our second annual christmas trip...

look how laid back wesley looks. hilarious.

SO, this was the second year that we made our way down to the volunteer state. the mister was able to go with us this year which was nice although he spent most of the time sleeping in his hotel room. seriously, most of the time. he was really tired.
this trip was quite an adventure to say the least. we made it down without any problems, making our annual stops at the target and walmart. we checked into both our hotels (yes, we had two. don't ask, it's a really long complicated story that i'd rather not discuss), then we hung out the rest of the day jumping on beds and eating left over ham from the ward christmas party while elise went with our friends to see her friend play a basketball game.

this sign made me laugh every time i saw it. seriously? i can't believe they wrote that.

friday was a bit more eventful. my friend, the kids and i went to get some final gifts and make our way back to the house to wrap them when it started to snow. and snow. and snow some more. we waited for most of the day before we realized that it wasn't going to stop. it seems tennessee hasn't seen that much snow in over 10 years and they had the snow covered roads to prove it. like, they DIDN'T plow anything. by dinner time we decided that we should make our way back to the hotel and stay there for the evening. that is where the adventure began. i'm fine driving in snow, but i also live in a state that does a pretty good job of plowing the roads while and after it's snowed. i have never driven in several feet of snow before, let alone drive up a HUGE mountain and down the other side while trying not to pee my pants OR have a heart attack. we were lucky and made it out okay, my friends on the other hand didn't fair so well. they slide into a ditch which lead to purchasing rope at a closing lowe's and towing them back to the hotel. it is an experience i'd rather not go through again. after our adventure we ate A LOT of food at the hotel buffet and then sat and talked about our near death experiences (dramatic, i know) until the early morning before crashing in bed.

it looks pretty... when you're not out in it.

hanging out in the hotel lobby.

still hanging out in the hotel lobby...

saturday brought us more adventure. the roads weren't too bad, seems that they finally got some plow trucks out in the middle of the night, but all the power was out. when we made our way over the our friends house they were barely hanging on but in the end even their power went out. so, we quickly opened gifts and then we made our way back to the hotel were we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the hotel lobby trying to find our friends a hotel room. turned out none were available because no one had power in most of the city. we were able to have the annual work christmas party at stir-fry though with my friends and all their employees . it was a lovely meal with lovely conversations. they have a great bunch of people that work for them. they sure are lucky.

opening gifts without power. we quickly left after this.

sunday found us ready to head back home. i was sad to leave my friends since i felt i didn't get enough time to spend with them, but i was excited to be home and sleep in my own bed. i just wasn't aware of the horrible mess that we would have to face getting home. we left at 9:30am and didn't get home until 10:30pm. it was the longest. day. ever. we were stopped twice on the middle of the highway for an hour each time. then, we got out our map and took the back roads for as long as we could (which meant as far as we could go before the back roads got so bad that our van started slipping and sliding on the hills from the ice on the road). that put us back on the highway where we drove much faster then we should because we were just desperate to get home and not listen to crying children beg to get out of the car. when we got home, there was not anywhere to park since we had been gone and not able to shovel snow. elise tried to get out of the car and the snow came up to her waste and then she fell head first into it when she tried to walk. i just had to laugh. that's a moment i wish i could have video taped. oh well, have i mention that i AM SO EVER HAPPY TO BE HOME? yeah, because i am.


SOOOOOOOO, after all that, what have i learned. hmm, well let's see. a
1. you certainly can't guarantee that the weather will be as wonderful as the previous year.
2. tennessee sure has no idea how to deal with snow.
3. my friends were still so generous as ever.
4. elise and michelle have some great friends in abby and michael.
5. i sure have some great friends in terri, steve, tina and doug.
6. my husband REALLY needed some sleep, which makes him happy.
7. leaving at the crack of dawn is the ONLY way to travel. 9:30am is just way to late.
8. going to a walmart in another state will result in finally getting the sweater that you'd searched 4 walmarts in your own state! SWEET!
9. targets in tennesee just have the best clothes on clearance EVER!
10. going back to tennessee next year is a total and definite YES!

i just love this lady. i would go anywhere to see her!
why do i look so possessed?

also, our tally for the total trip consists of this:

WALMARTS: 12
CRACKER BARREL: 17
EVANGELICAL CRAZY SIGNS: 10
STRANDED CARS FROM SNOW STORM: 65

until next year.....