What a travel full Christmas we had. First stop took 7 hours (vs the normal 5 hours) so we were off to an annoying start. It took an hour to get from our door to about 5 miles away. Ron was super frustrated, which he is usually the calm cool collected one, and the kiddos were acting up already since we weren't moving... anyways! I called a local friend who told us a back road around all the madness. The madness, by the way, was a merge point. It was backed up for an hour. One hour waiting at ONE LIGHT. Welcome to the suburbs of DC. Ok, anyways, we got past that and made it to my besties house around 10. We stayed up visiting for a couple hours then headed to bed. It was a delightful visit. They have a horse and a gerbil and two older kids, my kiddos love to tag along with theirs. We also had an impromptu gathering with a few friends so it was just a good time overall. I had planned to see my brother Steve on Friday from 11 -1, then Saturday afternoon and once again Sunday before we headed to WI. We were at my brothers house visiting with his fiance - YES! Fiance! - who we love for being so good to Steve. Alas 1 pm rolled around and Steve was still sleeping. I was sad, but also had no desire to wake him when he is obviously not feeling well at all, so we left. I told Linda that we'd be back the next day for a longer visit. Longer visits are harder for him because he tires easily. Saturday we went over around 1 and brought lunch again from one of their favorite spots. Steve was awake and he was coherent so it was a VERY nice visit. Around 5 he was snapping at the kiddos (who in all honesty were becoming bored) so we decided to go ahead and head back to Erins. We also decided we would forgo the Sunday visit since we wanted to be on the road by 1 -2 pm and Steve would likely be sleeping until then. All in all we saw him for a few hours on one day, but my besties made the trip completely worthwhile... I am glad I decided to see him, it felt right and it was right. WI was a whole other ball game - to be told later if at all. Per usual I ended up in tears while talking with my mom (Trumper) and my other brother over universal insurance (HELLO WE HAVE A BROTHER/SON IN DIRE NEED OF THIS!) but again, another day. I hope you all had an amazing holiday season and have a great weekend!