This year we were brave and decided to take a road trip... (I am NOT a good flyer {insert panic and angst just thinking about it!})... Not just any road trip but a LONG almost two week road trip!
We decided we would drive to Alabama to visit my sons family. We hadn't seen them since our last visit when JT was about 10 months old so it was WAY overdue (mainly because I don't fly...did I mention I don't fly well?)...
So off we went with a minivan full of scooters, clothes, toys and grab bags! To our amazement the kids did FANTASTIC! I had never imagined they would do as well as they did. They were little angels in the car. Every 1-2 hours I would give them another grab bag of some dollar store item or mcdonalds toy or a project and they were perfectly content!
We made sure to take a picture in every state that we went through and Addy even colored each state in on a little map!
The trip was AMAZINGLY wonderfully perfect! We got to spend a lot of time with Ji'Roberts family which was completely awesome. He looks a lot like some of them and it was so very apparent how much they all love him (and Addy). It made me realize that I need to buck up and fly so we can visit more often (or maybe do more road trips!). We will NOT be waiting that long to visit again and hopefully can go down again soon!
Here is our fully packed van ready to go!
We stopped in Iowa to have lunch with one of Jareds good friends who is also our kids God Father...
Made sure to find plenty of playgrounds to run off energy!
Swam numerous times a day in numerous different hotel pools!
Had VERY tuckered out little kids at night!
Spent a night in St Louis near the Gateway Arch.
She is just too cute!
This is at the Arch but just looks like a grey wall in the pic!
Stoppedi n Arkansas!
Found another wonderful park full of amazing features (I think this one was in TN)!
Obligatory Tennesse sign picture.
And one in Mississippi..
We spent a night in Birmingham and went to the botanical gardens and the zoo. Oh my gosh they both were just beautiful. Makes our zoo look awful!
I love auto timer!
We went to the USS Alabama Navy Ship which Ji'Robert of course LOVED!
Even got souvenir hats!
Had to see the ocean while we were there!
Spent most of our time in Mobile visiting family but then went up to Huntsville to the US Space and Rocket Center.
Spent a night in Nashville and Memphis (I dont remember which was on the way down and which on the way up)! Stopped at the Grand ole Opry... pretty cool place!
Found some cool splash pads in TN as well. Wish we had these here!
Aren't they just too cute! They got along SO well on the trip!
Had fun playing with a random band-aid... band-aid mustache anyone?
Spent a night in Bowling Greens Kentucky... Boy Kentucky was beautiful. We went through mammoth cave as well!
Drove up through Indiana.
Saw Addison St near Chicago...
Potty stop in Illinois!
Glow sticks were a big hit the last night when we were driving home. It was really the only time we drove at night!
One last gas fill in Wisconsin (I may have had to wake one of the kids up to make them take a picture...bad I know!)...
Addy's completed map!
The final reading....
11 States, 12 days, 3170 miles, hundreds of happy good memories.... Priceless
