Home!

After the arch, we drove until dinner time, ate quickly, and drove till almost midnight because I had reserved a room for us in Lexington, KY. We didn't reserve many rooms ahead of time because we didn't want to feel like we had to get to any certain place, just in case something happened or we saw something cool on the way.

Well on the night that I watched Frankie swim (when lanes had an accident) I had mapped our route a little, and since our last hotel night was a Friday, I looked to see if there was anything inexpensive that I could book early. I found a Clarion that had an almost 50% military discount (LOVE when that happens) and since I thought Clarion was the more upscale of the Choice Hotels, I quickly booked it after confirming with Matt.

The Clarion wasn't bad, per se, but it is actually not one of the more upscale choices, and when you are banking on a really nice hotel for your last night, and you tell your kids, that just makes it all the more disappointing. Oh well!

We got in and got girls to bed super late, which made our early morning fire alarm that much more annoying. 

Just after 6:00 the fire alarm sounded. Matt and I were super disoriented, but groggily woke up and he checked the front door while I checked the back sliding glass door. There were people evacuating through the front door, and I swear I smelled a faint smell of smoke out the back, though I didn't see any. we decided we should probably wake girls and head out, just to be safe. 

There were probably only 1/3 of the hotel guests that actually came out. But really, unless you were under 10 I don't think anyone could sleep through that alarm,  so what's the point.

Matt had grabbed our bed roll, so after a few minutes we took the girls over by our truck and let them lay down. Since Laney didn't want the roll, Addie happily took it.

Frank's didn't want to lay down.

And lanes just hung out in the jolly green.

We were all so tired, that after we got the all clear, we all went back to sleep. And you know kids have to be pooped to be able to do that. 

That caused our normal late start to be even later, and after the worst breakfast ever (in a weird conference room by the pool), and swimming in the "3" pools, (indoor pool and hot tub, and outdoor pool) we didn't roll out until noon. #sobright

One notable thing did happen there tbough! Laney, our almost 4 1/2 year old, discovered that she really can poo on the potty. I don't know what happened that she felt she couldn't, but it has been a long and hard fought battle wherein I tried every mothering trick I have learned in my 20 years of motherhood, asked advice of countless professionals, not to mention friends, and prayed my heart out. 

She just had to decide she could do it, which she did, and after forgetting just once, has been happily toilet pooing since. She kept saying "mommy, are you so proud of me? Are you so happy? I didn't even know I could poo on the potty!" I have a sinking suspicion this having to do everything on her own timeframe is going to continue through her lifetime. Oh help me!

We stopped at the world's nicest McDonald's for lunch in the beautiful hills of Kentucky that afternoon. We asked if the had a military discount, and he ended up giving Matt his meal for free. Super sweet. We'd have loved to have stopped and eaten fun local food, it was even on our road trip bucket list, but time, money, and picky kids did not really permit that. I kept saying though, this won't be our last road trip, there's always next time!

I would have loved to have stopped and done fun things in Kentucky, but we left so late and Matt was anxious to get home. As it was we arrived around 10 pm, so not too early anyway. Chris and Brian had made us this cute Welcome Home sign.

I didn't notice Frankies glove till later. 

We unloaded the car in 90 plus degrees, threw everything in our room and the front room, and slept in our own beds. Jiggety jig.