Remember in college when a road trip was a good thing? Out with your friends on the open road, ready for new adventures and a chance to get away from the “stress” of life… as if! Try it with four kids and a trying-not-to-get-sick-but-not-succeeding husband.

Actually, four kids and said husband on an 8-turned-into-12-hour trip, they did really well. (Note to parents… Nintendo DS is a very good thing… dvd players also very handy.) They boys spent most of the trip trying to beat each other in some kind of race, shouting “REMATCH” about every 3 minutes. S watched “Boz the Bear” Christmas show… yes, I DO know it’s July, but she’s 3 and that’s what she wanted. K, sweet baby, slept most of the trip. Which meant when we pulled in at 3:30, she was ready to play for a couple of hours.

Me? Drivers seat for mostly… remember, T & the getting sick thing? Summer colds are not fun… and they make grown men grumpy on road trips! (Being pulled over about 30 minutes after you take over the driving, for 47 in a 35 doesn’t help… but not getting a ticket does!)

I got to see lots of fun stuff… a deer, two raccoons, an armadillo, a skunk – none of which were road kill – plus a fire… which at 9:30 or 10pm is a rather eeriesite. Now we are hanging with family… and grandparents are loving having the grandkids run around and make tons of noise.

And I’m ready for a nap.