Sheesh, I am just a blogging FOOL today! You people complain because I don't blog enough, so don't let me hear you complaining in the other direction!
Well, the Cooke Family Summer 2013 Vacation has come and gone. The most exciting part of this statement is the news that we actually survived it and will attempt another roadtrip in the future!
We left at 4am Sunday morning. We spent the entire week before the trip writing things on the whiteboard, fixing things at home, crossing things out, making new lists and keeping track of everything. It worked like a charm. We didn't forget a THING, y'all. We're already a pretty seamless team, he and I, but Sunday morning was possibly our finest hour. We got them all out the door quickly and quietly, packing the cooler last and heading out in near silence.
The kids konked back out almost immediately and slept for about four hours. I was too excited to sleep, so I just whisper-chatted to Andrew until Rockwall or so. We stopped around there because I was feeling pretty carsick. I ran in and bought some Dramamine and then we stopped at McDonald's for breakfast and potty breaks. Once we'd stopped, the kids were UP and ready to get on with the real roadtripping!
Would you like to know what's in my glove compartment? Two lighters, gum, lots of fancy ketchup, a container of nails, a hammer (for putting up sheets over the cabin windows AND for the zombie apocalypse), an outlet for the car, the Glory Estate CD (that band broke up and my CD player doesn't work), a pen, a birthday car from my in-laws, my insurance info, a failed inspection report (did you know that if you unhook your battery, you need to drive your car about 100 miles to get it to reset? Apparently Andrew changed a headlight the night before my inspection and I failed. Don't worry. I went back last week and passed!), my Fort Worth Museum of Science membership card and a Sharpie. I know. I'm so interesting.
We made perfect time and were crossing the Mississippi into TN right on time!
I took over driving in Memphis and was able to drive for the really awful part - awake kids and rain storms! I hate driving in the rain, but I had a Monster and powered through. Andrew got to do all the climbing around and dealing with the little monsters. They were fantastic and no one really made a peep. They were so excited about seeing Grandma and Grandpa that we were able to keep up with that excitement for about 6 hours.
My cute companion.
We arrived at the Nashville KOA at 3:30, exactly 11 hours after we locked our front door. With ten hours of driving on Google Maps, that's pretty darn good! The kids were all in good spirits and ready to stretch those legs! Grandma and Grandpa had them in the pool before the van doors were even open. We unpacked and Grandma whipped up a quick dinner for everyone.
The cabin had one bedroom with a queen bed, a pullout couch in the living area and a loft with two twin beds. The girls were VERY excited about sleeping in the loft and we didn't hear a complaint all week. they did great, even with the very steep steps. I was a nervous wreck all week, but they did fine. Andrew and I slept in the bedroom with Claire in the bed between us and the boys in Pack-n-Plays in the corner. It was a little tight, but when you consider we were putting FIVE beating hearts in one room, it was about as roomy as we could hope!
Max and Grandpa having a little yogurt.
Miles and Grandma - I had to look at this baby for a few seconds and then decided to just call him Miles, since Miles usually wears this onesie.
You can see the loft behind this blurry picture of Grandma and Claire. It wasn't a huge cabin, but it was surprisingly comfortable for having so many people in it! I think that if we'd stuck to the limit and hadn't hidden a couple of extra kids, it would have been downright spacious!
And that's Day One. Five happy kids, four happy adults. On to the fun!
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