About two weeks ago, we packed up and set sail for South Carolina to spend some time with my family on Thanksgiving. We always take this trip by car because it's convenient to have a car once we get there and it is much cheaper than flying five people. Without kids, it's about a 14 or 15 hour drive. With kids it takes anywhere from 18 to 21 hours. Yeah.
Thoughts on our trip go about like this:
Day before:
Chelsea: Oh, this is going to be so fun! I can't wait!
Tim: I'm so excited for our road trip!
Chelsea: You're nuts, honey. The road trip is going to suck. We have three kids three and under. But the trip? The trip will be fun.
Days of road trip:
Chelsea (cradling head in hands, occasionally sobbing): Why???? Why did we decide to make this trip by car?
Kids: Cough, cough. Sniffle, sniffle. Are we there yet? Cough. Are we there yet? Waaaaaaaaahhhhhh! No, my toy! No, mine! That's my toy! Cough, cough. Sniffle. MY TOY! Are we there yet? Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!
Once we got there, things were better in that we weren't all stuck in a car with germs flying everywhere and two kids sitting next to each other who are incapable of sharing, one with a high pitched shriek she uses any time her brother gets within a half mile vicinity of her.
But all three kids were sick. Really sick. Landon and Ben had the croup cough, Adalyn had her asthmatic cough and fun times were had with our nebulizer in heavy use. There was very little sleeping but a whole lot of crying. Did I mention Landon popped his first tooth on this trip? I had so many plans to see so many people, and it just wasn't able to happen. I didn't even get to see my best friend. :(
Then we generously shared our germs with my parents, who both got very sick. Mom cooked Thanksgiving dinner like this:
Honestly, though, despite wanting to sometimes run away, this trip was still amazing. We got to see my family, a luxury we aren't afforded often since they live so far away. There were moments like this, where my dad taught my son how to feed my old lizards (that my dad rescued when I became, like, deathly allergic to them):
I learned that my daughter has my hair:
And my son has my ears:
And maybe that's the only way in which my kids look like me, but I'll take it!
There was a whole lot of this going on, which warmed my heart because this is exactly what my childhood was like with my own Grandad. I spent many childhood days curled up in my Grandad's lap with books, and I adored it:
I got to introduce my daughter and son to my favorite place in the whole wide world, and I got to breathe in the ocean air with my whole family.
They even got a "crashing" wave. :)
We visited Wilmington, NC, a beautiful little port city with a cool downtown.
And Greenville, SC. We absolutely fell in love with Greenville's downtown. I mean...in. love.
Despite some of the misery, lots of fun and silly moments were captured on camera and in our hearts.
My hubby and I really connected on this trip. Rather than letting the stress of it all affect our marriage, we were able to laugh through the hard times together. Sometimes challenging times with children, illness, travel, etc., can divide a couple. We made a really concerted effort this trip to be a team; to laugh and cry and ram our heads into the wall together. And in the end, we came out so much stronger. :)
And on the way home, we drove right through Joplin, Missouri, and stopped to see a sweet friend, which was the perfect way to end the trip.
(This is me making an effort to post pictures even when I look fat!)
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