Van Time

We are often asked, how do your kids do on  the 3 day car ride trips?  The answer: They do great!

They really really do!

 We're in this together!

I LOVE traveling with them.  All staying in one hotel room.  Always within 10 ft of each other. Life simplified to only what we have and ourselves.  I mean it!  Eric does not have the same love for it as I do. Each night as we lay our tired bodies to bed, I tell him how I love us all in one room, that we should down size our house, get rid of the "stuff of life" and just be us.  He likes the road trips, he does not feel that a one bedroom home would suit us.

The kids know that a movie is not automatically on the agenda.  Even with the built in DVD player, we don't use it much.  We typically have one really long day of driving.  On that day after lunch or if we know it will be dark for the last bit, that is when they might get to watch a movie.  Other wise they are very happy reading books, singing songs and playing various car games.

 When ever we went under an overpass, he would cover his face and say "oh no" until we had cleared it

This trip, thanks to Aunt JoJo, we had to play the "Honkers" game.

The game where you pull your arm down when passing a semi truck to try and get them to honk.  With tinted windows, I don' think they see us very well.  It caused fits of giggles this time, for us the parents.  See the kids were truly, enthusiastically into this game.  They felt I should be just as eager to get the trucks to honk.  So when we were approaching a truck, from the back all three kids would yell:

" Get your honkers out! Mom, get your honkers going to"

They began pumping their little fists long before the driver would see them.  Since this motion would get the trucks to "honk" they called them their "honkers".  I am sure you can see where as parents we had a hard time keeping it together.   Of course in their innocence, honkers would not refer to anything else.  Eric thought we might have better luck getting responses if I got the "other" set of honkers out.  The kids still believe their arm pumping motion are honkers, and we'll leave it at that for now.

 Night driving is more fun with glow sticks! 

 Silly guy kept putting it between his toes!

 We can use this picture to take note just what we travel with.  Three kids. Dog in kennel. Suit cases. Pillow pets. And the ever important golf clubs!  I love how we can re configure our van to suit our needs to whatever we might be hauling.  This trip the actual golf clubs went in the storage area below the second row seats. the bag didn't fit, however this way we didn't have clubs banging around or falling out when doors were opened. Yep, I have a life long Eagle Scout I married, he is always prepared!

The next time you might be riding with our kids, note that "get your honkers out" is a fun game to get semi trucks to honk.  Please keep your shirt on. They are great at entertaining themselves. Naps are occasionally taken, but not always and certainly not be everyone.  When's the next road trip?