52 hours

I like road trips. And I like the summer to include some fun things that are different from our small-town entertainment.

So we went on one of these kinds of road trips on Sunday after church. We left just in time to get to my nephew’s 3rd birthday party in Louisville. We had fun celebrating Jax at Incredible Dave’s. More to come on that later.

Originally, the trip was going to be me and the kids. But Greg ended up needing to meet some guys for work on Monday in Louisville, so we were happy to have him along. While he worked, I drove a mini van full (me, my two kids, my sister-in-law, 7-year-old niece, 3-year-old nephew and my mom) to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. My dad met us there and we also spent some of the time with a high school friend and her three kids. It was my first time there, and I’m a fan. So fun. And more to come on that another time too.

Then we had lunch at Tumbleweed overlooking the Ohio River with a dear college friend and her two girls who are just months apart from my kids. So it was three adults, a 4-year-old girl, a girl who turns 4 in a month, a 20-month-old boy and an 18-month girl. And it was a great lunch full of catch-up stories, reminiscing about when there were fewer of us between us, and watching our preschool girls get to know each other. Probably more to come on that too; I’ve been thinking about the evolution of friendships.

And then we drove home. Fifty-two hours from start to finish. And I’d do it all over again.

But next time I’d take the keys out of my back door before we leave.

Good thing we live in a Mayberry-like town. Even so, I did ask my husband to walk in the house first. Now we’re all home, and it’s bustling with Diego as background noise to my kids’ play and pitter-patter of small feet on hardwood floors. And I’m thinking about tidying up and making a grocery list. I wonder who messed up the house and ate all our food?

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