Getting There is Half the Battle

Spring Break: What a fun time to get away and do something as a family. We don't often travel during Spring Break. Sometimes it just takes too much work, and I usually enjoy a week off school where we can just play at home.

However, this time around, my mother was having surgery and taking time off from work. It was perfect timing for us to come up and visit her while she convalesced. I really like seeing my family, and they usually come around Easter time. However, it is always daunting to realize we need to travel 900 miles to get there. That is a lot of time in the car. (Yes, I know we don't have babies anymore. It is so much better than it could be. Or is it...?)

Tyler does an activity book for the kids. He does such an amazing job. We don't bring movies in the car, but we do take an occasional audio book. The book for this trip: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. (It was fun, although I didn't love the dragon's voice.) We also bring snacks along. The kids entertain themselves in many ways, and of course, we always stop to see something interesting or strange along the way.

We decided on a flexible game plan. We left after school and wanted to drive a large chunk of the drive in the evening. We didn't have hotel reservations, but we figured we might find a good spot along the way to stop. We drove and drove and yet with intermittent potty brakes, it seemed to take forever to go anywhere. Around 9pm, we decided we would find a store, since we had forgotten a few essentials, such as dog food. (Sorry Moxy.)

Everyone was supposed to take a potty break and then we were going to settle down for the night and see how far Mom and Dad could make it. June was a little put out as Robyn pushed her way out of the car abruptly, but immediately took back her animosity when she said, "Uh...Robyn is throwing up."

Turns out Robyn had been feeling sick for hours, but didn't want to say anything. (Clearly the better option is to wait until it is too late.) Fortunately for her, she made it out of the car just in time and left an epic donation in the parking lot. I was all kinds of grateful that she made it out of the car. Puke in the car is a game changer.

We loaded back in the car and I drove for another 4 or 5 hours, while Robyn threw up intermittently. Poor Robyn. And Pearl decided to pee in the back seat at one point to keep things interesting. Driving with children is a joy!

Tyler took over in the early morning hours, but only made it so far before fatigue overcame him. He pulled into a Walmart parking lot and we all slept until around 6 in the morning. Luxury accommodations for sure.

At least we were close to food and bathrooms when we woke up. Robyn was practically finished with her car sickness, which is what we diagnosed as the problem. So much for fun activity books. Robyn should be looking out the window and not at anything else.

It was a beautiful day and we happened to be in a nice city, so we decided to explore and look for an interesting thing. Check out this awesome Phoenix mural.

We also found a Bull taking up his fair share of a bench. But he scooted over so we could have a seat.

June gave him a high five as she was leaving.

Tyler was challenged by a friend to ride a bull, so every chance he gets, you'll find him testing his skills.

I was happy just to snuggle. (After all, it had been a long night.)

Turns out the bull lived on Pearl street. If you have a Pearl, it is mandatory to take a picture.

Fortunately for us, we had already done the bulk of the driving the night before. We made it to my mom's house before the morning session of conference was over. (It was conference weekend. We originally left early so we could get there before we missed too much.)

It was quite a relief to exit the car. Robyn did not puke again and no one got sick while we were there, so we officially list her under kids that get car sick. (Right under June.)

Next up, an egg hunt. It was Easter, after all...