Home Sweet Home

It’s kind of hard to go unnoticed when you pull this thing into the drive 🙂

We went off the radar for a little bit before arriving back in Cincinnati.  We drove from Chicago to the P.C. and stayed with my parents for a few days.

I think arriving and Mamaw and Papaw’s was the most exciting part for Mac and Te.

Check out their faces as we pulled into their driveway…

Notice also that they were already in their swimming trunks. When we pulled onto their street they went and changed. Then these pictures were taken as we pulled into the drive. About 1/4 way down the driveway Mac got in my lap to “help” drive, and they were both honking the horn and screaming “We’re here! we’re here!”

All the beauty and experiences and amazing places pale in comparison to being with the people you love.

The minute we got there Te chilled out about a thousand percent.  So we took a nap, took a walk, and chilled out about 1000 percent too.  It was definitely the most restful couple of days of the entire trip.

We left the boys with Mamaw and Papaw. The world famous Preble County Fair is happening this week and the boys excited to go to that.

Brooke and I have begun the task of unpacking and cleaning the RV before we return it to her dad.  Good thing it’s only a thousand and six degrees here in Cincinnati with I-feel-like-I’m-swimming-in-my-own-sweat humidity.  California, take me away!

Tomorrow is our 15th wedding anniversary.  I think we’ll open a bottle of wine.

Re-entry has been a little overwhelming.  7 1/2 weeks on the road is a long time.  The mail was insane.  The weeds have taken over.  There’s a lot of business to take care of, bills to be paid, things to be dealt with.  And it almost feels like we’re moving – I had forgotten how long it took to load all that stuff into the RV for the trip.  But it’s great to be home.

We’ve reflected a little on the trip.  It certainly turned out differently than we expected.  I’ll probably post some more detailed thoughts as they come.

Hands down the MVP of the trip goes to…

Etta had the lowest drama quotient of all on the trip.  I was a little concerned about taking her, but she was amazing.  And she loved it!  She sat next to me or Brooke the whole time we drove and kept watch everytime we left the RV.  Usually from her favorite perch…

Here’s a quick “by the numbers” for fun…

7 1/2 = Weeks on the road. (original plan: 8 but we left late and came home early)

17 = States visited (original plan: 20 plus Canada)

6,447 = miles driven (original plan: 8000)

6,442 = miles driven by Aaron

5 = miles driven by Brooke

1 = Speeding tickets (thank you Nowhere, Idaho!)

7 = average mpg (YOUCH! we need to plant some trees and ride the scooter to work a LOT)

$2,780.59 = fuel cost (original budget: $3000 – the only thing we stayed “under budget” on)

7 1/2 = cases of wine purchased (correlation to weeks on the road = fate!)

1,117,985 = times we told Te, “Get off the dog!”

0 = number of times Etta snapped or growled at the kids when they stepped on her, hit her with a sword, or pulled her tail.  (again, MVP)

463 = times Mac asked if he could play “Bideo games”

200 = number of cartoons watched by our children

77 = number of green smoothies consumed.

4872 = number of Diet Cokes consumed.  (All by Aaron.  Way to go Brooke!)

Breakdowns = we lost count 🙂  But hey, we successfully drove all the way from California to Cincinnati with NO breakdowns!  Maybe Georgette is cured!

It’s good to be home!  Now back to real life and whatever that has in store for us next. Stay tuned.

Keep Calm, and Carry On!