Summer Vacation - Road Trip!

We just got back from an awesome family vacation!  For several months we have been anticipating summer so we could go this vacation.  We took a road trip to California and Utah for family reunions on both sides of the family.  We couldn't wait to see all of our family that we haven't seen in a while (as well as hang out with the ones that are close :)  It was super fun and the amazing part is everyone in both families were able to make it to the reunion!  It was so fun to see all of our family again!!

We had a lot of time to plan for this trip.  One thing Chad knew he wanted to do was bring the bikes.  He wanted to be able to go on rides himself, but he also wanted to take the boys to some of the places he rode bikes when he was a kid.  That meant bringing six bikes!  So, we started looking at different types of bike racks.  Chad did lots of research and we found some racks that allowed us to carry two bikes on top of the car and four bikes behind the car.  We were a sight to behold!

Since we had a lot to bring on our trip and a long car ride ahead of us we wanted to be prepared.  Chad was determined to make things go as smoothly as possible and allow us to leave on time.  On previous trips it seems like we leave late because we are grabbing last minutes things.  This time we were prepared.  Chad's idea - a dry run, one week before our trip!  First we packed up all our stuff and put it in the car.  Then we put the bikes on the car.  Finally, to complete the dry run, Chad and the kids drove out of the neighborhood!!  When they came back we took all the bikes off the car and unloaded the luggage.  It worked well, we actually left on time a week later.  The only challenge was making sure nothing was taken out of the bags for a week!

Finally, the much anticipated day came and we were ready!  We left on Friday June 21st at 2pm.  We were all excited to get to California two days later on Sunday evening.

Chad and I were interested to see how Ashlyn would handle being in the car so long.  To our delight she did awesome!  She kept herself busy by playing with her toys, visiting with her brothers and cranking her neck to catch a glimpse of the movie that way playing!  She did really well, but she sure was happy to move around on the bed when we got to the hotel that first night!

On a previous trip to Utah, Chad informed the boys that they would only be able to watch five movies over the two day car trip.  I was unaware of this new development and I was skeptical.  I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that the boys did great and got along well.  So, of course, for this trip we kept a similar rule.  The kids could watch three movies each day.  Again, I was impressed with how well the boys budgeted their time.  Plus, they looked outside and enjoyed the view!  Another thing we did was listen to Bill Cosby's comedy.  It brought back memories from my youth and I enjoyed listening to the boys laugh!  They loved it!!

We saw some beautiful landscapes, but the most exciting site, at least for Chad and me, was Tahoe! We were very tempted to stop and play around a little, but we were so close to home, that we kept on driving!

At this point in the trip Tanner started getting very antsy.  He kept asking how much longer it was going to be and saying he was so anxious he was going to die! We were all very excited when we finally got to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Let the fun begin!