So I haven’t talked to daddy yet today but I’m sure if I did he would say “Boy am I tired, I had to stay up til’ 2am last night to change the clock!”.
Bless his heart!
I do have to brag on him and mom for coming to our/Tucker and Milly’s rescue once again for a very sad, heavy hearted trip we needed to take…
Last week we found out Jane’s dad had passed early Thursday morning from his courageous fight with melanoma cancer. Thankfully, we were told our prayers had been answered in that he had not suffered and passed rather quickly with Mary Ann and Jane by his side.
We immediately started looking for a pet sitter to head up to Ohio so Alex Googled the one we had used a few years ago only to find.. Milly was still on her homepage!
We were then told that would not be happening because mom and dad were basically on there way to us!
Saints I tell ya, Saints. Love them!
We headed up to Ohio Saturday just as the first snow flakes were hitting the ground in Georgia!
Oh well, road trip time and we were certain we would see more
I don’t know what it is with the 4 of us and road trips but we found our selves back at a Taco Bell.. of all the places! For those of you who don’t know, we stopped at a Taco Bell on our last road trip to Tennessee 2 years ago!
The ride was absolutely beautiful through Tennessee and [my first time in] Kentucky. snow was on the ground, mountains on the horizon, Oh and Kentucky was full of horse farms on both sides of the interstate!
Mom close your eye’s Alex is not on his phone mapping the route and driving. 
Hope you enjoyed that shout out Tara- back to pictures of snow!
Can you tell we are from Georgia, born and raised honey- we love pictures of snow! 
We saw an outlet on the way- pit stop! 
We finally made it after only one wrong turn and one completely stopped traffic jam! We landed in Hamilton to be greeted by Jane and bob and their friends Chris and Katherine who are adorably sweet. It was so good and comforting for me to see how much of a comfort it was for Jane to have Katherine there with her during such a difficult time. We were also told about 25 times during our visit how happy they were that we made the trip which made us feel so welcomed... all we could say was “OFCOURSE”.
The next morning we realized we had quite the view room our hotel room, right on the river of Hamilton! 
The next morning Rachel and I were informed we would be walking to brunch (in the picture, on the other side of the bridge)with the crew mentioned above… we thought it was a joke!
It turned out to be one of the most pleasant walks, snowflakes falling and more sight seeing that way!
Fun fact: Hamilton, OH is known for having the most sculptures in any city in the world!
Jane treated everyone to breakfast at a cute place called River Walk and a tour of Hamilton afterwards! We saw her family’s Lumber yard which employ’s all but one of Mr. mikes grandsons and both of his sons, it’s been in the family for 100 years now!
I did not get a picture of the lumber yard but found this online from the article written about the company last year during their 100 year anniversary!
Mr. Mike is Furthest to the left, his two sons are furthest on the right standing next to the truck, (L-R Tom and Mark Jr).
Click here to read full article.
Then we stumbled upon this little piece of paradise…
Yes, it’s a Minnick’s drive thru!
the man who worked there told us there are 11 in the area! We made Bob “drive us through it”, I mean honestly what a good idea! Beer, wine, energy drinks, snacks anything you could want! 
The night of the viewing they held a dinner/ celebration at a steak house near Hamilton for just family members.
It was so nice to have everyone together even under the circumstances and I loved the quote at the bottom of the menu…
Mr. Mike and Mrs. Mary Ann had been married for 20 years but were both widowed from their first marriages when they met so they were no stranger to blended families.. apparently one of Mrs. Mary Ann’s famous sayings was “We are family”.
I love it!
Jane and Bob shared a table with R.J. and his wife, R.J. is Mr. Mike’s Childhood friend who now lives in… Hilton Head!
Of all the places! 
I have always heard stories about the “Sanders” and their drinking but I know now first hand ;) No worries the Minnicks’ clan fit right in! Oh and we were faster than the poor bar tender we ran raged so we often helped by serving ourselves!
Classy Rachel, classy.
The room reserved for us was filled with windows and we all opened the blinds about the same time to see the sunset, it was gorgeous that night, we like to think it wasn’t a coincidence! 
The next morning we heard one of the most beautiful Eulogy’s read by Father Haft and some kind words were shared by mr. Mike’s 2 sons; Janes’s brothers. 
Mr. Mike left behind a beautiful family, the sweetest most kind hearted wife, welcoming, hard working children and amazing grand kids with a great grand baby on the way.
That night we had another get together at his son Toms and his wife and families house and it was absolutely amazing. Jane had helped set up all the catering days prior and not only was the house adorable and amazing the food and service was incredible!
We found this book sitting on one of the tables; it was written by Mark III, who is now married and expecting a little one this coming august.. every page was a detailed “interview” about Mr. Mike back when Mark III was in 7th grade.
I snapped a picture of jus tone of the pages but it also went into detail about his child hood, his dating life, school years etc. What a good teacher to have had him do that as a project!
the basement downstairs was huge and full of “games” my favorite was the bowling, it was a bit addictive!
Bob’s cousin Geoff was there and snapped a group picture for all of us, if i ever get it i promise to post here!
It was a such a good trip, we almost feel guilty for enjoying ourselves so much with Jane’s family knowing it was under such upsetting circumstances…
Beautiful, wonderful, generous, warm, comforting, kind people he left behind, It seems so obvious how his life continues through their beautiful qualities. We are lucky to have known him and as Alex did not meet either of his grandfathers so we are very grateful he had Mr. Mike to resemble a “grand-father figure” for him!
That evening we arrived home to 2 very excited pups who could not have been better taken care of! They could not wait to show us their new dog beds, new “babies’ and new treats!
Mom has a pot roast waiting and a dinner so big and good it confused me with thinking it was Thanksgiving! We still have the dessert sitting in my fridge, we were just too full to manage!
Then she proceeds to tell me my sheets have all been washed, laundry is done, Easter candy/decorations are bought and hanging, house is cleaned, groceries are bought for lunch and dinner next week the list goes on! 
I swear, I have some big shoes to fill!
I will say however, I am REALLY glad I got overly stuffed with that amazing meal because I have hardly had one good meal since then!
This is where the Surprise comes in….
The next morning after we got back…. I got braces!
Who knew these things freaking hurt like hell! I was not expecting that at all… I’m on day 5 and am trying to be patient and believe everyone who keeps saying “you’ll get used to it”…I got the Incognito ones so they are glued to the inside of my mouth which causes a rather embarrassing lisp- that I’m trying very hard not to be insecure about but they are not visible to anyone so that’s a plus!
Lou made a run to get the “milkshake necessities” he tries to refuse for me to “just have the milkshake” before having something substantial like yogurt or soup but if I look the least bit upset he gives in and milkshake as my meal it is!
The first few days I just preferred sleeping over eating anyway, but I am starting to get a bit more daring, still not chewing food just more brave about swallowing foods, oh and WAX is my new best friend!
I read after getting the Incognito that people referred to it as your tongue being trapped in a metal cage, “WOW!” I thought, “I couldn’t agree more….”
Then Lou took the computer and said it was not healthy for me to read those types of reviews.
More of that and this fun exploration of mushy foods to come!
Hope you enjoyed some sun today!
If you pray, please continue to pray for Jane and her family as they try to get back to a new “normal”.
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