ROADTRIP--WE SURVIVED!

HOW WE SURVIVED THE ROADTRIP

How did we survive this LOOOOOOONNNNG ROADTRIP, you ask? Two TVs helped . . . one for the boys' games and movies, and one for the girls' movies. Each of our kids had their own bag of toys, gaming devices, and books to pass the time.


Stuffing our faces with the hot hotel breakfasts each morning gave us the energy to keep going.



Staying mostly at newer Comfort Suites Inns helped a lot. Most had three beds too a room.



Staying at hotels with indoor pools is always a good idea. Although, out of all the hotels, we were only able to swim at 3 of the pools. We usually arrived after the pools were closed, sadly. I never factored in the time zone changes, which always made late arrivals to the hotels.

After more than two weeks on the road . . . our kids were excited to go swimming!



Finally, NAPS were a MUST for the long hours on the road. Everyone took a nap here and there in the car. That is, everyone but Christian, who insisted on driving the whole way.

ROADTRIP--30th Stop THE END Jacksonville!

We made it to Jacksonville!

Here's our new home.

To celebrate our arrival . . . we hit the pool and waterpark.

It was pretty warm and humid, so the water was refreshing.

We are so glad to have made it safely here.

ROADTRIP--29th Stop Childrens Museum in Charlotte, SC

We stopped at a Children's Museum in Charlotte, South Carolina. One more hoorah before we hit Florida.

Aleya enjoyed dressing up and shopping.

Orrin enjoyed making crafts.

Amara enjoyed being a cashier in the store and handing out the receipts.

It was a fun museum and Aleya especially had a wonderful time.

ROADTRIP--28th Stop Greenville, South Carolina

We stopped in to visit my sister, Julie, and her new baby Lucy in Greenville, South Carolina.

We will only be a 6 hour drive away from them, so we hope to get together for holidays and such.

It was good to see my sister again.

Aleya had fun playing with her cousin, Emery, in the backyard.

Amara and Orrin enjoyed meeting their newest cousin, Lucy.

Aleya loves babies and wishes our family could have another baby.

My mom brought Emery over to our hotel to go swimming with us.

The kids all had a super fun time together.

It was fun to get together for a short time on our way to Florida.

ROADTRIP--27th Stop Camp Daniel Boone

We dropped Joseph off at Scout Camp in North Carolina with his new Florida troop.

They had an impressive camp set-up, just like in the movies.

Joseph made friends quickly with his new troop. They took him to the archery range.

This camp was located in a very scenic mountainous area. The weather was sunny and mild and we were excited for Joseph to have this opportunity to earn several merit badges and make friends.

ROADTRIP--26th Stop Yorktown on the 4th of July

What better way to spend the 4th of July, then the place where we won the American Revolution? This is the Yorktown Victory Monument.

Yorktown has a local Fife and Drum band.

We set our blankets down near the monument to watch the fireworks, later on. We fortunately found a nice shady spot in the hot and humid heat of the day.

They had an area with inflatables and games for the kids.

We enjoyed a nice military-centered local parade.

In this scorching heat, the snow cones were SO REFRESHING!

Christian took the girls down to the York River to wade in the sludge. Eeewwww!


The fireworks had to be one of the best shows we have seen as a family. They were SO CLOSE and right behind the monument. It was AWESOME!