Winter travels
The Whomptons traversed to Nashville and Owensboro this winter break, with the intention of seeing all sorts of family. We did just that.
But, first, we had to get there. The interstate's Ohio Bridge at Paducah was closed for repairs (at least, we think that's why we were stuck there for 20 minutes without moving) so we off-roaded, u-turned, and took an alternate path across the river. That alternate path was the "Ohio River Scenic Drive" and it ended at this bridge. The bridge had a warning sign: "Caution! Steel Bridge! Motorcyclists be advised!" and a speed limit of 25 mph. Oh my goodness. Driving across a river feels really long when going 20 mph. It feels even longer when you know that you cannot brake because your car wheels do not have traction on a steel-grate bridge and the big truck behind you is tailgating. Oh my goodness. To avoid having a panic attack, I forcefully inhaled and exhaled so much that I fogged up the front windshield. It was terrifying and I was so grateful to be across it. (Yes, we took the same bridge on the return drive. It was marginally better.)
We celebrated our arrival into Paducah by stopping at the Chinese buffet. The kids ate copious amounts of fried food, I ate copious amounts of lo mein, and Eric mostly grumbled. I tried speaking my fledging Mandarin to the wait-staff, but they were mostly unresponsive.
And then we reached the Nashville city gates. Emily texted us, saying "Hurry! It's time to icing the cookies!" and we tried to get there. After sitting another 20 minutes on the off-ramp at the Comptons' exit, we finally made it to their house. Woohoo!
The girls immediately jumped into icing and sprinkles duty. They made a sugar mess.
The next few hours were devoted to going crazy cousin-style. They pulled each other around in the wagon, ran in circles around the house, laughed maniacally, and generally had a good time.
Lola and Atticus were hiding under the blanket and surprising passersby. Boo!
We stayed up late and the entire family watched Home Alone. The girls and Atticus had never seen it and we thought it would be lots of fun. (They are not yet old enough for everyone's favorite Christmas movie: Die Hard.) Raina thought it was fun, Atticus got a little bored, and Lola cried continuously through most scenes with the bad guys. Our girls are sheltered.
Intermixed with the Home Alone slapstick comedy was a lot of fun. Stephanie pulled out her ukelele at every commercial break and the whole group sang Christmas carols. Favorites included Rudolph and the Twelve Days of Christmas. We tried singing Suzy Snowflake, but it was mostly a bust. Who knew commercials could be so much fun! (The ukelele made a return appearance the next night as well.)
Samantha arrived the next day, and we gallivanted off to the Opryland Hotel to see the lights and take lots of family photos.
JoLynn made a delectable Christmas Eve dinner and we all gorged on peanut butter balls and plum pudding for dessert.
We opened up presents on Christmas Day. Emily made this absolutely gorgeous sweater (see below) and it fit Lola perfectly. Emily is amazing. The girls roped in plenty of Green River Preserve swag, sleeping bags, books, and the best gift ever: college education! Atticus gave Lola his favorite blocks (which made all the adults teary-eyed).
The combined Whompton-Compton-Astorian clans went on multiple hikes that week. (You know what's better than being indoors? It's being outdoors!) Here's a great family photo from one of the hikes.
We played LOTS of games. The kids played Gulo, Gulo and Incan Gold. The adults played Hanabi, Lord of the Rings, Escape from the Temple, and Phase-10. Raina joined the adults in Avalon and she successfully was the traitor! And everyone played a massive round of Sardines, which is the best version of Hide-and-Seek ever. One person hides and then everyone tries to find that person. When you find him/her, then you have to hide along with that person until everyone is hiding together in the same place and the last person finds the huge group. Squeezing eight people under a bed, in a closet, or tucked behind furniture certainly merits the name "sardines!" There was a massive game of football and mosquito tag as well. We always have a good time when playing silly games that result in giggles!
On Friday, we trekked over to Owensboro to hang out with the Whites. We toured the 10-years-old-but-new-to-us library, ate a ridiculous amount of pie, and enjoyed each others' company.
We also had surprise guests. My dad's mom Juanita, the girls' great grandmother, came to visit. The girls played a pretty adorable game of catch with her.
Ages ago, when I lived in Owensboro, my family would spend Christmas Eve with my aunt Gerry and her family. It was only fitting to spend part of our time together again.
We parted ways from here. Samantha returned back to Saint Louis, and the other Whomptons returned to Nashville. The cousins had more crazy fun.
And then they slept through a significant portion of the return drive to Saint Louis the next day.
We capped off the trip by eating yummy Mexican food at Don Sol's restaurant in Marion and by speeding all the way home.
But, first, we had to get there. The interstate's Ohio Bridge at Paducah was closed for repairs (at least, we think that's why we were stuck there for 20 minutes without moving) so we off-roaded, u-turned, and took an alternate path across the river. That alternate path was the "Ohio River Scenic Drive" and it ended at this bridge. The bridge had a warning sign: "Caution! Steel Bridge! Motorcyclists be advised!" and a speed limit of 25 mph. Oh my goodness. Driving across a river feels really long when going 20 mph. It feels even longer when you know that you cannot brake because your car wheels do not have traction on a steel-grate bridge and the big truck behind you is tailgating. Oh my goodness. To avoid having a panic attack, I forcefully inhaled and exhaled so much that I fogged up the front windshield. It was terrifying and I was so grateful to be across it. (Yes, we took the same bridge on the return drive. It was marginally better.)
We celebrated our arrival into Paducah by stopping at the Chinese buffet. The kids ate copious amounts of fried food, I ate copious amounts of lo mein, and Eric mostly grumbled. I tried speaking my fledging Mandarin to the wait-staff, but they were mostly unresponsive.
And then we reached the Nashville city gates. Emily texted us, saying "Hurry! It's time to icing the cookies!" and we tried to get there. After sitting another 20 minutes on the off-ramp at the Comptons' exit, we finally made it to their house. Woohoo!
The girls immediately jumped into icing and sprinkles duty. They made a sugar mess.
The next few hours were devoted to going crazy cousin-style. They pulled each other around in the wagon, ran in circles around the house, laughed maniacally, and generally had a good time.
We stayed up late and the entire family watched Home Alone. The girls and Atticus had never seen it and we thought it would be lots of fun. (They are not yet old enough for everyone's favorite Christmas movie: Die Hard.) Raina thought it was fun, Atticus got a little bored, and Lola cried continuously through most scenes with the bad guys. Our girls are sheltered.
Intermixed with the Home Alone slapstick comedy was a lot of fun. Stephanie pulled out her ukelele at every commercial break and the whole group sang Christmas carols. Favorites included Rudolph and the Twelve Days of Christmas. We tried singing Suzy Snowflake, but it was mostly a bust. Who knew commercials could be so much fun! (The ukelele made a return appearance the next night as well.)
Samantha arrived the next day, and we gallivanted off to the Opryland Hotel to see the lights and take lots of family photos.
JoLynn made a delectable Christmas Eve dinner and we all gorged on peanut butter balls and plum pudding for dessert.
We opened up presents on Christmas Day. Emily made this absolutely gorgeous sweater (see below) and it fit Lola perfectly. Emily is amazing. The girls roped in plenty of Green River Preserve swag, sleeping bags, books, and the best gift ever: college education! Atticus gave Lola his favorite blocks (which made all the adults teary-eyed).
We played LOTS of games. The kids played Gulo, Gulo and Incan Gold. The adults played Hanabi, Lord of the Rings, Escape from the Temple, and Phase-10. Raina joined the adults in Avalon and she successfully was the traitor! And everyone played a massive round of Sardines, which is the best version of Hide-and-Seek ever. One person hides and then everyone tries to find that person. When you find him/her, then you have to hide along with that person until everyone is hiding together in the same place and the last person finds the huge group. Squeezing eight people under a bed, in a closet, or tucked behind furniture certainly merits the name "sardines!" There was a massive game of football and mosquito tag as well. We always have a good time when playing silly games that result in giggles!
On Friday, we trekked over to Owensboro to hang out with the Whites. We toured the 10-years-old-but-new-to-us library, ate a ridiculous amount of pie, and enjoyed each others' company.
We also had surprise guests. My dad's mom Juanita, the girls' great grandmother, came to visit. The girls played a pretty adorable game of catch with her.
Ages ago, when I lived in Owensboro, my family would spend Christmas Eve with my aunt Gerry and her family. It was only fitting to spend part of our time together again.
We parted ways from here. Samantha returned back to Saint Louis, and the other Whomptons returned to Nashville. The cousins had more crazy fun.
The girls enjoyed the jacuzzi bubble bath. Really, what's not to love?
And then they slept through a significant portion of the return drive to Saint Louis the next day.
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