We spent the last two and a half weeks…
Taking a family road trip to visit some very dear friends (and for Andrew to do a little bit of work!)
Spending over 60 hours in the car
Trying out farm/island life
Feeding chickens and eating farm fresh eggs every day for a week
Walking around the very charming town of Langley
Finding a great deal on the Narnia series books I’ve been wanting for a while at a thrift store in Langley
Enjoying a perfect morning out with music, dancing and bagels~just the moms and their girls (& Luke!)
Roasting marshmallows & slugs over a campfire in the front yard (no, we didn’t eat the slugs)
Visiting an awesome skate park where the boys all tried out some moves on their bikes & skateboards
Temporarily adopting all our friends’ pets
Finding seashells on the beach
Painting those seashells
Hiking the beautiful paths around Deception Pass Bridge
Having a picnic lunch on the beach
Receiving an insiders guide to where all the locals go
Eating delicious food at all our friends’ homes
Searching for delicious & healthy food on the road
Enjoying a nighttime run & chat with a fabulous friend
Touring the house for sale on the golf course on Whidbey island
Considering moving to a golf course on Whidbey island
Staying up late talking with friends
Meaning to stay up late to talk with friends, but falling asleep with the kids
Playing with baby chicks
Playing a round of Blokus
Barely making the ferry onto Whidbey Island
Barely missing the ferry off of Whidbey Island
Rejoicing in a visit to Trader Joes for a few favorites (in other words, stocking up on the POUND PLUS BAR!)
Eating a delicious dinner with some dear friends in their beautiful home in the charming town of Hood River, Oregon
Driving through a snowstorm (in California!)
Slathering on sunscreen
Being blown by the wind
Sleeping in five different beds
Sleeping in the car (sometimes!) and everywhere else
Listening to Ipod’s…stories and music
Enjoying fabulous views in several states…this really is a gorgeous country we live in!
Attempting to catch some of those views on camera, with limited success
Being grateful for Andrew working hard, while still trying to fit in all the activities we were doing!
Feeling grateful and a little amazed at how well the kids were doing in the car for so long
Becoming slightly hysterical listening to the few times when everyone was NOT doing so well in the car (at least the sight of Andrew and I laughing so hard actually calmed everyone down for a while!)
Swimming with the family
Finding some fun, unusual stops & sights along the way
Enjoying a morning run alone in perfect weather
Eating Jelly Belly jelly beans (even the gross ones!)
Exploring San Francisco in perfect weather with a favorite friend
Riding the BART and the cable cars
Visiting Fisherman’s Wharf
Watching sourdough bread being made & then eating a yummy lunch at Boudin’s
Laughing at the Sea Lions on Pier 39
Riding the first two story carousel I’ve ever seen on Pier 39
Having several private conversations with my daughter in various public restrooms
Catching lizards or relaxing in the sun on a perfect outing to the park
Assembling peanut butter sandwiches in the car, and then racing through the rain to feed everyone
Admiring the perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge
Watching Luke learn to crawl
Leaving the kids in charge of Luke for a few minutes while I got dressed
Being very spoiled by our very generous friends
Receiving the title of “overworked flight-attendant” for dealing with the kids in the car while Andrew drove (and drove, and drove, and drove)
Reading a lot fewer books than I had planned (being a flight attendant doesn’t leave lots of downtime!)
Watching a lot fewer movies than I had planned (only 3 the entire trip! Although I must admit that Luke received his first introduction to Baby Einstein much earlier than I had planned during one particularly difficult hour in the car!)
Coming up with our own ideas of entertainment
(stuffing faces, trading back scrubs, eating crayons, and taking off shirts -hey, whatever works, right?!)
Changing a lot of very poopy diapers/outfits (I missed my cloth diapers!!)
Taking hundreds of pictures!
Taking my boys on their first big rollercoaster!
(see the background for the one we rode)
Falling in love with the perfect weather in Southern California
Fulfilling a year long dream of the kids by visiting LEGOLAND, after which Robby replied “That was the most awesome day of my entire life!” (It really is a very cool place!)
(Loving how kid friendly Legoland is…Who else has an “all you can eat buffet” for KIDS with kid food only?! Now that’s a cool idea!)
Chewing lots of gum
Buying a jar of peanut butter at Target to take into the bathroom at Café Rio to clean the gum out of Annie’s hair
Annie resolving not to scream at her brothers when she has gum in her mouth
Creating a long line at the bathroom at Café Rio
Having success with the peanut butter (hooray!)
Learning lessons from our friends on being better people: We really admire each of you and feel so grateful for our chance to stay in your home and learn from your goodness
Feeling grateful for several small miracles along the way
Having a much harder time than I expected coming home~I thought after two and a half weeks we’d be more than ready, but re-entering normal life is proving to be a bit challenging for all of us!
Creating some amazing memories
**A very, very huge thank you goes to the Hunts, the Jacksons, the Lintons, and the Koehles for being such gracious hosts and such fabulous friends. Even with all the major life events all of you have going on (family coming into town right after us, getting ready to move, getting ready to have a baby, and very busy work schedules), you took so much time out to make our trip wonderful. It’s no small task to feed and house a family of six! We’re so grateful! Each of you has us pretty darn close to picking up and moving right now. The only problem is you live in four different cities! Can we all please move a little closer together?! We love you guys!**
One of my favorite stories from the trip happened at the very beginning. I had been preparing my kids for a while with how long we’d be in the car and holding off on various treats and activities (“No, we’re saving that for the car on our trip!”). When we were finally leaving, I had to drop something off at a neighbor’s house on our way out of town. She lives about 2 minutes away from us. We got a great laugh when, as we pulled into the driveway, Annie exclaimed, “Well, that wasn’t very long at all!” That’s right Annie, 2 minutes of driving time down, only 3598 to go!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the recap and we loved having you guys here – it was so fun for us and our kids!
Sounds like a fabulous trip with great friends, Becca!! You are giving me wanderlust, even knowing what it is like driving thousands of miles with kids. Good job planning things so well!!
What an amazing trip!! And I love all the babywearing photos!
I read this whole post because it was SO FUN! Looks like an amazing trip. I've got to put some of those things down on my list of things to do!
What a great post! I read all of it because it was so entertaining. It made me a little jealous that I don't have a roadtripping partner…
WOW that was the post of all posts! I love all of the pictures and the captions, how fun! It was such a treat to see you all, we hope to be able to see you again this summer!
Becca, what awesome documentation! We have been wanting to do a similar trip- just starting from the north. You guys are brave… makes me want to give it a try. (glad the peanutbutter worked;)
W-O-W! What an amazing trip! I REALLY want to go to Legoland now.
And to visit all those great cities in California–I haven't been there forever. What a special time for your family with lots of friends. I'm glad the kids did so well!
Well I READ all the post because… j/k.
Looks like an amazing trip! Loved all the little captions, seeing what you guys did, hearing about the funny parts – great job recording everything!!! We missed you guys and are glad you're back!
Wow- Sounds like a GREAT trip! I couldn't stop reading this post to hear what the next adventure was. I miss you and your kids loads. Hope all is well. Cant wait to meet Luke when we finally come out to visit.
So how about coming back next month??!! We miss you guys already!! thanks for such a great time…loved all the pics and glad you had so much fun IN the car as well as outside it! Love you!!