One Month Away

Everyone,

I know I've talked a little bit about my Ultimate Road Trip 2009 but it hit me this week that it is a month away. One month. As in 30 days. In 30 days, I will be loading 3 small children, one dog, one Grandpa, one awesome BOB stroller and a boat load of stuff into Fern Tree our van and driving to my parents house. I'm slightly petrified.

A huge shout out to my Dad who is willing to take the time to drive out with me and home with me. He's going to have to put up with a lot of crying, yelling, song singing, diapers, stops, and kid movies playing in the background. There will be messes to wipe up, snacks to pass out, and toys to find, all while traveling 65 mph on the freeway.

Unless he's driving then I imagine we'll be going a tiny bit faster.

So, stops include Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Moab Utah where all the sandstone arches are. I will have to be sure to pack my camera. We'll be staying at my parents' house for 4 weeks, and then making a huge push to get back to Maryland as fast as possible. Instead of the week it's going to take us to get there, we hope to get back in 3 days. Juice will be able to take 2 weeks and join us in Salt Lake.

We are really excited to see our family. I hope that Juice's sister and her family can all come from Idaho and we can get together with all of his brothers and sisters and all of Butterfly's cousins. We haven't done that since before I had Butterfly. I think it's been 4 years since I've seen his sister. I'm not sure if she's even met Butterfly, let alone the boys.

We are also excited to see our friends. My friend Mink and her little girls, Zuke and his family, and others. I'd like to take Butterfly fishing again. Maybe I can talk my dad into taking us camping one night, although he may have enough of us in the car. I am so looking forward to being close to a temple and having some one to watch the kids in the same house we are staying in. I'm looking forward to playing rock band with my brother and doing some shopping with my Mom. I'd like to spend some time with my grandparents and take pictures of the valley at night.

I am in full planning mode for this trip. Okay, I'm also in slight panic mode for it as well. The car needs to be looked at. I need to find a place to put Soot in a kennel in Moab since they don't allow dogs in the park. (We left her for a month last year...this year it'll just be easier to take her with. Hopefully.) I need to figure out what I am taking and how to fit it into my van. I'll need to stop our mail, milk delivery, and Netflix for the month. I'll need to find a sub for my Sunday School class. I need to get a few new toys and movies for the kids. I need to see if I left my sanity in the ocean last summer or what.

Anyone have any tips for making this trip as smooth as possible?

Safire