I am writing this recap from a small inn in historic Nauvoo, Illinois approximately 1000 miles into our summer adventure. Last Thursday my selfless sister “Caz” flew into Chapel Hill for a very brief visit and returned to Utah with my baby monkey on her lap. We set off a few hours later for Indianapolis - a 10 hour drive that stretched into 13 after lunch and dinner stops and waaaaay too many bathroom stops inbetween. Here are a few hightlights from Day 1 that I want to remember:
– Favorite quote: a toss up between Noah bursting into tears two hours into our trip and sobbing, “Oh no Mommy! We left my baby brother at home!” or on a bathroom break me asking Noah if he was too hot in the car because he felt sweaty and he said, “I can’t be sweaty Mom. I’m not wearing a sweater.”
– Favorite landmark name: Nameless Creek
– Favorite meltdown: Joshua’s 90 minute late-afternoon tantrum that culminated in him yelling, “The only part about road trips that I like is being at Grandma’s house. I hate riding in the car. Can you drop me off at the nearest airport so I can just fly to Grandma’s?”
– Favorite mishap: Noah throwing up within minutes of arriving at our friends’ gorgeous new home (maybe a full glass of sprite, 3 apples and a fruit leather didn’t make such a good dinner?).
Day 2 (Sunday) was officially our day of rest. We slept in, enjoyed an hour of church, and then spent the afternoon and evening visiting with good friends. The temperature was mild, the air was breezy, and the kids were (for the most part) happy. What could be better?
Day 3 (today) has been full of road trip adventure, excitement and mishaps. Rural Indiana and Illinois are so beautiful and I can’t get enough of the rolling hills, farm land, and old barns. It really has been both a hilarious and wonderful day. Here are the highlights I don’t want to forget:
– Eating at the “Adventure Zone” in Nauvoo. A perfect way for the monkeys to burn excess energy, a less then perfect way to eat dinner in a beautiful little historic town on a gorgeous night. Think warehouse + Chuck-E-Cheese and that is the Adventure Zone. Awesome doesn’t begin to cover it.
– Typing “Indianapolis Airport” into my GPS and having it take me to the old and very empty airport where my brave friend Amy was most definitely not waiting for us to pick her up.
– Pulling over to the side of the highway to quickly grab some water bottles out of the back of my car and having several of my bags topple out of the van and spill all over the road (I had forgotten Michael had been rummaging around back there earlier and had upset the balance). I was laughing so hard that Amy had to assist me in picking everything up.
– Arriving at our historic Inn and picking up both our info packet and key from the mailbox in front (we arrived after hours) and then going to our room later that night to find it full of luggage. Huh? The layout of the suite suggested that perhaps we shared a bathroom with another family? Ew. And most definitely not what we signed up for. I had Amy put the boys in the tub while I called the after hours number only to find out that we were in someone else’s room. The woman on the phone was laughing so hard she could barely talk and suggested we “make a break for it”. We yanked the monkeys out of the tub, packed up as fast as we could and booked it to the correct room before anyone caught us. Seriously? I’m still laughing about it hours later …
Anyway, it’s late and the monkeys are all finally snoozing. Time to clean up from a day well spent and ready for more adventures tomorrow. Did I mention there is a fudge shop across the street from our Inn? I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very good day indeed. 
xoxo,
Rebecca
p.s. booking for Utah photo sessions has officially started. Details can be found here.
by Rebecca
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