Road Trip from Hell-O!

Yesterday in church someone mentioned journaling. I felt really impressed to start making time for blogging again. I want something my kids can look back on. Even many generations to come.  I want to make this more of a priority now because it's that important to me. Maybe more important than my late night DVR sessions?? We will see!

With JD in Detroit I decided to pack up the kids and visit both sides of family in Idaho. It is a 15 hour drive to Idaho Falls. We have made this drive A LOT! Some road trips are better than others. Well this was not one of our better ones. It was also the first time I have traveled with Holland. I thought I would put the older 3 kids all in the back row so it would free up one of the captain seats when I needed to get back there and feed/hold Holland. (Sorry I am not one of those Moms who refuses to unbuckle my kids when we are driving for HOURS at a time. I know it's bad, but I am left with no choice sometimes.) There was my first mistake! I don't know about y'all and your perfect little families but my kids have a tendency to fight like cats and dogs. They love to push eachothers buttons. Drives me CRAZY!!!!! I now know what my Mom dealt with when me and my 8 other siblings would fight! (Sorry Mom.)  So having them right next to eachother didn't make for a pleasant ride. Seriously one hour into the drive they were already fighting. Holland was screaming so I let Laurel take the wheel while I sat in back and fed Holly. I snapped this pic of Avery torturing Brody with her feet in his face. Don't feel too bad, Jace and Brody gang up on Avery ALL. THE. TIME.

Once I was done feeding Holland, I took over driving. Not long after she started crying/screaming. Me and Laurel just ignored her for awhile until I noticed that her screams were starting to sound a little more distant... I looked back and Avery had gotten out of her seat and unbuckled Holland and was sitting with her in the aisle. Seriously! I had Laurel get back there and take Holly and try and soothe her. That didn't go so well. When Holland wants her Momma, she wants her Momma!! She screamed in Laurel's ear for a whopping 45 minutes. When I say scream I mean SCREAM like she is getting her leg chewed off by a T-Rex. (As JD likes to put it!) Poor Laurel, she is so dang patient. Just puts up with it! Haha. We finally stopped in Kingman, AZ and got some dinner at that point. After a short stop we got back on the road. I wanted to make it to St. George which is about halfway. The kids weren't being too terrible, I actually think Holland slept the whole way until St. George. We got to our hotel at 2 am! Here are the kids all pooped out and sleeping like angels. Except baby who was wide awake, go figure!

The next morning after breakfast, we packed up and headed out back on the road. We had about 7 hours ahead of us. We were on the road no more than 30 minutes and the kids were fighting again. Seriously the kids had an ipod, ipad, and DVD player in the car to keep them entertained and it wasn't working! What more do they need/want?!! I have no idea what Avery and Brody were fighting over but they kept hitting each other back and forth back and forth. You remember when you were little and fighting with your siblings you had to have the last punch, hit, scratch?! Yeah me too. Well they kept going at it. I finally yelled back at them the famous line," do it again and I am going to pull this car over!"  I had threatened them a lot the day before and they just weren't taking me seriously because they continued to fight. I had LOST IT!!! There just happened to conveniently be an exit right there and I took it going full speed. I get off the freeway and screech to a stop on the side of the gravel road.  There is dust and dirt flying as I open the driver door and slam it shut. I huff on over to the side door and open it. I don't think the kids knew what to think. I unbuckle Brody and rip him out of his car seat and put him on the ground outside in his bare feet. I reach back at Avery and do the same thing to her. My voice was shaking as I was pointing my finger and yelling at them and I seriously felt my veins popping out of my head. I think I was starting to turn green and I was waiting for my shirt to rip off and go into a rage when I look up and see a poor farmer about 50 feet away sitting in his truck witnessing this whole thing. AWESOME. He probably thought I was going to kill my kids! I told them to sit out there until they could get along. As I was walking back to my car door a police car drove slowly past us. I know it was coincidence but I was thinking that damn farmer called him on me! Haha! I got back in the car and looked over at Laurel who had a front row seat to my freak out session. I just laughed. I had the ultimate Hulk moment. Hey us Mom's are allowed one every now and then. I couldn't handle the constant bickering anymore! I calmed down, and Brody and Avery got back in the car. I think they knew I meant business. We got back on the freeway and it was actually quiet.... for about 20 minutes! Sigh, kids have such a short term memory!

Pretty sure this is what I looked like to my children in that moment. Sad. Very sad.

So we made it to Orem where we stopped and met Lachelle for a late lunch. The kids needed to get out and stretch. We headed back on the road. About 3.5 hours left!!!

This was the best the kids were since we left for Idaho the day before. Brody passed out "Brody style" with his shirt off of course. Holland was asleep, Jace and Avery were finally enjoying a movie and I was enjoying some peace and quiet! It didn't last long enough though that's for sure!

We made it to Idaho safely. It was a LONNGGGG two days. It could've gone worse I suppose but I'm pretty sure that Laurel will remain celibate for the rest of her life!!!!!! Haha what a trooper!


We've been in Idaho for 3 weeks now. Time is flying! I'm already thinking about the drive back home in a week and I am DREADING it. Oh well, we have had so much fun so far. Kids are partying hard. I'm getting worn out! This single parent thing is not for the weak or faint of heart. I want my man back! ;)   More posts to come of our Idaho summer adventures!!!