Robert's and my fifth wedding anniversary was on May 20, and we'd been planning for months to go on a trip. I honestly think we started thinking about our fifth anniversary about a year and a half ago. haha We knew it would take a lot of planning as Robert would need to save up vacation time, we'd have to pick a week before his summer craziness with work, and we'd have to find a week where we'd have family to watch Sarah, so we booked my parents and Robert's mom to watch Sarah months ago. We picked the week even before we knew where we'd go. Robert really wanted to fly somewhere, but I really wanted to be within driving distance just on the off chance that something weird happened to Sarah. Do my mommy friends understand? This was my first time to be gone from Sarah for more than a night or two. We just couldn't pick a place, and then one day Robert mentioned Louisville. It's about a seven hour drive for us, and our friends Forrest and Anna had just moved there from Wake Forest. We hadn't seen them in two and a half years, but we had loved our time with them in North Carolina. They just bought a house so they had space for us, and they were up for hosting. We were so happy!
We left our house Sunday afternoon once my parents got there to start watching Sarah. I was a little nervous. It wasn't because I didn't think Sarah would have a good time. I knew she'd have a blast! It's just hard to leave your baby. We drove to St. Louis and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. We enjoyed Mexican and some dessert and then just watched Netflix in our hotel room. I know that isn't luxurious, but when you have a little one this is a big deal! The next morning we went to the St. Louis Zoo. Robert had never been, and I hadn't been in over a decade. It was a lot of fun, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.
St. Louis is pretty much exactly halfway between our house and Forrest and Anna's, so after lunch we got back on the road so we could get to their house by dinner (time change from central to eastern). We enjoyed getting pictures from my parents. On Monday Sarah watered my flowers and took a little trip to Bolivar to see Memaw and Pepaw and go to the park.
It was so wonderful to see Anna and Forrest, get to see their new house, and meet their dog, Bruce. Anna had a delicious dinner ready for us, and we enjoyed catching up and playing games.
On Tuesday the four of us went to the Louisville Slugger Museum. Robert is the biggest baseball fan of the group, but it really was interesting for all of us. We got to take a little tour of the manufacturing plant and walked around a small museum.
We went to the oldest candy shop in Indiana which was very adorable. And then we went home for a bit.
Sarah got to do lots of coloring and painting with my parents.
Colonel Sanders and Muhammad Ali are buried in the same cemetary, and apparently this is a popular thing to visit in Louisville, so we had to do it!
We got some delicious ice cream at Comfy Cow!
We went to Churchill Downs and got a tour and looked around the museum. I basically don't know anything about horses or racing, but it was still very impressive and interesting.
Robert and I sneaked off for a little anniversary date and went out for BBQ and walked across a huge pedestrian bridge that goes over the Ohio River. It was beautiful!
There was some rain throughout the week, but we also had some very pleasant days which allowed for a little hike one morning.
Halfway through the trip Serina took over watching Sarah, and they had a ton of fun together! My parents had taken Sarah to Discovery Center, and Serina took Sarah to the Zoo. She also did finger painting, baked cookies, and tie dyed t-shirts. So fun!
We got to play so many games with Anna and Forrest which was a lot of fun! We watched a movie, Robert helped Forrest with a couple of little house projects, I got to nap and rest, and we just enjoyed each other's company. We couldn't have asked for a better time! The drive home was made in a day, and the time change back to central time helped us out. We rain into a couple of pretty heavy rain storms with hail which slowed us down a bit. Shortly after we got home we actually lost power for an hour. Sarah had a great time with our parents, but she was definitely ready for us to be home. She and Serina were out in the driveway when we pulled in and Sarah started bawling. She just couldn't compose herself. It was very sweet and very sad. We had a great break, but it was also very nice to be back together. It was the perfect way to get energized for our busy summer with student activities. Thank you for hosting us, Anna and Forrest, and thank you to my parents and Serina for watching Sarah!
