O-H-I-O! 516 miles of... screaming girls in the backseat.

This year we decided to go "home" for the holidays-- to Dayton, Ohio. I hadn't been back in 6 years-- since the day I left for Chile.

The trip was spent catching up with friends and family, and also friends so close that we consider them family. It was full of sweet tender moments, advice, encouragement, and just plain fun!

(We are on our way home now, and I'm blogging on the go-- from the van. Thanks to Ricardo, who rigged up a mess-o-wires so complicated using our cigarette lighter, that we have like 15 things connected there now, and are enjoying all the modern comforts of home, while traveling 75 oops I mean the speed limit, down the freeway.)

Okay so I guess that last paragraph had really nothing to do with anything, so I digress.

On our trip, despite several kind and hospitable invitations to stay with friends/family, we decided to stay in a hotel. It was interesting. Hotels are great-- when you're alone. Or with a significant other. With kids, I'm not gonna lie-- hotels are kind of like your very own personal Hades.

The first couple nights were especially peachy. We enjoyed screaming at a decibel I thought only dogs could hear, until right around 2 am Ohio time. Which we were now observing. But only kind of, 'cause I never changed my blackberry over to Ohio time, and when we'd wake up super late, I'd justify it like this: It's okay, in Iowa it's only 10:45! A.M.!

Yes, it took the girls some getting used to, falling asleep in the hotel room. All four of us together. We eventually learned that If we wanted Eva to go to sleep, we all had to. There was no putting the kids to bed, and then staying up to have a conversation, or anything like that. You know.

Once when Ellie was supposed to be in bed calming down, and I had gone downstairs to our fridge/van to grab Eva some milk, Ricardo said he went to the bathroom and through the mirror he saw Ellie sneak out of bed and stand on her tiptoes to peer into the pack-n-play at Eva. She said to her sister, "I don't know 'bout you, Eva, but I sure do know 'bout Papi!"

Yeah we don't really know what that means either, but it was funny.

Another time, Ellie had grabbed the sides of Eva's head (for the last time, apparently), gritting her teeth. I scolded her (you like how I used the word scolded? Very Mary Poppins, right?), just like I always do when she does that to her sister... to which she says, "But Mommy, I was just (Insert Excuse of your choice Here)."


Well this time Eva'd had quite enough, thank you. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the rage-filled Eva take hold of Ellie's arm with her trembling little hands and chomp down so hard with her big buck teeth that her head and body were shaking. Followed a split second later by a shrill cry as Ellie realized she'd been bitten by the true Eva-nator. Yeah, that's right. For all of you who wondered why we dubbed her such a wicked name, this is why.

They really do love each other though. (I really can stop eating chocolate, too. Any time I want.)

On this trip Eva began to say "Ellie." It sounds like this: "Ey-Yee."
And she chants it over and over again until she gets big sister's attention.

I've gotten way too distracted by the girls in this post (hey, just like in real life...)

Here is a list of fun things that we did on our trip:

-Eat awesome Mexican food at some place I can't remember the name of (Jackie??)
-Pee in the nastiest outside bathroom EVER. (these first 2 go hand in hand, by the way.)
-Visit the Boonshoft Museum.
-Visit the dreaded Air Force Museum. (ugh, even their website is awful and dry and boring!)
-Visit the awesome neighborhood where we grew up: Overlook Mutual Homes.
-See all my old schools, from Saville elementary to Stebbins high school.
-Shop at Meijer (the girls rode the horse for a penny!) and Kroger.

-Visit the Wright Brothers Memorial, where we always went when I was little.
-Go to church at the Beavercreek Ward, where I saw Daphne Sullivan, the Youngs, Kim Hansen, and my Aunt Teresa! Also on the trip, I saw Sara Brant Mann and her sweet family, and her mom who I will never stop calling Sister Brant no matter how old I get, 'cause she was my seminary teacher (the best ever!)
- See Santa's reindeer at The Greene.
-Bought my dad some surprises that I can't wait to give him.
-Completely forget my mom's Esther Price chocolates. I may be disowned... (Don't worry Mom, I'm working on it!)
-Went to the Fairfield Commons mall and scored an adorable Easter dress for little Eva (nothing wrong with being ahead of the game) on sale for just 13 bucks.
-And the best thing that we did was spend lots of time with the people that we love. You know who you are! I got to spend time with my best friend in the whole world, (don't ask why she hasn't blogged in 2 months, it's just 'cause she's a bum) and spend Christmas day with her sweet, hilarious family. It felt like they were my own family! We also spent time with the Vilches family, and see Arlene open up her mission call, which was soooo awesome! She's going to Anaheim, California to a Spanish speaking mission! They are a very special family that helped Ricardo and I become, well, Ricardo and I. Plus 2 rotten sweet little girls.
-Speaking of Ricardo and I, we "celebrated" our 6th wedding anniversary on the 23rd! We didn't really do anything special. Just reflected on the past 6 years, and how far we've come.

If nothing else, I'd say this trip served the purpose of helping us to relax, regroup, and get a newer fresher perspective on our future together as a family. We are *so close* to our goals, and we've been able to see what the future could hold for us. Who knows, maybe in a year or two we'll be back in Ohio-- for good!