go see her!  I took Hunter and Hadley along, too, hoping they would enjoy it.

 

They didn't enjoy it.  They lasted about 5 minutes and were ready to go.  And I even gave them money for balloon animals!

Road Trip: Destin, FL --> Nashville, TN

I spent a little more time checking out the beaches around Destin, and then hit the road again for Nashville, Tennessee.  Another spot I've never been to!

I did a little googling of the top things to do and see in the area and immediately set out to hit them all in one afternoon.  That's my style. ;)

I even found a band playing in a bar with a KC hat on!  What are the odds!?

I crushed it.  I saw all of Nashville in one afternoon.  Ha, okay, not quite "all" but I saw a lot and most of what I wanted to see.  So...back on the road to try and make it back to Kansas City -- or close.

I made it just through St. Louis before starting to doze off.  Looks like another night of car camping for me!  This time in a Wal-Mart parking lot.  I bought some curtains for the windows to try and block some light.  We'll see how that goes...

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The next morning, I woke up well rested in the Wal-Mart parking lot.  After going in to return the curtains I bought the night before (they didn't work too well!), I hit the road for home:  Kansas City.  

Windows down, music blasting, perfect morning.  For about an hour.  And then the storm clouds rolled in...

It got pretty nasty out and I even had to pull over!  I never do that.  I usually just blow through it, but my car was actually moving from the wind and the rain was so heavy I honestly couldn't see one foot in front of me.  It made me feel a little better that every single other person was pulled over too.  No one was driving through that one!

Anyways, I made it home mid-morning safe and sound.  Another successful road trip and lots of new cities and states checked off the list!

Road Trip: New Oreans, LA --> Destin, FL

Jason flew out early Sunday morning, but Shannon and Ryan and myself had the morning to spend wandering around New Orleans.

We had our names on a waitlist for brunch at a hard to get in to restaurant.  They were going to text Ryan when our table was ready, but we wad wandered just a little too far by accident.  We actually ran back when we got the text, but we took too long and they gave the table away to the next in line!  After some stern words with the host and then speaking with the manager, we got our table. And our brunch.

I hit the road after that, on my way further east to finally see Destin, Florida.  

In no time at all I was on the white sand beaches for sunset.  It was even prettier than I expected!  I definitely get why so many people come here for vacation!

Instead of getting a hotel for the night, I hit another level of cheap and bought a twin size air mattress and decided to just sleep in my car.  I drove around for quite awhile trying to get the nerve up to just pull over, an ended up in a hotel parking lot.  The third one I drove around in.  

It was hot and I didn't have anything for the windows, so it was also bright.  BUT - I survived my first night of sleeping alone in my car.  I see this happening a lot more in the future...