Day 12 - The End

Let me start by saying that last night's sleep was not much better than the previous night. Before getting in bed I went to the restroom and here is what I returned to:



So where am I supposed to sleep?? grrrr. I ended up spending most of the night sleeping halfway down the bed in an "L" shape with my legs across the foot of the bed. At one point I flipped around and put put my head at the foot of the bed and slept that way. Ben woke up a few times, slid over and pulled Maddox over so I could have more room and move up to where you're supposed to sleep on a bed, but it didn't last long. Soon the child and husband had pushed me over again. I cannot wait to get home and sleep where I can hog the bed with my body pillow and no toddler.

I was up around 6am with sore hips and back, took a lengthy shower, and headed to the lobby by myself to get breakfast. When I got back Ben and the kids were awake and starting their showers. Morgan put his Red Sox jersey on for the third day in a row (which, of course, Ben had no problem with) and Susan put on the new necklace and earrings she picked out.



We checked out around 10am and piled in the car, which was literally packed to the brim. We thought we were crammed before...now add 2 more kids, their luggage, and all the stuff we got for them...yikes. My knees were at the dashboard, the kids had their bags either in their laps or under their feet, and the dogs were sitting on top of each other.




As we were driving, Ben made a right hand turn and we heard Susan yelling at Tiny from the back seat. He was trying to jump from the cargo area into the kids' laps. We yelled at him to stay back there, that's the last thing we need. Morgan looked in the cargo space and informed us that we had an avalanche. The pack-n-play and some other things had fallen over into the "dog space" and they were squashed again. Hank just layed there under it while Tiny jumped on top and finally found a satisfactory place to sit. We weren't planning on spending much time in the car so they would be fine until we got to our destination.

We had planned to spend the day at the Clarksville Dog Park and have a picnic lunch, but the threat of rain made me nervous. Morgan said they were building a new park in Clarksville and pointed it out on our left. As we drove past it we realized that "new" park was the dog park. It was completely bulldozed over, reduced to nothing but dirt and rock. Why would they do that? It was the only dog park in town. Then we remembered the flood from earlier this year. It had probably been damaged since it sat on the river and had to be rebuilt. We were at a loss at first, but quickly we came up with Plan B.

We went to another park in Clarksville, not a dog park, but it had walking trails we could go to. The kids had fun walking the dogs down the trails and playing on the playground.





When they got bored we left and drove through the rich neighborhoods, picking out the houses we would buy if we won the lottery.

Around 2pm we headed to Sonic for some half price drinks. We were going to go back to the park since the dogs were really smelly and we were all cramped in the car, but dark clouds rolled in and the rain was sure to start any minute. We decided to head south, toward the kids house, and try a park down there, hoping the weather would be better.

It was much better, so we drank our drinks and played on the playground.
After that we went to dinner and dropped the kids at their house.



Susan always has to have at least one major mis-hap during our visits, so I wasn't surprised that she spilled her 3/4 full Sonic drink all over the floor of the car and Morgan's new Red Sox backpack we bought him when she tried to get out of the car. That girl.

We gave the kids hugs and kisses, told them we'd miss them, and headed towards Fort Leonard Wood. The GPS was saying we'd be there around 12:30 am. On the way up there was saw a Bald Eagle flying low over the freeway. Ben pointed it out and shouted "Bald Eagle!" I didn't believe him, but as I looked up you could see it clear as day. What an amazing sight, to see one in the wild.


We got home around the time the GPS had originally said and went straight to bed. We have put a grand total of 4,315 miles on the car and spent 87.35 hours in the car getting an average of 24.1mpg! Wow, that was a long time!

Maddox is now a well traveled toddler, going through 11 states: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

I hope Ben enjoyed his trip, since this was his vacation, but I am sure glad it's over. All I can say is: thank God for portable DVD players and headphones...we would have been lost without them.

I have a lot more pictures and will be posting them on facebook and my walmart account soon (they take a long time to load on here for some reason.)

Day 11

Today was a great day. We had lots of quality time with Morgan and Susan and a very limited amount of time spent driving around. The kids had "Young Marines" in the morning, then we went to the mall to buy Morgan some fall/winter clothes.



After shopping, we all went swimming at the pool and Maddox actually swam! He had on his little floaty that he's been using all summer, but I've never been brave enough to let him go. Ben isn't quite as over protective as I am and, at first, I was mad when I saw Maddox going free. But then I saw his little legs kicking and his arms going and couldn't believe that he was actually swimming around. He knew exactly where he wanted to go and soon figured out exactly how to get himself there by using his arms and legs. I caught it on video and tried to upload it, but it didn't work.




Maddox lasted almost an hour in the pool, but then he decided he just wanted to run around the edges instead of swim. I was worried he would slip and hurt himself and my efforts to get him to walk instead of run were all in vain. I decided to take him back to the room and let Ben and the big kids have some swimming time by themselves. Needless to say Maddox was having tons of fun and did not go back to the room quietly. I had to drag him kicking and screaming all the way back. I put the key in, open the door, and out burst the dogs!! We usually put them in the bathroom if we are going to be gone, but didn't think it necessary since we were only going to be a short while. Big mistake. Not only did they bust out of the room with a vengeance, but as I stepped in to put the still kicking screaming Maddox down, I saw the floor of the hotel room....covered in trash and torn up dirty diapers. Gross! In a blind rage I scooped Maddox back up and stepped outside the room to try to retrieve the beasts. As the door clicked shut I froze...did I have the key? No. I had put it down table when I opened the door.

So now I was not only chasing two wild dogs who don't know what the word "come" means, but I was locked out of my trash infested room with a wet toddler throwing a temper tantrum in my arms. I took a deep breath, pictured my "peaceful place", walked back to the pool, and told Ben he needed to get out and fetch his runaway dogs "now." While he did that I strolled to the lobby, told them I was locked out, and got a new key. Ben and the kids had caught the dogs by the time I got back and were waiting for me by the door. I think Ben knew I was trying hard not to lose it as he asked if I was ok and started picking up all the half eaten trash. I replied with a smile and a "yep", and proceeded to sit on the bed and put my feet up. Time for a break.

After swimming, and the dog fiasco, we had Chinese food and tried to pack up the room a little bit. Let me rephrase: I tried to pack up the room. Ben and the kids were all busy wrestling and tickling each other.



We had set the pack-n-play up next to our bed, but Maddox has refused to sleep in it longer than and hour. The is unfortunate because we only have twin beds. Last night Ben was sprawled out on his his side, so Maddox had me pushed practically off the bed. I only had a little sliver to sleep on and I'm almost 8 months pregnant, I hardly fit. It was extremely uncomfortable and I contemplated sleeping on the floor more than once. I'll have to figure something else out tonight.

Day 10

Today we drove to Tennessee to pick up Morgan and Susan. We were going to get up around 4:30 this morning so we could be there after school, but thankfully mom reminded Ben that we will be crossing time zones, so we got another hour of sleep! yay!

We were on the road by 6am with about 2,930 miles into the trip. Needless to say we crossed into 3,000 miles WAY before I had anticipated. Maybe I need to rename the blog...

We stopped for breakfast sometime between Cleveland and Columbus. I held out food for Maddox to grab, but as he reached for it he realized his hands were full with a pacifier in each one. He was quite perplexed about this. What to do....
He decided to use his foot as a third hand and curled his toes around the side of one of the pacifiers. It was hilarious. He had food in one hand, a paci in the other, and another paci between his toes. Interesting decision, Mad Max.

We've been careful about our speed the whole trip, but unfortunately the Cincinnati Police caught us at a week moment. We hadn't been paying attention to the speed limit signs and unknowingly drove from a 65mph zone to a 55mph zone without slowing down. A motorcycle cop pulled us over and I was crossing my fingers that he would see the Military Police sticker on the back of the car, extend a professional courtesy, and give us a warning. No such luck. We drove away with a $124 speeding ticket and a very unhappy atmosphere in the car.

We got to Tennessee around 3pm (10 hours later) and started searching for hotels. I was really tired of being in the car so, after a few calls, I got short and told Ben to just pick one. I didn't care which one, just get me out of here. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn and it actually ended up being a good choice. The rooms were new, there is wireless service, and no fee for dogs.

Ben picked up Morgan and Susan, they wrestled for a bit, then we ordered pizza for dinner and relaxed the rest of the night (after doing homework). Maddox was a little shy at first since he hasn't seen them in months, but he warmed up quickly. He had fun sitting at the table and eating his dinner with the big kids. He joined in the wrestling and the cuddling of the dogs, but was very upset when Tiny tried to snatch his pizza out of his hand. Dumb dog...

Day 9

We spent today in Ohio for a little break in the drive. Maddox spent most of the day playing with Grandma, exploring her kitchen cupboards, or outside playing in his car. Grandma gave him her old IPOD nano and, even though it was in a pink case, he kept it by his side all day. He pushed the buttons but mostly used it as a phone, he always has some serious business to take care of.







Ben and I left Maddox with my mom and went to the mall (child-free) and went to see a movie. We saw "The Other Guys" and it was very funny. When we got back Alex and Kristin came over for dinner.


After dinner Maddox tripped over an area rug and got his first bloody nose. He's is becoming quite the boy on this trip: bloody noses, scraped knees, bloody lip....what's next?

We will be leaving early tomorrow morning to head south to Tennessee to spend the weekend with Morgan and Susan.

Day 8

We woke up around 5am, finished packing the car up, and were on the road by 5:30. It took us about 12 hours to make it home. I thought Maddox would sleep more of the trip,but he was up for most of the way. He was a little cranky and wanted to be carried when we stopped at most of the rest areas. I think his legs are feeling too much like jello and you could see him wobbling around when he tried to walk...I know how he feels.

No major events happened today. We traveled through New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. I attempted to get pictures of the road signs as we passed, but they came out too blurry.

We got to my parents house around 5:15pm and Maddox went straight for the toy car that he usually plays in. He also had to show off his new skill that he mastered this week: jumping with two feet!! yay!

Now for a restful nights sleep with no children in the bed! Finally! He is sleeping downstairs with Grandma and Papa :)

Day 7

Most of today was a comfortable 75 degrees with partly sunny skies. Damon, Keagan, and Zephan came up to visit us this afternoon and we went to a Science/Wildlife Center that had walking trails with a bunch of wild animals. In addition to that, Maddox got his first bloody lip this morning. He was playing with daddy on the couch fell face first on the register. We cleaned him up, gave him a popsicle, and he was fine, but the crying broke mommy’s heart 
Before the boys arrived Ben, Maddox, and I walked to the lake with the dogs. The water was cold so I wouldn’t go in, but Ben took Maddox wading out into the lake and on a canoe ride. He was a little unsure about the whole thing at first, but I think he ended up liking it.





When we got to the wildlife center Keagan and Zephan had matching hats and Keagan was nice enough to let Maddox wear his for most of the trip. Zephan and Maddox are about a year apart and they looked really cute playing together. They saw bears, mountain lions, owls, a bald eagle, otters, and other wild animals. Maddox followed the other 2 boys around most of the day and imitated everything they did. We all had a great time.



When we got back Ben and Damon took the boys to see some old ford tractors while I packed up the car.


While in New England we have put an extra 934 miles on the car. There is no doubt in my mind that we will exceed the 3,000 mile mark. We are leaving tomorrow with over 2,200 miles traveled and are heading back to Ohio on our way to see Morgan and Susan in Tennessee.

Day 6

Day 6:
I haven’t been sleeping well lately due to the fact that Maddox is sleeping in between Ben and I on a queen bed. We brought his pack-n-play but the nights have been so chilly up here that we figured he would probably get too cold since he won’t keep a blanket on and keep waking us up all night anyway. The travels are catching up with me today and my hips are quite sore, maybe they will be better tomorrow.

It’s another overcast and rainy day with temperatures in the 60’s. We are heading to Rowley, MA to spend the day with Ben’s family – another hour and a half drive. Throughout this trip I have gained an understanding as to why Cassie was so shocked that there was no Dunkin Doughnuts near Fort Leonard Wood, MO. It seems that almost every town in New England, no matter how quaint or tiny, has a Dunkin Doughnuts. After stopping here for the second time in 2 days, ordering an egg white, veggie, and cheese flatbread and coffee coolatta, I have begun to understand the obsession. If someone opened one of these in Jefferson or FLW they would make a killing.

We visited Ben’s mom’s gravesite and then spent the day at Tom and Nancy’s house. Maddox had fun playing with his Grandpa and Nana and exploring the house. He really wanted to play the organ, but I wouldn’t let him, too afraid he would break something. On our way back up to the lake we stopped and had dinner with Tammy and her daughter Nicole. Maddox had fallen asleep in the car so we had to wake him up when we got there. Needless to say he was pretty cranky. He spent most of the time whining/crying and eventually wiggled his way down from his high chair. He made one lap around the restaurant with Ben chasing after him, then we decided it was time to go.