Getting There is 1/2 the Fun!!

Some of the best memories I have of my childhood center around road trips with my family. So when the opportunity arised for me to share that sort of experience with my children, I jumped on it! I can honestly say that this was one of the most fun vacations I've ever had. The kids were ridiculously good! I've never been prouder of them. They entertained themselves the whole way there!

Our Ride: An '08 Nissan Quest. While I was happy that they offered me this instead of the Chevy Uplander, I was still very skeptical that I'd enjoy any kind of a trip in a mini-van. Ooh, how wrong I was! The Quest turned out to be the vehicle of champions! It was a superb ride!

Day One: Left the house at appx 4am and started the drive North. Day one went pretty quick! We made it all the way to St. Louis, MO for Lunch!
Lunch in St. Louis:


This is what 5 kids in a minivan looks like! (Well, actually you can only see four as Christina was #5 and taking this picture from the front seat).


Random Car Pictures:

We ended Day one in Liberty, Missouri. An unexpected treat as our family lived there many, many years ago. As a reward for the kids (for behaving so miraculously all day) we were able to go swimming at our hotel before dinner.

Day Two: We left the hotel about 6:30am and headed due west. Looking on a map, this day's driving was as straightforward as it gets. Literally, it was straight... The whole way! And yet, some how, I managed to botch it up all the same. We missed our turn in Iowa and headed 20 miles in the wrong direction, and then in Nebraska did something very similar. Wyoming (God bless it) was the easiest (and possibly most boring) drive of all. This was a pit stop in Wyoming:

Coming into Utah on the other hand, was positively terrifying!!! Had I know that Price Canyon rivals just about any rollercoaster on the planet, I would certainly have stayed the night somewhere in Wyoming and braved this stretch of road during daylight hours! It was pitch black, semi-trucks were doing their best highway ballet and then we almost HIT A DEER!!! A REAL DEER! Prancer decided to jet across the highway and we narrowly missed him. Thankfully, I had the road to myself at that particular moment and I was able to slam on the braked safely.

Arrival...at last:

We finally arrived in my parents driveway at 1am. Seeing my Dad waiting for me outside was awesome and I can honestly say that will forever be one of my happiest memories.

SURPRISE!!!!

After taking me on a tour of the house, I was totally surprised to find Allie and her kids hiding behind door #2!  It was a sweet reunion. The last time we saw each other, we were both pregnant with our little girls. And now, Diana and Kristen finally had the chance to size each other up! It was awesome!