First things first

This is my new haircut:


Something had to be done. All the Anderson people...remember Mr. Kraus? That was happening to me. I had developed a little island of hair that was slowly distancing itself from the mainland. Got really obvious when wet. Anyway, we consulted with a reputable stylist today for the best thing to do and this is what we came up with. It does minimize the effect of the lonely tuft on top. I asked if we should just take the whole tuft right off but we were advised against going to war with my hairline...it could create a different "situation" she said. Anyway, what's done is done. If the tuft doesn't fall out soon I might have to go Chrome Dome, because this tuft is just silly. I like the new cut fine - I can get used to it - I just wish that my hair would bow out gracefully instead of hanging on in uneven patterns.

Anyway, beyond that, a busy day of trip-prep-shopping. Odds and ends and this and that. Tomorrow the trailer is moving to a closer location and we will be able to pack it whenever we want. Looking forward to it. Had a family meeting today to go over details of the first few days, and we all feel ready to hit the road.

Opinions on the hair are welcome.

Matt

Insert "Home" Quote Here

We're back!

This morning, hung out at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Knoxville. Okay hotel, but...well...the carpet was not what we would call clean. We waited as long as we could stand it, then headed for an early lunch at Cardin's Drive-In. As I said, no website, but here's a shot of it in Google Maps Street View (a very cool thing indeed). Gives you some idea of the character of the place. (I see now that it's not working right - if you can't see the image, click on the "view larger map" text below it - you'll get the image.


View Larger Map

Being our last meal of this vacation and all (and with Steph and I fully intending to eat a lot healthier on our big trip) we splurged. Good bacon cheeseburgers. Mari liked her hot dog, and the babies and Faith liked the grilled cheese. Good fries, good rings, good cheese sticks, good tater tots (hey, I told you we splurged) and good milkshakes. I had read good things about the peanut butter milkshakes so I got that - was NOT disappointed. So, Cardin's gets my seal of approval - if you're in Knoxville, a fun local dive to stop by.

Rest of the trip was totally uneventful. I am proud to say that we drove from Cincy to Jacksonville to Hilton Head and back to Cincy and only put in 2 movies the whole time we were driving. And very little TV during the week as well. I feel like a successful parent for that. And really, we are so blessed - the girls were GREAT during the trip, and the babies were so agreeable and pleasant most of the time. We have a great travelling family and it's a good thing.

Coming home...well. I think it's an indicator of a really good vacation if when you come home, your house seems a little unfamiliar. And it's not a question of being gone a long long time or anything...it's about where your mind has been while you've been away. If you've been just sitting there thinking about stuff back home then probably you won't feel like you've been gone. My mind has been completely in the moment for a week and a half and it's felt great. My house looked a little strange to me and I like that feeling. It's probably also a function of me already being mentally on the next big trip, too.

So now is the weird turnaround. Three days at home, trying to keep the house nice and neat and trying to get ready for a monthlong cross country trip. Also mentally switching from being with Steph's family to being with mine. No need to get into specifics - we love them all, but they function very differently and it's a different way of existing.

Keep checking in!

Matt

Getting back is half the fun

Who says the return trip has to be sad?

This morning was a little bit of a bummer as we loaded the car and headed home. But I am daddy and I always have a few more tricks up my sleeve. We're spending the night in Knoxville, so I of course did my research. The girls' first surprise was a trip to The Chocolate Factory for a few treats for being so good on vacation. Really a lot of selection and the girls were very excited to get to pick out a few things on their own.

Then, we headed down to World's Fair Park in downtown, where we let the girls run around in the public fountain. Again, they really enjoyed that especially on a hot day. See pics below:





Lastly, to give them a little time to dry off, we went up into the Sunsphere for a view of Knoxville. Got to see a major storm rolling in. When we came down I ran to get the car and bring it around because it looked like the heavens were about to open up and pour down rain.

Came back to the hotel and chilled for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we're going to take our time leaving - check out is 11am, and we'll use every last minute. Hoping to grab lunch at a local fixture (again, I've done my research) called Cardin's Drive-In which is a few miles from the hotel. No website available - should give you some idea of the kind of place.

Hopefully be into Cincinnati in time for dinner and a low-key evening. As always, returning home will be emotional - and even more so this time with the quick turnaround to the big trip.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. See you at home!

Matt

Final night

It's been a great vacation week here in Hilton Head. It's 11:30 pm, and I'm about to turn in. The car is mostly packed and hopefully we'll get a good early start and be on our way quickly tomorrow morning. We plan to stop in Knoxville overnight, and might make our way to a couple of local landmarks, or we might just crash in the hotel. Depends on our mood.

Sorry I didn't get around to posting more pics - there are a ton of great ones. Again, maybe I'll get around to it some night this week.

I miss the relaxing beach vacation - but this one was fun and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

More tomorrow from Knoxville.

Matt

Pic experiment

I've been taking pictures in widescreen mode, since that's how I shoot video - just want to post one to make sure there are no distortions problems posting online.



This is our last morning here - the girls are sad to be leaving but they've really had a great time. And my own mind is turning to the next trip now. This is going to be a wild turnaround - home for 3 1/2 days and then OFF we go. Hard to believe that in one week we'll be in...oh, sorry, can't tell you that. Let's just say somewhere we've never been before.

But, going to enjoy our last day here first.

Thanks for stopping by.

Matt

Winding down

Just typed and lost a major long post. Stupid Marriott wifi.

Beach is fun.

Routine is crazy.

Bought new camera.

Eating too much.

Robby walked.

Two days left.

See you later.

Anniversary Dinner and Video Distress

Steph and I got to have our belated anniversary dinner last night - went to Charlie's Etoile Verte and it was wonderful. Aside from the great food, had some nice conversation about our lives and our relationship. Not something we get to do on a regular basis, but it's so important to take time to look at the big picture whenever you can. Life is good.

Our video situation on the other hand is not so good. Our digital camera died on the beach this evening. Now, this thing is old. It's like carrying around a Sony Walkman when the rest of the world has iPod nanos. It's big, clunky, and you can't do much with it. But it's worked well for us and served us for many years. Got online and checked, and the lowest-rung digital cameras out there are twice the megapixels of this one. It's time. I'll be making a run to the mainland tomorrow morning to rectify the situation.

The camcorder also is having more trouble - but did enough tinkering to find out it's just the battery. Sadly, the battery we need is almost as much as the camera we'll have to get, but still I think we can avoid purchasing a whole new camcorder.

All this means that posting pics has been problematic - which is too bad because I have a TON of great ones - hopefully I'll get some up tomorrow.

So long all!

Matt

Here we are

All is well. Yesterday's transit was rough, the roughest yet, but we survived.

Today we took the kids to the beach and they loved their first time there. Robby was scared at first but figured out pretty quickly that he loved it. So far so good. If they enjoy the pool and their baby spring floats work as expected this might be a really good week.

A few pics:

La Familia

We were able to get a great pic of most of the Burghart/Durkee/Hall/Gibson/Specter family tonight. This one's for you, Uncle Rick and fam and cousin Joe! We missed you this weekend and wish you could've been here! Hopefully next time you guys can join us!
(back: Matt, Chris [Steph's cousin], Dennis [Steph's uncle], Jeni [Steph's aunt and Godmother], Steve [Steph's dad], George [Steph's bro in low, holding Hannah], Kathy [Steph's mom], Steph [holding robby]; front: Faith, Grandpa [Steph's paternal], Grandma [Steph's paternal], Paige [Steph's sister, with Mari in front of her])



So, this morning we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house and soon after, Dennis and Jeni made us some really awesome omelettes. Mari was in heaven because she was able to get peppers and tomatoes in hers. Really good breakfast. We just hung out then. Around 12:30, the kids started getting pretty sleepy so I took Matt and the kids back to the hotel room where Matt let them chill for a while and then put them down for naps. Amazingly, ALL FOUR KIDS SLEPT! Yay for Matt! Meanwhile, I went back to gma and gpa's house to hang out with everyone.

For dinner, gpa and my cousin Chris deep fried some fish. Mmmmm, mmm good! Really. We had catfish, flounder and tuna and it was excellent! We'd never had homemade fried fish! They also even did hushpuppies AND my aunt Jeni made a peach cobbler. SO SO good!

Now we're back at the hotel. The babies seem to be quiet. However, Mari is doing her typical thing. It's 9:28pm and she is still in her bed whispering to her stuffed animal. Faith's awake, too, but is being quiet at least. Ugh. That's ok b/c it's an EARLY morning tomorrow. We have to meet the family at the restaurant at 8:30 AM (yes, the "first one" as gma would say) for breakfast. I'm HOPING that everyone will sleep all the way to Hilton Head after that!

Steph

Cute clip from yesterday

Hannah has been recently starting to have her toys 'talk' to each other - Faith did this too when she was Hannah's age, and it's the beginning of imaginary play. We love it. Here's a clip of Hannah in the car making the Loveys talk to each other, then giving them a kiss. Also check out Robby clapping. A very cute clip. The best of the car ride yesterday. Enjoy.