Driving to Atlanta-Part 3 (7/11/09)

The rest of the trip was pretty typical for our family. The youngest 3 took short naps after lunch. We drove for a couple of hours then stopped to get gas in Marion, IL.

The weather was looking bad, and we found out the Marion had just had a severe thunderstorm with hail. Thankfully, we missed it!

I took over the driving for 3 hours while Scott tried to rest while the kids watched a movie. But the kids didn't stay quiet for long, so Scott didn't get much of a nap.

We stopped at Sonic for dinner. We decided to get our and eat at the picnic tables to stretch. I think Scott and I were starting to get annoyed with it all. I accidentally spilled a drink which he didn't respond very well to and the kids didn't want to eat much, which I didn't like much. To top it off, we piled in the van to hit the local Target for a potty break, and when we arrived, Malea was missing a shoe! I had to carry her to the bathroom and back. When we returned, I remembered that the sliding door has a storage pocket. I asked Scott if her shoe was in there. It was!

Back in the car with everything we needed, we were off for the last 3 hours of the drive. Thankfully, the last 1 1/2-2 hours were quiet as all were asleep (except Logan since he took a good nap before dinner, and he played some games).

We arrived safely at my in-laws after 12 hours of drive time and a total of 16 1/2 of travel time!

Driving to Atlanta-Part 1 (Saturday 7/11/09)

Today is the first day of our vacation! We are driving to Atlanta. We would love to fly, but those days seem to be in the past for us. We would have to buy 5 tickets, rent a car and somehow manage the kids, luggage and car seats too. Even though driving seems long and miserable, this is how we are going to have to travel from now on and we better get used to it.

My mom was kind enough to give each of the kids a small canvas bag full of snacks, books and toys to help keep them entertained. We also have movies to watch, Vsmile and Leap pad to play, and workbooks to work on. Hopefully, this trip will go smoothly.

This is a 12 hour drive, but we are planning on stopping at the St. Louis Zoo for a few hours on the way. We hope that will wear them out and after we eat lunch, they should be out for a few hours. Then a few hour after that, we'll have dinner and then the last leg on to Atlanta.

That is the plan anyway. So, we'll see how it goes.