Kentucky Day 9: Home + Mississippi

Day 9 was our final day. Our Kentucky trip was our longest family trip we’ve ever done (Texas used to hold the honors at 8 days). It was a long go but we really loved our time exploring this new state.

Tooth Fairy

We were all ready to be home by the morning of day 9. So we woke up and got moving. We went down and had breakfast at our hotel and had a little surprise. Ben lost a tooth! We were talking and all of a sudden I noticed his front tooth was a different direction! Mark grabbed a napkin and out it came. What is it about a missing front tooth that is just so adorable?! I love his toothless smile.

The Long Way Home

We left Topeka and began our final journey home. And THE BEST part of our last day is always the choosing of our next state! We all love the planning (no one more than me!) and it gives us a final dose of pizazz to talk about on the last day.

In case you are new here – here is how we do it.

Mark and I came up with this plan two months after we were married. Every year we pick a state out of a hat (plus Washington DC) and that is our family vacation for the year.

WE LOVE THIS TRADITION. SO MUCH.

I love traditions – and we have a lot of them – but this might be our very favorite.

So every year on our way home from our trip, I grab a random piece of paper, write down all of the states, and put them in a hat. We pass the hat around and everyone picks a paper. Everyone is allowed one veto. Some years we don’t have any. Other years, Mark and I may veto one based on financial or timing situations (for example, we really want to wait and do DC when the kids are a little bit older).

Here is a recap of our visits:

2011 – Arizona

Highlights: Camelback Mountain, Phoenix Zoo, Sealings at the Mesa Arizona Temple, Arizona Diamondback’s Baseball Game, Grand Canyon

2012 – South Dakota

Highlights: Jewel Cave National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Mammoth Site, Custer State Park, Bear Country USA, Badlands, Chapel in the Hills, Thunderhead Underground Falls, Devils Tower (Wyoming)

2013 – Ohio

Highlights: Kirtland, Cuyahoga Valley, John Johnson Farm, Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Columbus Ohio Temple, Cleveland Indians Baseball Game

2014 – Utah

Highlights: Arches, Monticello Utah Temple, Dinosaur Museum, Hovenweep, Four Corners, Bluff Historic Site, Natural Bridges

2015 – Year That Will Not Be Named

2016 – North Dakota

Highlights: Theodore Roosevelt, Ukrainian Cultural Institute, Enchanted Highway, Bismarck North Dakota Temple, Lewis and Clark Riverboat, Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Knife River Indian Villages, Fort Union Trading Post, Little Bighorn Battlefield (Montana)

2017 – Louisiana

Highlights: Swamp Tour, Oak Alley Plantation, French Quarter, Jean Lafitte, Jackson Square, Café du Monde, New Orleans Jazz, French Market, Audubon Aquarium, Audubon Zoo, Barataria Preserve, Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple

2018 – Texas

Highlights: Capulin Volcano (New Mexico), Lyndon B Johnson, San Antonio Missions, the Alamo, San Antonio Riverwalk, Natural Bridge Caverns, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, San Antonio Texas Temple, Amistad, Big Bend, Fort Davis

2019 – Idaho

Highlights: Rexburg Idaho Temple. Craters Of The Moon, Sawtooth Mountains, Nez Perce, Tubbs Hill, Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch, Bonners Ferry, Silverwood Theme Park

2020 – Montana

Highlights: Glacier, Grant-Kohrs Ranch, Museum of the Rockies, ZooMontana, Billings Montana Temple, Bighorn Canyon

2021 – Colorado

Highlights: Granby, Rocky Mountain, Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Downtown Aquarium

2022 – Disneyland

2021 was a hard year for our family. After Lydia’s Rett Syndrome diagnosis, we just wanted light and fun. Disneyland did the trick!

2023 – Kentucky

Highlights: Homestead (Nebraska), Abraham Lincoln Birthplace, Mammoth Cave, Cumberland Falls, Cumberland Gap, Harland Sanders Café, Haney’s Appledale Farm, Mill Springs Battlefield, Camp Nelson, Kentucky Horse Park, Louisville Kentucky Temple, Louisville Slugger Museum, Locust Grove, Big Four Pedestrian Bridge, Cave Hill Cemetery, Lincoln Boyhood (Indiana)

The Drawing

Here were the picks for this year:

• Mark: Pennsylvania
• Elise: New Jersey
• Jacob: West Virginia
• Sarah: Mississippi
• Benjamin: Vermont
• Lydia: Maine

And 2024 is…

MISSISSIPPI

We are excited! I have to admit, Mark and I were a little bummed when we first picked it. Mostly, because we were so excited for any of the other states and this was the only one we were less excited for. HOWEVER, with that said, we have yet to have a “dud” trip. We’ve loved each of our trips and they have all been so unique and we know this will be another amazing one. As cheesy as it sounds, these trips are really about spending time with one and I can’t wait to do just that.

So if you have any Mississippi suggestions, please let me know in the comments! We are thinking late October or early November of next year – we have to avoid the heat and hurricanes!

But we loved you so much, Kentucky! I hope our paths cross again someday.