En Route to Saint Louis

Last weekend we visited the Yus. The drive between here and there is somewhere between five and six hours, so I was certainly anxious about taking the boys. It wasn’t the easiest trip, but they did pretty well. We stopped in Paducah, Kentucky to eat lunch on the way there. It was kind of a sad looking town, and all the people looked sad. I don’t know much about Paducah, or Kentucky, but maybe they are sad because of the high ratio of mullets. I will never think about mullets without remembering Kyle’s comment when he went to a Shreveport Mudbugs hockey game, "I went to a hockey game and a mullet convention broke out." That's a classic. But I digress.

We arrived Friday afternoon, and Alex greeted Owen at the door with a big Sponge Bob balloon. This balloon was the main source of entertainment for Owen all weekend. Betsy came home from work shortly thereafter, bringing her baby belly with her. It is such a strange feeling to see one’s best friend from high school, nay, junior high, with a pregnant belly. Aren’t we still 16 years old?

We stayed in Friday night, and ate stir fry, and Betsy made brownies and cake. We watched Reba, which I’m glad to know Alex loves as much as I do. Saturday we braved the wintery mix to browse a huge outlet mall, and we went out for sushi Saturday night. Betsy and I shared avocado rolls and California rolls, and I ate some of Owen’s fried rice, and drank hot tea, and I was very happy. We left Sunday for home, and the boys were stellar on the ride home. We stopped only once (in Paducah again, sadly), and were home by 7PM. When we saw the bright lights of the city, I said, "Nashville!" and Owen said, "Home!" It was kind of a moment for me, since I didn’t know he knew that, or felt the concept of home.

The funniest thing that happened on our entire trip, and trust me, it was hilarious, is documented here, as told by Alex himself. I can never do the story justice, so click over and read his version. Those Yus, we love them!