The Drive

This last week has been quite a rollercoaster of ups and downs. My children attended a funeral for the first time- my grandmother passed away and her funeral was one week ago. I was incredibly impressed with both their behavior and their sensitivity.

The following day we all loading into the minivan and began a 14 hour drive from GA to WI. On the way up we drove for 6 hours and stopped for the night and finished up the next day. We had a very nice visit with DK's mom and step dad and all the cousins. My southern boys got to stomp around in some snow, and we witnessed the (fairy themed) wedding of two very dear friends. We were all in costume, and the boys were all adorable!! D was a dancing fool at the wedding. We;ve got to get him involved in community theater or something...he's a natural!
The drive back was a bit more difficult. After a lovely luncheon with family we hit the road around 2 pm and hit post ballgame traffic in Chicago. After spending 3-4 hours in traffic, and not making it much father than Gary, IN, we stopped for the night exhausted and frazzled. We got up the next morning and had to do the remaining 12 hours in one day. This is tiring for adults...but throw in 2 kids and an infant and it's a *really* long drive. But the kids once again did amazingly well.
I've learned a few things- my family can log close to 40 hours of driving time in just a few days with very little bickering. Driving cross country can be a blast. Peppy music makes the drive more fun. And Gameboys are invaluable on a long drive. Some rest stops are very nice, and some are just nasty. And lastly, when you are nursing a baby at a rest stop, truckers steer clear of you. :) I look forward to making that trip again next year..with hopefully more time to explore all the interesting things along the way.