Mike and I had the privilege to go to St. Louis, MO for our vacation this year....many would not call this a vacation destination, but for us it was! Mike served an LDS mission there and also has an Aunt and Uncle, and his oldest sister and her cute family living out there.
We left bright and early on July 4th from Orem, UT and trekked our way for 13 hours to Lincoln, NE where we stayed the night at my aunt and uncles house...who I haven't seen for 3 years and some of their kids for probably 5-10 years! It was great to get to see some of them and catch up! I had my camera all ready to go on Monday the 5th when we where leaving but it was early and no one wanted to be in a picture. next time.
The first day of driving was ok, it was long I will say that, but I have to say that I did really well-I didn't have to stop to many more times than already planned to go to the restroom and I kept myself entertained, although I brought a lot of entertainment stuff along to keep me going! The original plan was to fly, that was before we looked and saw that it would be about $1000 for the two of us and then we quickly changed our minds....and we got paid to drive, ok well most of our gas got paid for because we took some items out there for family and brought some items back for other family. It was nice and we thank those people who donated to our trip so very much!!!!
I enjoyed driving actually, I mean it was long but I think it also re-connected Mike and I. We where able to just sit and chat and talk for hours with out anyone around and no distractions, it was really nice and I think it brought us even closer together as a couple! and that I am thankful for. I think that when a couple or a family moves away it forces them to cleave unto each other and rely on your partner more than you do when you have family near, it was great to get a taste of what that feels like-and we did talk a lot about moving on this trip, but the chances are we will probably never move unless Mike gets a job after graduation out of state, but it was good to see what it feels like. Although I am not complaining about where I live or who I live by because we both love having family around and there really isn't anything better than family!
back to the trip...
on Monday the 5th we got up and headed for Lake of the Ozarks, where Mike's aunt and uncle live. 7 hours later...we arrived there about 5:00pm and the humidity welcomed us with open arms! Andy, Melissa, and Noah meet us there and we got to catch up with everyone and even had dinner with the missionaries! Mike and I both fell head over heals in love with Lake Ozark, and even stated that this is where we would love to live later on in life!!! lake front property, what more could anyone ask for??
the water felt like bath water and the view was just beautiful!
after dinner and clean up the 5 of us headed home to the Stockhoff residence, which of course is gorgeous! Andy and his dad did a great job finding the town house, and Melissa did an amazing job decorating it! I often said to myself, "if only I had a house all decorated like this....some day, maybe?" and I did take pictures for myself so I could one day maybe copy her and add my touch...thanks for the inspiration Melissa, wanna come do my house one day???? and even though Mike laughed at me, I went window shopping in her garage. I even walked away{after asking of course} with an adorable green ruffle pillow. He only laughed at me because when Melissa lived in Idaho she had a storage unit where 90% of there items were, well one day Mike and I had to drop something off at her unit for her and I got to see the loveliness for the first time, and as Mike will tell it I went window shopping for quite a while in there lovely unit looking at the furniture, and whatever wasn't boxed up. I had fun! anyways, we got to their house and hung out for a little while, watching tv-sports and chatting and then off to bed we went.
as a side note to add: between the first two days of drive time, Mike only let me drive for 1 hour! haha can we say wheel hog?? and yes he will say it too!
This is the end of Day 1 and 2.
more to come soon!
2 comments:
So many comments!
1. Moving away definitely makes you appreciate each other more and rely on only the two of you. I know from experience :)
2. Rob is a wheel hog too. He drove all the way to and from D.C. while I sat back and watched.
3. I want a house too!!!!
4. You look adorable with Noah at the lake miss prego. I love the baby bump!
and I love you too!
Great post Megs...can't wait to read more and see more pics! PS. Glad you snagged the ruffle pillow and you give me TOO much credit for the house...there is SO much more I want to do!
Love you guys!!
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