i'LL bE FiNe...YoU'll bE FiNe

Much like my good friend Brent, my family and I made the 13 hour drive from Dallas to Birmingham today. We're staying with my grandparents just outside of the city until next Thursday. This was one of those days when I really wished my mom was a flight attendant.

The five of us and the dog set out this morning around 6 am. My mom had been to the donut shop and starbucks by 5:30. I somehow ended up with more leg room than my brother or sister, and while it's probably unfair considering I have much shorter legs than Brandon, he didnt complain so I stayed put. The portable DVD player was extremely convenient, but the one movie that I actually wanted to see, March of the Penguins, was scrathed. We settled for Monster-In-Law staring Wanda Sykes and Jennifer Lopez. Enough said.

Fast food is not exactly ideal for those of us on a liquid diet, so we ate lunch at Shoney's. Talk about your southern cooking. I loaded up on the mashed potatoes and was forced to watch the rest of my family eat fried chicken and biscuits. Major life-suckage points.

I tried to mix up my CD choices so I didn't get sick of one particular band, but I relied mainly on the All-American Rejects to get me through the last half of Louisiana and most of Mississippi. Basically every song reminded me of Chris, which made me even more bitter because he happens to be in Costa Rica right now. Today his family explored a rainforest. And I spent 14 hours in a mini van. SPLENDID.

We survived though, and we're here. Good old Sylacauga, Alabama. My aunt, uncle, and three cousins got a late start and shouldnt end up getting here until around 3 am. They're all pretty young, and this house is extremely small, so needless to say, I'm enjoying the quiet while I can.

Tomorow we're getting a family portrait done, which will be really fun with my mouth in its current condition. Then Monday we'll drive down to Atlanta to stay with my Dad's side of the family. Wednesday my parents and I are touring Auburn (my dad is really set on me going there), and then we'll drive back to Texas on Thursday.

It's nice to visit extended family, especially when they live this far away because seeing them is pretty rare...but I am looking forward to getting back home. I miss my bed already.