June 2014 - Road Trip - Drive to Utah

This summer I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Utah to visit my best friend. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I was excited for a challenge and an adventure. It was a three day journey. I planned for absolutely everything and packed up the van with more than we needed.

I packed up a "treat" bag for each kid to open every 3 hours both ways. The bags had fruit snacks, or hot wheels, or coloring books and crayons, or books or toys. They loved opening them up and finding what was inside. The best part was they were so happy that we didn't need to stop every 3 hours. They would get a treat bag when we got gas and that lasted them for hours.

First stop to get gas and I let the kids explore the giant gas station. They wanted all the snacks that they are never allowed to get at home. I wasn't about to give in on the very first stop.

So we got Icees instead!

 The kids were so happy to get their own Icee! I should have thought about giving them so much to drink when they would be in the car for hours, but it wasn't a problem and they were so happy.

After a bit of a detour, we stopped at In-N-Out in Dallas for some burgers and fries and of course we each got a milkshake.

Oklahoma Border!

On the road again!

I love Andrew's face.

 Our very kind friends offered their portable DVD players to us for our trip. I can honestly say I couldn't have survived this trip without it.

We made it to the hotel!  The kids love hotels. Andrew took the second bed and Bailey made a tent on the floor. They were up talking and giggling and playing for hours and were so loud. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Long story short, I didn't sleep much, or well.

I kept trying to get them to sleep but they were so excited to be in a hotel. I let them jump on the bed in the morning.
Fun at the hotel

One thing I really liked was that I packed a bag just for the nights we would be at the hotel and at our friends house. That way I only had to bring in one bag from the car and everything I needed was in there. It saved me a lot of time and hassle going through each bag looking for a toothbrush or pj's. 

DAY 2

This is how I felt starting day two. Ahhhh, I'm crazy!

I found this Mach 1 in the hotel parking lot for you, Dad. What year is this one? School bus yellow with black stripes. Look familiar? 

Another cool car for ya, Dad. 

Things got better after a bit of driving. I love Bailey's face in this photo. 

The kids were very entertained by counting windmills. Good thing there are a ton of them on this drive.

My sweet sleeping babies.

176 miles to Denver! We're getting closer!

Welcome to colorful Colorado!  (I missed the Kansas sign)

We made it to Colorado in one piece! We stayed with some friends overnight and got a good night sleep. It was great to catch up with one of my favorite people before going back on the road. 

DAY 3

Ready for the last day of driving!

 

Hello Wyoming!

We hit some heavy clouds and hard rain for a while. I'm glad it was when I was on the straight drive in Wyoming instead of going through the mountains in Colorado. 

Then suddenly the skies cleared and the rest of the drive in Wyoming looked like this. 

I missed the Utah border sign but this was what it looked like once I crossed into the Beehive State.

 Clouds and cold weather waited for us in Utah as we got closer to the mountains.

This sign made me so happy. I was so close to the end of our trip!

After a slight detour we made it to Rosie's house! Horray! We survived a 3 day journey and 1650.2 miles across the country!