Our next big stop was at the Tennessee Visitors Center. The boys loved running around outside and being out of the car in the beautiful weather. We hiked up a small, steep hill, took pictures with some of their fall decor, and went inside to use the bathrooms and sit in some rocking chairs they had in a cute little sitting area.

There were some wildfires and some controlled burns going on in numerous parts of the southeast. I snapped a photo from the car.

The boys eventually fell asleep for a quick afternoon nap!

We hit some traffic in Asheville area right around rush hour which slowed us down a bit so we made another potty stop and grabbed some dinner before finishing the drive. By this point we still had a few hours left and I, as well as the boys, were starting to get pretty antsy. We broke out the tablet and starting watching movies to keep them occupied but did get a lot of" Are we there yet?" and "When are we gonna be at Nana & Papa's house?" from Will. Overall, the kids did awesome on the drive but were very excited to get to Nana & Papa's house so they could play with toys and stretch their legs.

We put the boys to bed in the same room in sleeping bags on the floor, since John had decided to crawl out of his crib earlier in the week. Overall they did great! John thought it was really cool to share a room with his brother. 

A big reason we left on Friday was so Erik could meet up with friends in Columbia on Saturday for his first and only Carolina football game of the year. We had initially hoped to take the boys to the game but after the long drive on Friday I had no desire to throw them back in the car for 1 1/2 hours in order to get to the game. Erik enjoyed a tailgate and a winning game!

The boys and I spent the day playing with Nana & Papa and relaxing. We went to a local playground and ran around for a while before heading home for lunch and nap time. The boys were pretty tired  and John was half asleep on the floor!

Erik arrived home later that evening when the boys were in bed. The next morning the boys enjoyed some milk and TV time before breakfast with Wisco (Uncle Jon's dog).

After breakfast, we bundled up and headed back over to the local school just up the road from Nana & Papa's house so the boys could run around and have some play time.

Snuggle/wrestle time with Uncle Jon during the Packers game that night!

Monday morning was pretty low key with the usual milk, shows and breakfast. Erik wanted to take us to The Peach Stand, a local restaurant and specialty grocery store. We headed there for lunch and ordered a fresh Thanksgiving turkey that we would pick up the next day. We enjoyed lunch with the boys, explored the grocery items and then took the boys to another playground so they could run around. The weather was a little chilly, but overall it was a beautiful sunny day and they had a great time. We went back to the house for nap time and had a quiet dinner in. Once the boys were in bed, Erik and I ventured out to spend a little time with Jon, who was scheduled to fly out the next morning for his next work rotation.

Tuesday, Will started his day with a haircut from Nana. He was so brave and looked so handsome! After his haircut, he and Erik went and had lunch with one of Erik's college friends who lives in the Charlotte area. After lunch, they went back to the Peach Stand to pick up the turkey, before returning home.

Meanwhile, John John and I explored Nana & Papa's yard and helped Wisco find some sticks to play with. We had lunch and then, once Will was back, we put the boys down for a much needed afternoon nap. We had a lot of fun afternoon and evening plans for them and needed them to get as much rest as possible!

Our first stop was the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC!

We got there about an hour before closing and packed in as much fun as we possibly could in such a short visit. The boys sat in a real race car, did a race track driving experience, practiced being part of a pit crew (complete with a tire change) and explored the hall and saw a ton of cool race cars.

We made it to the gift shop just before closing time and they each picked out a replica race car to take home with them. Then, we went next door to Buffalo Wild Wings for a quick dinner before continuing on our adventure!

Next stop, Charlotte Motor Speedway for Speedway Christmas!

"Open nightly, except Christmas day, the drive-through course features more than 3 million lights in 800 displays along the 3.1-mile route. During opening week, thousands of visitors weaved through the infield past popular light displays like the Abominable Snowman, Racing Santa and Patriotic Alley before taking in the fan-favorite lights-to-music display in the frontstretch grandstands."

The boys loved it! All we kept hearing from the back seat during the drive was "Wow!" from both of them. Erik and I really enjoyed it too!

We drove back to Rock Hill from Charlotte that evening and arrived just after Uncle Kurt. The boys showed off their race cars, met Uncle Kurt's dogs and then headed off to bed for the night.

Wednesday after breakfast we took the boys to Main Street Children's Museum in Rock Hill.

"Make-believe in the pumpkin house, climb to the tip-top of the tree house and sail on the magic ship. Enjoy memory-making family experiences and engage your young child in creative, developmental play. Main Street Children’s Museum is inspired by the artwork of American illustrator Vernon Grant, who lived and worked in Rock Hill."

The boys dressed as pirates, climbed through the houses, played with the train sets and had a great morning. They were even able to fill out a Christmas letter to Santa and drop it in a special mailbox that made letter deliveries right to the North Pole! 

Will got to have some hot chocolate and cookies after nap time. It's always fun having special treats at Nana & Papa's house! 

Wednesday night we had a popcorn and movie night with The Peanuts Movie. The Collier family arrived shortly after it started so all the kids got to enjoy popcorn and the movie together. After all the kids were in bed we spent some fun time catching up with Erik's siblings and, as usual, stayed up way too late.

Thanksgiving morning was there before we knew it! We spent a good amount of time prepping things in the kitchen that morning, as well as debating the best time to put the turkey in. Luckily, everything went off without a hitch! We put the boys in for naps. John was so exhausted he didn't seem to care much about actually staying asleep on his bed :)

We woke the boys up and got them dressed and ready for Thanksgiving and went outside to do a family photo shoot before dinner. Here they are hamming it up for the camera!

Yep, this is how we got them to smile so nicely... bribing them with candy!

A couple of fun family outtakes that reflect much more of our real life than the staged ones above :)

The turkey was brined and slow cooked in the oven all morning. We even made some extra turkey legs for the kids to enjoy. Our boys think turkey and chicken drumsticks are the best food ever! Slow cooking the turkey on low heat turned out to be the best decision because it was probably the best Thanksgiving turkey I've ever had. All the sides were delicious, too: sweet potato casserole, broda, vegetables, gravy, cranberry sauce. Yum yum yum.

We setup the kids on the kitchen and all the adults ate in the dining room. We had a few interruptions once the kids were done eating but then occupied them with The Peanuts Movie and they let us (mostly) eat in peace! We followed up dinner with homemade pumpkin pie and then it was off to dreamland for our little monkeys!

Friday was our last full day in Rock Hill with everyone.

We went to the playground with the Colliers and their kids and took our kids on a little walk around the trails. It was such a beautiful morning!

We went back home for lunch and yet another nap time for the boys. What can I say, we wore them out with how busy we were on this trip. Plus, seeing John snuggled up in different sleeping positions is always fun :)

We enjoyed a nice dinner with everyone and then got started on packing before putting the boys to bed. We had them say their goodbyes to everyone and then Will requested that Uncle Kurt come upstairs for one last hug before he went to sleep.

Erik and I finished packing, loaded up the car as best we could and hung out with everyone a little longer and before saying our goodbyes and going to bed ourselves. We had an early alarm set for 3:30 AM to hit the road with the kids and start heading back home. Erik drove the first leg of the trip this time while the boys and I dozed off. We stopped for breakfast along the way and made a few more pit stops for ourselves and the boys. We also utilized movies on the tablet much more than on the way down because we were ready to just be home.

We had dinner in the car once we got to Illinois. The boys each requested cheeseburgers. There's nothing quite like cheeseburgers in the car while barefoot after 12 hours in the car!

We had a great week in South Carolina, but its always good to get back home again.The kids were very excited to stretch their legs and find all of their toys. It didn't take long for them to completely destroy the house upon our return.

All in all it was a great road trip experience for our family and a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with Erik's family.