Road Trip

Preparation

I was busy on Monday and Tuesday finalizing all my preparations and packing for our trip. The girls helped me go shopping, pack their backpacks, check the camping supplies, and clean up the house. Everyone thinks we are crazy for driving so far, but I was determined to be prepared for everything and make it an awesome first family camping road trip. I planned how far we would go each day to the camp sites. I planned the food we would eat for lunches and breakfasts. I planned that we would eat travel food for each dinner. I planned the hotel we would stay at when we were in Michigan. I planned entertainment for the kids and books to listen to while I drive. Nothing could go wrong, right?? We had time to get lunch at the park during the day, now that it started this summer, and taught the neighbor kids how to take care of our dog while we are gone. 

Driving

We got all packed up Wednesday morning, and we were ready to leave right on time. Before we even got out of the Boise area, Claire threw up! We had to stop, and I took her to the bathroom to clean her up as much as possible and change clothes while Daddy cleaned the car. We bought a spray to help with the smell and said that has to be the only bad thing that will happen, right?? Well, we were already running behind for the day, but we got a good stop in Little America, and Chris was even able to log on and get some work done while the kids played at their playground. When we got to the first camping area, it was windy, 42 degrees, and predicted to rain, so we kept driving and stayed in a hotel last minute. The girls were disappointed, but we found a cute campsite for the next night and got there with plenty of time for them to play at the playground. The worst part of the drive was through Chicago during terrible construction traffic at probably rush hour!

The Weekend

The hotel room seems small with all of us in it, and Adrian has had a lot of time wandering around and spreading things from one side of the room to another. He is finally getting used to sleeping in the pack and play and was able to take naps during the day when he was tired. We went over to our family's apartment on Saturday morning for breakfast since our hotel didn't offer any, and visited their park, played with their toys, and visited for a little bit. We found a YMCA that had a pool and fitness center so the kids and I could swim while Chris did his workout. We went back over to visit for dinner and more time together, then on Sunday went to church with them to see our new niece get blessed and take pictures together. Adrian needed a nap right after church, but then we had lunch together and played games together. We even got to swim in their community pool, so we didn't miss out on swimming this weekend, even though our hotel's pool was closed. Now we will be driving home and camping again this coming week, and hopefully nothing else will go wrong.