The Equality State

It's 1000 miles from our house to Paul's parents' house, and we tried to make the drive in one long take again this year. Since it was early May, we figured that was reasonable. Imagine our surprise when we got stuck at a rest stop, then, a little later, a gas station by black ice covering the interstate in western Nebraska. It took us 22 hours to get there, and we arrived exhausted. On the way back, we stayed overnight in a Country Inn & Suites. Nirvana! We arrived home much happier than we would have if we'd tried to drive all night.

The girls were really really really excited to take this trip. Ellie asked about it every day for a few weeks beforehand. And they were not disappointed. Nana arranged for Ellie to have a therapeutic horsemanship session, which was sort of the highlight of her month. We looked at the pictures again today, and she said, "Walk, Targo!"

Both of their language developments (can you say "language developments" like that?) are really blooming right now. I love hearing them voice their preferences. During the trip, they actually argued over which movies to watch on the car's DVD player. Today, Ada told me that she was done listening to "Ralph" and wanted to hear the ABCDs song. And, while we were at the Outback with Paul's folks, Ada flagged down the server to order a pizza. Seriously, she yelled at him, "Pazza!" Too cute. Meanwhile, I've discovered a way to help Ellie go to sleep at night (sometimes). We now talk through her day today and tomorrow, which helps her process all the stuff running through her head that she's still developing the ability to really talk about.

These kids are great.