Days 15 & 16

Saturday, Day 15, we loaded up the car and was on the road by 9:00 a.m (and since we'd be gaining an hour going back to Washington, it was technically 8:00 a.m. our time!)

I was a little nervous for the drive by myself, but it probably went about as well as could be expected. It seemed bad when Leah was crying, which really wasn't as much as it could have been, but when she was actually crying, it seemed to last forever (but really didn't).

I rearranged the seating arrangements in the car, so as to maximize the help I could receive from Chloe and minimize unhappiness and potential problems. I put Chloe in the middle row with Leah (the worst traveler of the 4) to try and keep her entertained. Lexi and Mitch were in the 3rd row in the back. I had gone to the dollar store during the week in Burley and bought some small toys to hopefully keep the kids entertained. They weren't a complete failure, but didn't quite work as magically as I was hoping for.

Lexi, my star traveler. If she wasn't sleeping, she was sitting quietly, looking out the window, playing with a toy, or happily chattering to herself.

Chloe and Leah- Chloe was a huge help and did all she could to keep Leah happy. Of course, Leah cried and wanted out, but Chloe did a great job of distracting Leah from being cranky the entire trip. Although she did cry, it could have been much MUCH worse without Chloe.

And Mitch- if he doesn't need to go to the bathroom and if he has a movie of some sort, he can be a great traveler.

And the fearless driver- heaven help her.

We survived the drive and made it to Tri Cities that evening with only 4 stops- 2 potty breaks, a lunch break and a gas stop. I think we made it in 8.5 hours too, which included an hour lunch stop. Not too bad.

Ben was at his parents house in Tri Cities, too to meet up with us. It was so good to see him and a nice treat after a long day of traveling.

Day 16, the last and final day of our road trip, was on Sunday. Since Ben was there, he took half the kids home and I took the other half.

And this is what my half did for almost 2 hours of a 3.5 hour trip. It was blissful.

A great trip- we loved it. Family, food, friends- it really couldn't have been much better.