The beginning of the Marcoot Family Fun Vacation

We decided that we IE: Ross, Raquel, and I would celebrate cristmas at home before we left for our cross country treck to the lovely, freezing midwest to visit the rest of the family. Somewhere along the way we thought it would be a brilliant idea to travel via automobile with the dog and all of us and all the presents back to Iowa and IL for the holiday. We must have been drunk when we decided this! So first we must open our presents here in Atlanta and what a stash we hauled in. It was very nice and Ross got cowboy boots just like those that Raquel received from Al and Ellen. Well not exactly like them, his aren't pink. However I have noticed him eying hers!

First stop-Super Grandpa's house in Bloomington,IL

So after an 11 hour drive from Atlanta,GA and thankfully, uneventful drive (no bad weather, baby meltdowns kept to a minimum with the help of a prepared cooler full of snacks and milk) we pulled into Ross' dad's house and was greeted by Randy's new dog Hank as well as Randy of course. After getting settled in we waited for the others to arrive. Unfortunately the weather had turned bad and Aunt Jeannie and Ol' Uncle Bob had to postpone their arrival for an additional day. But everyone did make it including Grappy (Raquel's great grandpa) from southern IL. We enjoyed time with everyone and then Super Grandpa went and done it...He bought Raquel a pony! It's big, hairy, cute and did I mention PINK! We IE: me, named her Pink Champagne because she's pink and momma likes her champagne:) Everyone else wanted to name her Squishy which I was not going to let happen, so the next day we all loaded up in the car (Ross, me. Raquel, Lil' Prince Jolly Mon' and Pink Champagne) plus a slew of goodies and headed off to our next destination, Des Moines, IA.

Next stop...Brent and Jonann's

So after spending almost 11 hours driving to Super Grandpa's we decided that Raquel needed to be strapped in for some more touring of the great mid-west and off to Brent and Jonann's house in Des Moines,IA we went! I had forgotten just how BORING the drive between Bloomington and Des Moines was....until then.....boring doesn't describe how that 4 hour drive felt longer than the 11 that we had just spent driving from Atlanta. Just think, Ross and I used to do that drive all the time, how easily one forgets. Anywho, all the family converged on Brent's house to open presents and enjoy his annual prime rib dinner YUM-YUM! It was a lovely time and as you can see Crazy Momma and my Dad of course were there but unfortunately Aundrea had to remain in the "armpit of America" as she likes to refer to it. Others may refer to it as Sioux City, IA. She of course had to stay back and enjoy all the CRAZY people that would be coming out the day after christmas to shop at her store. She was missed (but not too missed, because that meant more prime rib to go around)! Oh ya!

Raquel's first experience in the snow

After arriving at Brent and Jonann's for Brent's fabulous feast it started to snow. We decided to see if Raquel was a mid-western gal or a gal of the south.Let's just say she ain't no snow bunny! After unsuccessfully mastering the snow she fell down and said,"This is for the birds!" And where are all the birds right now you ask? That's right...in the south! Enough of that and inside she came!

And our last stop

Our last stop on our Marcoot family fun vacation was to visit Grandma Zibilich in Cedar Rapids and to our delight Aunt Deb had just flown in the same day so we had a lovely visit with her as well. Here ends our visits...now just 10.5 hours in the car again and we're home! Happy New Year everyone!