Winter Getaway

Our travels began on Saturday, January 24th. We started driving to MD for my mom's 70th birthday. We had a few errands to run before we were actually on our way. We went to the library and gas station. As Michael was getting out of the car Victoria perked up and asked "Are we still in Iowa?". Oh dear! We both had a feeling it was going to be a LONG drive! Thankfully we brought the portable DVD player and a lot of movies. Michael and I were excited that it kept working. It gave us a few scares due to the cold weather.

Our first official stop was in Galesburg, IL. We visited the Welcome Center and the girls each received a coloring book and candy. They were quite happy we had stopped there! Outside the Center there was a huge Adirondack chair. We couldn't resist climbing into it. The chair was FREEZING and I'm glad I had gone to the bathroom first! Brrrrrr!!! I guess the snow on the ground should have been a hint.


We had the opportunity to stop in Normal, IL for the night. We visited the Stoneking family. We hadn't seen Troy and Sally in about 14 years so we were overdue. They made us feel so welcome and my girls wanted to know if we could stay there for our whole vacation. They had guitars, a keyboard, Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution plus a huge variety of chips, pop, snacks and cereal. My girls were thrilled!

Victoria and I had a great time singing. American Idol here we come! I also tried Dance Dance Revolution and although my score didn't reflect my awesome moves I had a blast. I was surprised because Michael knew most of the lyrics. While his knowledge of the lyrics left me impressed his dance moves provided great comic entertainment. Even though I was laughing apparently the computer judge liked him better than me. I demand a recount! Oh well I know full well I looked better than him and that should count for something.