Home Sweet Home

We have been away for a week visiting family, attending a very important wedding, and preparing for a very anticipated baby to come. Yesterday we made the 14 hour long drive home.

When we say we've just driven 14 hours to go visit family people give us very pitiful looks. They want to know what that looks like with 3 kids. So here's an inside look into our crazy-long family road trips.

These trips start with a stack of DVDs and junk food because we are all aware that road trip means all dietary and screen time rules get left at home. The kids each pack an entertainment bag which includes video games, word searches, books, and drawing materials. All of that will be used for approximately one hour of the trip. Then we start to hear "I'm hungry","I need to use the bathroom", and "I'm bored". These phrases will be repeated multiple times throughout the trip. Around the third time they have repeated one of these phrases a movie goes in. The beauty of the mini van is the built in DVD player with headphones so that the adults in the front can listen to NPR, music, or play 20 questions. The 10,000 hidden cup holders are pretty handy too.

I'm the daytime driver (really just lunch to dinner driver because Steven forgets that I know how to drive sometimes and tries to do all 14 hours on his own)

Steven is always the nighttime driver, unless I'm traveling with the kids alone which I frequently do. (I have horrible night vision so if you ever hear that I'm traveling alone send up a little prayer.)

The younger two eventually crash and sleep. The older one just gets more and more wired until he's slightly crazy, which is why we box him in with suitcases and pillows so that he can't move. It's also because he's pretty self sufficient and he builds a mini bedroom back there complete with video games, music, and food.

This is what crashed really looks like! If you're very observant you might notice a cage behind Sicily's head. That's because we are currently traveling with a guinea pig. In the past we have traveled with hamsters and we've made several trips with a beta fish.

Now, here's where the real heart of survival lies. For Steven it comes in the form of late night fast food, Red Bull, and gum. For me it's peanut m&m's, Cracker Barrel peppermint sticks, and Gold Peak sweet tea. For the kids it's pretzel rods and gummy bears, beef jerky and bug juice. It's the diet of champions.

And that, my friends, is how a family of five travels from Arkansas to North Carolina without throwing someone out the window.