It’s time for the kids fall break! A couple of years ago we had decided that the 4 day weekend was just too short for a trip to California. Every time that we had attempted it, we just felt really rushed. This year however, they had a five day weekend! So we decided to try the California trip again. Our plan was to have Kyle take Wednesday off, and we would leave as soon as the kids got home from school, stop in maybe Mesquite for the night, and then finish the drive Thursday morning. But then we remembered about pack meeting. Kyle is a cub scout leader and we felt that we should stick around for the meeting so he could be there, and so we changed our plans to leave right after.
Well as it normally turns out, we weren’t ready to leave right after the meeting. I got the van loaded up as fast as I could, and we were off, but not really. We had to go pick Granny up first. When Kyle first mentioned to his mom that we would be going to California middle of October, she told him that she would like to go to, but that she probably wouldn’t be feeling up to it. I tried not to think too much of it. I figured she would say that she wanted to go, and then she would still not be feeling up to it, and then decide in the end that she should probably just stay home. No such luck. From the beginning I was not thrilled about the idea of taking his mom with us. I didn’t want to give up my seat next to Kyle in the front of the van, and it’s also a lot harder to just come and go as we please when we have to coordinate with someone else. So the day we were supposed to be leaving I was kind of bummed when she called Kyle to tell him that she still wanted to go. We figured out a way to move the car seats around so she would have enough room to sit in the back next to Adam and after the pack meeting we went to pick her up. Most of the kids were asleep when we got her and her luggage loaded into the car, and THEN we officially hit the road.
The drive was mostly uneventful. We stopped about every 4 hours to feed Adam, our first stop being in Beaver. Karen asked where we were when we got off the freeway, and was shocked to find out we were “only in Beaver”. We pulled into a gas station parking lot and that is where all the kids woke up. The ones that weren’t awake when we picked Granny up were all surprised to find her in the car, and so got really excited. While I fed Adam everyone else took advantage of the opportunity to have a potty stop. Then we got back on the road. The kids talked to Granny for awhile and then things settled back down as they started to drift back off to sleep. Every now and then, while we were driving, Karen would ask us a question. Usually she asked where we were, but there were a few times where the road would get bumpy that she would ask us questions like “Do you need new tires?” “Are your shocks ok?” and the one that shocked Kyle and I the most “What did you hit?” Um ya we didn’t hit anything that was just a bit of bumpy road. 😛
We began our drive so much later than originally planned that we decided to just drive straight through the night. We felt it would be pointless to try to stop at a hotel for the night considering the kids had been asleep for so long already. Stopping at a hotel would mean that instead of Kyle and I resting we would be too busy trying to keep the kids from disturbing other people and therefore we would be neither driving or resting. So we got to my parents house earlier than they were expecting us.
We didn’t do much on Thursday. Karen’s friend Carolyn came and picked her up so they could go spend time together, and the kids let loose to get their wiggles out. After a bit, Kyle and I just found places to lay down and take a nap.
Thursday evening, after dinner, we left our smallest three kiddos as Grandpa and Grandma’s house, and we took the older four to the lego store at Downtown Disney.
The kids were in awe at the size of the lego displays. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ethan had been drooling while I wasn’t looking.
Of course, the girls loved seeing a giant girl made of legos.
Most of our kids were drawn to the table of legos where you can sit and build things. Ethan however, was more attracted to seeing what he could buy. Of course I had told him over and over that we were NOT going to buy anything. His room is a giant explosion of legos and until he gets it all straightened out, I don’t really want any new legos coming into the house. He was not pleased when we told him to put the things he selected back on the shelf so we could go and so the night basically ended in tears. I do think they enjoyed themselves before the meltdown though.