Allenby Road Trip - Part Two - Ohio

After our amazing time in Pittsburgh, we packed up the car and said goodbye to the Swanson clan.  We headed out on the 4.5ish hour drive to Dayton where we spent the evening and the following morning with Grampy (my Dad's Dad) and his wife Ellen.  It was so, so wonderful to spend time with Grampy.  The last time I had seen him was a couple months before my Dad passed away when he came out to NH to see my Dad.  The trip had taken so much out of him, that he wasn't able to turn back around to come to the memorial service which was obviously very devastating for him not to be there.  Seeing Grampy and Ellen was one of the major reasons why we wanted to take on this major road trip and we are SO glad it worked out to spend time with them.  Grampy just turned 90 years old in June and is honestly doing really, really well.  Ellen takes great care of him and her family lives in the area and have been a huge blessing to Grampy.  (My Grammy passed away about 8 years ago and Ellen's husband had passed away a few years before that.  The two couples had known each other for years and I'm so glad that Grampy and Ellen got married and have been such a wonderful support to each other.  It's a pretty adorable story and I'm just so glad he's not living all alone).

It was a really special visit that I'll remember for a long time.  So great to spend time together and definitely made me miss my Dad like crazy...

 At 90 years old Grampy was kicking around the soccer ball with the boys!

 Grampy and Ellen...

After leaving their house the following day, we stopped for a brief visit with our friend Ben who just left his job at Proctor to return to his old high school to take over the football program.  High School football is big-time in Ohio and it was so fun to see him in his new environment!

 After a brief stop at Carroll High School we hit the road for Columbus where we stopped at Uncle Greg's house for a short visit and swim in his pool on our way to Cleveland!  Aunt Karen (Greg and Steve's sister works nearby and was able to swing over for a little visit too!)  We're looking forward to seeing these guys again soon at a family wedding in September!

Ever since we sat in Uncle Greg's hot tub, the boys have teamed up with me to try to convince Scott that we need one at our house.  I don't think it's going to happen, but we'll keep working on him!

 After another stretch in the car we finally made it to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kerry's (Jeff is Steve's youngest sibling.  So we saw all of the Allenby siblings on this day, except for Scott's Dad) house where we stayed for two nights.  Cousin Jill was home and the boys had a blast playing with her.  We also had a great visit with Grandma and Grampa Erickson (Nancy's parents) and Aunt Amy (Nan's sister!)  Phew!  Lots of wonderful time with family and the kids really had a blast with this crowd! 


Grandma and Grandpa...

 

Our crazy child...

Ice cream with Jill!

These guys had so much fun in this (turned-down) hot tub!  Check out Camden's face!  :)

 We had a lovely dinner with both Nan and Pop's side of the family coming together to visit with us! 

 Uncle Jeff (the boys' Great Uncle) had fun reading them bedtime stories both nights we were there.  It's pretty special that they're loved by such a huge extended family! 

 After two nights and one full day in Cleveland, we hit the road again on our way back east to Lake George.  This truck stop was a favorite stopping place for the Allenby family when Scott was a kid, and our boys had a blast waving at all the cars and trucks that passed beneath us! 

Final road trip installment coming soon!

Allenby Road Trip - Part One

**Written on the road on Wednesday 8/13, but posted 8/18**