Road Trip from CA to NV,AZ, UT and Finally CO!

We packed up and went to my parents.

The babies bonded.

 Then they napped.

 We had a Chinese feast, then said good bye.

Lucas had a rough time saying good bye to his favorite person.

 Nothing a movie couldn't fix.

 Until it was over. Then he cried again. He really loves California and Grandpa.

It was 1:30 when we left for our 18 hour drive.

 It was 4:45pm when we hit Nevada/Vegas.

 I had lots for the kids to do so they would have to watch movies the whole time. 

I am not into them being glued to electronics at home or in the car.

 We drove through Virgin River Canyon. The kids were speechless at the beauty.

 We were in Utah at 7:40. So far only in the car for 6ish hours.

 We stopped in St. George for an hour to eat dinner and stretch. 

They have the Coolest visitors center!

 Whatever these are --- I love them.

 Good Bye Utah!

We drove straight through - I could BARELY keep my eyes open.

We got to our driveway at 6:15am.

There was no traffic the ENTIRE way.

Thanks to the 80 speed limits along the way we made our 18 our drive in 16.5 hours.

Nathan and I have felt like zombies all day but before any resting or unloading could occur Lucas needed to put this together.

It was a great trip and the kids only watched 6 movies the WHOLE trip. 

There and Back.

I had special snacks, special games, music, and prizes.

I over prepared a tad but totally worth it in the end.

We get to do it again next year. Yea!!!!!

Road Trip to CA

So - after having crazy lightening and thunderstorms ALL night, we still decided to leave at 4am.

It was cuh-raaazy watching the lightening, and of course the kids couldn't sleep through it so we watched it until 5:30ish when we finally were at the tail end of Arizona.

 Good Bye Arizona!

Hello California!

 We made great time! And we made it to my parents house on ONE tank of gas!
431 miles - and it only took 7 hours!

The kids liked the games I had planned and the new snacks I brought and the silly songs CD that I made JUST for this leg of the trip.

 The drive was much easier to look at this time around too. Above are the Orange Groves.

 The wind turbines.

 Downtown City.
Then we got to the hotel, showered and went to Mickey D's...because every kid needs to try and eat the 50 piece nugget meal at least once in their life.

Then we went to my parents house to splash our feet in the pool, check out the construction at the house and of course plan out dinner. Haha.

 Then we went out for ice cream. Grandpa ALWAYS takes us out for ice cream. Its an exciting thing.

Especially when Bridget exclaims with such disdain - "Lucas, How DARE you steal a bite of my ice cream!"

 Bridget thinks Captain America is so cute.
We parted ways for about an hour because our kids were like WAY TOO EXCITED to see Grandpa.
It was embarrassing - they were like little puppies begging for attention.
Cute though.

While Grandpa was making dinner we made up some games to play in the backyard.

Juliet kept score with her feet. Just Kidding.

We had a feast of Grilled Chicken and Pork Chops and My dad's Baked Beans and Corn on the Cob.

Juliet wanted some so bad.

This was the salad we had...DELICIOUS.

Grandma and Juliet.

Lucas got a lesson in grilling, and for dessert we had

Grilled Nectarines with Balsamic Glaze.

I am full and happy. I am also grateful my kids are such great travelers.
They napped when I told them to and were friendly the entire trip - minus the part where Bridget was unbuckling herself to steal a pillow or two.
Tomorrow I get to meet some PB gals/kids, have fun in the pool and hopefully locate my favorite shirt...I packed it and its not in the bins. :(

Road Trip to AZ

A run down for myself. Feel free to scroll down and skip the events. Haha.

4:15am - leave the house

5:28am - in Colorado Springs

6:00am - Car Seat Change Up and Bathroom Breaks and Breakfast (Pop Tarts and OJ --kids choice)
8:15am - NEW MEXICO Border (255 miles traveled) Friendly Family Texts

11:00am - Stop for Lunch. New Mexicans thought my kids cleft chin was a birth defect. The story went like this. "What happen to your kids chin?"  Nothing. (the rest of the kids walk in) "Oh my they all have it?" Yes, their dad has it too, its called a cleft chin. "So its not the lip thing?"  No, its on their chin. "Oh I so sorry." 

It was weird. Almost as weird as all the buildings looking like this...

11:38am - Get gas $75 for $3.39 a gallon. We have gone 433 miles so far on one tank. The Yukon is kicking TRASH! :)

 12:00pm - Nap time!

I couldn't see Lucas where I was sitting this time.

3:40pm - In New Mexico/Arizona Border where we were met with the hardest rainstorm...

4:40pm in Arizona stop for jumping jacks, switching of carseats, picture by sign.

3:40pm off to Flagstaff. (we gained an hour) hehehehe.

The kids messing around right before the Flagstaff fill up.

5:00pm - Flagstaff Gas Station. Nathan realizes his wallet is in Santa Fe with THE debit card. Yep, no $$$ good thing we had taken out cash for incidentals!

This is Arizona for the first 2 hours NOT colorado!

5:45pm - I am not going to lie. I was not very happy with Nathan and after we tore the car apart 2x and I lost it a little we continued on. The kids were super great and apologetic even though it totally wasn't their fault.

6:50pm - We made it to Anthem - Phoenix Notice the temp at 7pm and Nathan's happy face...

7:15pm - Liz and Cory's!

Our trip took 15ish hours (and was supposed to take 13.5 according to Google Maps) but we stopped to stretch, see the signs and it was totally enjoyable. Minus the crazy 35 mile stretch of construction in NM. Everyone traveled great and most importantly were HAPPY too see Liz and Cory! Bridget threw a fit when it was time to go to bed so Nathan took her blanket till she calmed down and she fell asleep in 2 min flat!

I also need to report that Scarlett went 6 hours without a potty break. She surprised us because I thought since she was just potty trained in May it might be harder for her to "hold it" but she and the other kids did great for their first big road trip.

I can't wait to hang in this heat with Nathan's sis and her hubs. We love our family and are so glad they offered to host us! :)

To surprise Lucas Uncle Cory took Lucas to CARS 2! It was pajama showing. :)