CROSS COUNTRY ROAD TRIPPIN': PART ONE

Now that I've been able to recover for a week, I am ready to tackle writing about my most ambitious undertaking as a parent: a cross country road trip with my six littles - and our favorite teenage neighbor friend - SANS HUSBAND. We covered nearly 2,500 miles, crossed through 6 states, and visited 2 national parks. We spent about 50 hours in the car, met up with 4 friends, and dealt with 2 major car issues. We had some on-top-of-the-world highs and some stress-inducing, anxiety-riddled lows. When all is said and done, it was worth every minute - even the ones stuck at a stand-still on I-15 in nowhere Idaho. I learned a lot about myself on that trip, specifically that I am capable of so much more than I realized.

Now, before I get into the photos from my trip, let me show you how I handled six littles in a car for a combined 50 hours over a period of 5 days. First, our road map. I made an interactive road map with our car attached that showed states and pit stops along the way. Every so often, I would move the little car along the road to show the progression of time/distance. Next, our behavior clips. Each little had their picture on a clip and if they could make it to the next stop without arguing with a sibling or having a meltdown, they received a roll of smarties. Not everyone earned a treat at every stop, but this really did help to keep a positive atmosphere along the way. And finally, our backpacks. Each little was given a small backpack that was filled with: a coloring book, a composition notebook, a reading book (or two), a bingo board, an activity book/pack, an I-spy book, a dry-erase game packet (made by your truly), crayons, pencils, dry erase marker with eraser, a lego to-go box (also made by yours truly), and two small toys of choice. These backpacks REALLY made the trip. And my tunes... But seriously, the backpacks entertained the littles for hour upon hour in the car. The only two things that I would change would be WASHABLE dry erase markers (still cringing over everything that was colored on). And ditching the lego box - or at least saving that for when we ARRIVE at a destination. In the car, not so much.
Pictures from the actual trip tomorrow