Great American Road Trip - Part 1

We've been on the road 5 days now. The first bit of our trip has been about traveling south (yes, wrong direction, we know.) to visit friends and family. It's been awesome, especially since everyone has a pool! Swimming is the perfect way to end a long day spent in the car.

This is how we roll:

...naturally.

Thankful that the weather has been great for the most part. I love watching the storms in the west though.

Also thankful for random restaurants with giant sand boxes in Mobile Alabama.

Last night was our first night alone as a family in weeks. We camped in Texas at THE noisiest campsite in the world! Yes, it was fourth of July, so the fireworks went on until 1am, but we were also next to a highway AND trains which ran all night. Oh, and the wind was howling and shaking our tent. I felt like the Bernstein Bears when the dad tries to find the perfect picnic spot....anyways, I sure am thankful for my boys who just don't care and will sleep no matter what is going on outside, even when they are wedged between the bed and the tent.

We did the s'more thing and even were generously gifted some pop rockets and sparklers to further enjoy the 4th of July.

Today, we drove through New Mexico to Arizona. We stopped by the Billy The Kid Museum - the only perfect place for photos, potty breaks and post cards in the middle of New Mexico.

The kids are doing great. We've had 3 days of driving 5-6 hours and one long day of 9 hours across 7 states so far. We've been able to do without movies for the most part. Lots of "Hey! Look out the window, another train!" or "Boys, let's just be quiet for a while and count cows."

 We keep a daily routine of drawing activities in the morning, lunch time, naps then rap music and giggling until we reach our destination. When things get real tough, this happens:

Me : "Boys, close your eyes and go to sleep."

Laz : "Kay"'

40 seconds later:

Tonight, we are in the cheapest hotel in America, showered and sleeping in beds. Tomorrow is our shortest drive of only 2 ours, woo hoo! We head to the Grand Canyon, then Moab, Dinosaur National Monument (I know you're curious!) and then two nights in Yellowstone before arriving in Seattle for a few days. We've got 5 nights of camping and lots of adventures ahead of us!