{the long journey home}

On Friday it was time to say goodbye to GiGi, Pop Pop, Granny Nanny and Rudy so that we could start the long journey back to Cincinnati. We decided to leave mid-day so that we could break the trip up into 2 days again. Our plan to wear the girls out that morning before getting into the car was successful and Kenzie was asleep within 5 minutes of being on the road. Lexi was awake but happily playing with her baby doll.

Since we weren’t in a rush we decided to stop in Hattiesburg, MS to have lunch at a restaurant that one of Randall’s friends from Southern Miss recently opened. The Depot was a fun coffee shop & bistro and we enjoyed some delicious sandwiches and soups. Randall got the chance to catch up with an old friend and it was a perfect lunch stop.

We were making pretty good time and the girls were being very good and then it started pouring down rain. Our plan was to make it to Franklin, TN before stopping for the night and the last 60 miles or so were slower going because of the rain. We checked into the hotel at around 10pm and the girls were very excited to be staying in a hotel again.

The next morning we had planned to check out historic Franklin in the daylight. While it was light, it was still raining hard. It happened to be Main Street Festival which would have been such a fun experience had we not been soaking wet. Due to the weather we really only checked out a couple of booths and one very cute home store before heading into Puckett’s Grocery for lunch (but really more to escape the rain and to dry off a bit). Lunch was yummy and the skillet chocolate chip cookie that we had for dessert was to die for.


After lunch we decided to get back on the road. It rained off and on, but we made it home by 6pm. The girls’ first request was to stop and check progress on the new house. The foundation and footer had been poured and the basement walls and rafters completed, so we were able to step foot into our new home for the first time. Kenzie & Lexi were so excited that they insisted on getting their babies from the car so that they could show them their new house.

While we had a great week away, it felt good to return home to Cincinnati.