West Virginia Roadtrip

The last week of June we had a whirlwind trip to WV to visit family in Parkersburg, go to Amish country and ultimately end with a trip to Fairmont, WV to catchup with friends, family and to get my Zumba certification.  Whew!  And all this in 5 days.  We literally were in the car traveling anywhere from 2 - 5 hrs each way to a destination.  This at times made for a crabbier-than-usual 18 month old, but overall she was amazing and went with the flow!  And we all had an amazing time - it was worth the traveling!  :)

Our week started with heading down to Parkersburg early Wednesday morning to see Keith's family.  It is always great to see everyone and after Samantha gets over her momentary shyness from all the attention, she dives in and eats it up!

Thursday morning we got on the road early and headed to Amish country, where we ate good food, did some shopping, went on a carriage ride and toured some Amish homes.  It is a fascinating look into such a different culture and a very traditional way of thinking and living.  You can't help but admire them and respect them.  The Amish have a passion in hard work, their faith, traditional values and family, much more than the rest of the world seems to.  I could not live their life - I love my PJ pants, shorts and conveniences too much - but I think we could all learn a little something from a life lived without so many extravagancies. 

Before our carriage ride I got this picture.  This is just one of the many types of carriages they use.  You had to be careful taking pictures there though, because the Amish cannot be photographed.  One of the reasons though I could not be Amish - I have already logged thousands of pics of Miss Samantha in her 18 months of life!

Meeting one of the many puppies running around the farms.  Samantha spent the rest of the day trying to chase them and saying "I need a dog!"

Nearby we found a playground for Samantha to play on.  It was great until we all got hungry and had to pull her away for lunch.  ;)

Friday we headed to Fairmont and it was a whirlwind from there.  With a dead camera battery, my pics stop there.  But, we kept busy despite the visual proof.  :)

Friday night I got to meet my dear friend Aimee for a dinner at Cracker Barrel - yum.  (So great to catch up Aimee -- I have missed you SO!!).  Saturday morning I woke up early to head out to my all day Zumba certification from 8 am -6 pm.  It was so wonderful and I felt such a sense of accomplishment.  I know that sounds dramatic, but I am proud of myself for going for it (granted with the prodding and encouragement of loved ones).  I love taking on a new challenge and meeting that -- and selfishly it feels good to have something for me, outside of being a mommy.  Now I can shake my tushy and get paid for it!! Woohoo!

Of course we also got to show Samantha off to some of Keith's family (albeit she was sporting the shiner in the earlier post) and got to stay with his Grandmother.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see everyone because we were there so quickly.

By Sunday we were back on the road and I swear Samantha was so sick of the car it was turning her goofy.  She used this time to discover she could brush her hair with her feet.  God Bless that child, she keeps me giggling.  :)