Road Trip Day 12 - The Road Home...Nebraska and Iowa

Today we started our journey back to the real world - dishes, work, laundry, etc. I have the mileage in the car, but the hotel we are staying at, and the fact that it is almost midnight, does not allow me to go and get them. Let's just say that we drove alot today - we left the hotel in Denver at 10:00am, Mountain Time, and got to the hotel in Iowa at 11:00pm, Central Time. Only potty breaks and dinner at Pizza Hut made up our day, but we were determined to get as far as we could so that tomorrow we would be home in time to relax a little before Shabbat dinner. No mountains today, but I still enjoyed all the greenery around us and tried to take it all in before we return to the land of strip malls and not much else.

HERE are the pictures from today. Goodnight!!

Road Trip Day 11 - Denver

I am really glad that we were in Denver to experience the most consecutive days over 90F since 1901. Between the heat and the altitude, the past two days have been the hardest on me since we left home. I do love Denver, so we will definitely be back to see everything that we missed, and maybe we will not come in late July...

Today, we visited the most beautiful outlet mall I have ever seen, took a candy making tour at the Hammond Candy Factory, had lunch at Steubens, and a crazy swim before dinner at Spicy Pickle. Both kids are quiet now and, hopefully, asleep...now I can pack up everything and head to bed myself.

Check out the pictures HERE from our last day in Denver. Tomorrow, we start our 15 hour trek home, not without some adventures, I am sure.

Road Trip Day #10 - Dinner in Denver

Tonight we had dinner with Salo, Melanie and the kids. Even though I haven't seen Salo for atleast 15 years and had never met Melanie until today and Danny didn't know either one, it was like we had dinner together all the time. For Amelia and the twins, it was love at first sight, and I enjoyed seeing Leo playing with the babies and trying to take care of them.

For pics, click HERE!

Road Trip Day #10 - Denver Zoo

Today we went to the Denver Zoo with our friends, Melanie, Koby, Micah, and Hannah. Melanie is married to a very old friend of ours from California, Salo, who we get to see tonight for dinner. We all had a great time and now we are resting up for dinner and our night in Denver.

For lots of animals - both related to us and those who live at the zoo - click HERE!

Road Trip Day #9 - The Road to Denver, CO

After a great weekend in Albq, NM, we had our breakfast and headed to Denver, CO. The kids had a bumpy start, but were real troopers in the car today. No movies, just amazing views and I was so happy to share them with the kids. I know that they will remember the amazing scenery for a very long time.

Here is how our day went:
9:54am - ODO: 14,074 - Leave hotel in Albq, NM
12:08pm - Arrive at rest stop near Valmore, NM - lunch and potty break
12:29pm - ODO: 14,223 - Leave rest stop
1:12pm - ODO: 14,268 - Car wash and drink stop
2:10pm - Leo conks out
2:24pm - ODO: 14,329 - Cross Colorado border (after 12 mile detour to get a picture of the "Welcome to Colorado" sign)
3:28pm - ODO: 14,401 - Potty brake and switched drivers in Colorado City, CO
4:10pm - Leo wakes up, ready for some ice cream
6:10pm - ODO: 14,524 - Arrive at La Quinta (looks more like a Hilton) and we dont plan on ever leaving...

For gorgeous pictures from today's drive, click HERE!

Road Trip Day #8 - The Bio Park, Albuquerque, NM

Today we went to the Bio Park in Albq, NM with our friends, Brooke, Chris, Adam and Amelia. Amelia and Brooke hung out with us for a good part of yesterday and the two Amelias became fast friends. It has definitely gotten cooler since we left Dallas, but it is still *hot* and we are feeling it. We are resting a little before a yummy Italian dinner with everyone.

HERE are the pictures from the Gardens and Aquarium.

Road Trip Day #6 - The Road to Albuquerque, NM

Yesterday, we had breakfast at our friends' house in Lubbock and got an early start to their dairy in Clovis, NM. Cows were all we could talk about for the last few months and yesterday was the day. Neither of us thought to charge the camera battery the night before, so we missed alot of the great mountain shots as we got closer to Albq, NM, but since we are driving to Colorado on Monday, I know we will get a few of those in. Here is how our day went:

10:13am - ODO: 13,687 - quick stop at CVS before leaving Lubbock, TX
12:16pm - arrive at Desparado Dairy, Clovis, NM
1:02pm - ODO: 13,795 - leave dairy in search of food for lunch
1:40pm - ODO: 13,805 - leave Clovis, NM after lunch
3:08pm - walking break on the side of the road
4:00pm - Leo conks out
4:42pm - ODO: 13,952 - much needed potty break at Flying C Ranch tourist trap shop
5:15pm - Amelia conks out
6:09pm - ODO: 14,032 - arrive at Best Western Rio Grande in Albuquerque, NM - both kids still asleep...yah, that made bedtime loads of fun

For (not as many pictures as I would have liked) from day #6 - click HERE!

Road Trip Day #5 - The Road to Lubbock, Texas

Today we made our way from Dallas to Lubbock, about a 5 1/2 hour drive. We did it in 6 hours with just bathroom and walking breaks and the kids were really amazing. No Dvds and a couple of naps, even. The landscape was just amazing, my favorite drive so far. Nothing really exciting, but, here is how our day went:

11:16am - ODO: 13,356 - Leave our lovely (really) La Quinta in Dallas, TX
Get car wash/gas/Walgreens meds
11:38am - ODO: 13,359 - Leave for Lubbock, TX
1:24pm - Arrive in Jacksboro, TX where the Taxodermy store and Citibank are across the street from one another
1:45pm - ODO: 13,449 - Leave Jacksboro after a much needed potty break and Subway sandwich
2:30pm - Amelia conks out
2:55pm - ODO: 13,520 - Switch drivers in Seymour, TX
3:04pm - Leo conks out
3:15pm - Amelia wakes up (why cant they work these things out?)
4:45pm - Walking break in the Middle of No-where, TX
5:45pm - ODO: 13,681 - Arrive in Lubbock, TX at our friends, the Hellmans
8:15pm - Leave the Hellmans after a yummy dinner for our hotel (not sure what it looked like *before* the renovations...)
10:23pm - The 2 hour "getting to sleep" craziness is finally over...so, now I can get to bed.

For pictures from this seemingly boring, yet beautiful, drive, click HERE!

Road Trip Day #4 - Dallas, TX

Today, I was sure that someone was going to find the four of us completely melted away on the sidewalk. I am not sure why it is so darn hot in Dallas, but I will not be returning in the summertime *ever* *again*. That being said, we stuck it out and had a really fun filled day. Breakfast as usual downstairs was followed by a trip to the American Railroad Museum in Fair Park. If we thought it was hot outside, we were proven otherwise when we stepped into the train cars. We got some postcards to mail and the kids got whistles and that was that. After that, we decided to stick around Fair Park and go to the aquarium. It is not *the* Dallas Aquarium, but it is much cheaper and much smaller and when Leo runs away to see the fish at the other end of the room, I can still catch him. We ate lunch on the benches inside because I could not bear to stand outside and make the sandwiches, let alone eat anywhere but in A/C. We had a really fun afternoon swim, the water in this pool is so warm that even I got in and swam with the kids. We got Leo this really nifty swim tube so he could float by himself and both kids cant get enough of the water. Dinner was yummy at Milk and Honey Jerusalem Grill. Both kids fell asleep on the way there, I can imagine how exhausted they were just from the heat alone. After dinner, we came across the landing strip for Dallas/Love airport and stopped for a few minutes to watch the planes. Very very cool. Bedtime was longer than ever before, but we are on vacation, so I cant blame them too much. Tomorrow, we are off to Lubbock, Texas and hope that the drive is as easy as pie and that we leave the humidity way way way behind us!

Picture of today's adventures can be found HERE!

Road Trip Day #3 - Dallas, TX

It is so surreal being in Dallas again, I haven't been back in 15 years or so and I saw people who I haven't seen in 20 years. We started off the day with breakfast and a swim and then headed to downtown. I wanted to see the skyline again, but I didn't remember that there was not much else. That was ok since it was too hot to be outside anyway. We went to see my old house and then headed to lunch with an old classmate of Becca's, Marcos, and his wife, Keren. Marcos had visited us since we moved to Chicago, but it was definitely over a decade ago and it was like we had just seen each other last week. After lunch, we visited the new campus of my old school, Akiba, and - wow - is all I can say. I know Amelia and Leo would love it there, it was just amazing. At Akiba, I ran into my old friend, Annie, who we had plans with tonight, and it was so much fun bumping into her unexpectedly. Then, it was a little play time at the mall and off to see my friend, Chad's, mom. I knew we would have a great time with Monica and I was right. The kids felt right at home and didnt really want to leave! Monica said she would keep them, but I know their Bubbie and Zadie would not have approved. We had dinner with my old friends, Annie and Emily and their families, and a friend from high school, Dahlia, who moved to Dallas and married an old classmate of my sister's brother. Yah, it's a tiny world. It took close to an hour to get the kids asleep tonight - in the same bed - but thats an improvement from last night, kind of. Hopefully, tomorrow we can crank it out in 30 minutes. We shall see...

I added captions to the last two days and added some pictures to yesterday's shots. Here are today's pictures.

Road Trip Day #2

Today was another long day of driving, but not alot of stopping and getting out. Not much to see between Lebanon, MO and Dallas, TX. I didn't realize how beautiful the outskirts of Oklahoma were, I could look at cows and grassy areas all day and that is pretty much what we did. The kids were quite patient, we held out on any DVDs until after lunch, and by the time we got to Dallas, we were all extremely zonked. The 100F temps aren't helping much. So, here's how our day went:

9:25am - ODO: 12,743 - Leave Lebanon, MO
11:30am - Arrive at Oklahoma Welcome Center, Miami, OK
11:56am - ODO: 12,885 - Leave Welcome Center
12:21pm - Arrive at, what we were told would be the, "biggest (and best) McDonalds" ever
12:55pm - ODO: 12,911 - Leave the grossest and smelliest McDonalds ever
1:45pm - ODO: 12,952 - Gas and walking break
2:11pm - Quick potty break at another OK Welcome Center
3:00pm - ODO: 13,010 - Driver switch in downtown Okmulgee, OK
5:15pm - Arrive in Denton, TX and use the potty at the Welcome Center
5:40pm - ODO: 13,151 - Leave Denton, TX and head for Dallas
6:23pm - Arrive at Chipotle in Allen, TX for a crazy, but yummy dinner
7:07pm - ODO: 13,203 - Leave Chipotle and can finally tell Amelia, "Yes, we are almost in Dallas"
7:38pm - ODO: 13,229 - Arrive at our La Quinta Hotel in Dallas, TX
10:08pm - Finally have two kids asleep on the sleeper sofa
11:46pm - Finishing up this blog and hope to be asleep before anyone sees it!

For pictures from the road, click HERE!

Road Trip Day #1

After months of planning, we headed out this morning for our 1st Annual Road Trip. We drove almost 500 miles and crossed one state border. Here is how the day went:

8:07am - ODO: 12,244 - left VH
8:17am - ODO: 12,247 - left VH again after forgetting our AAA cards at home
8:35am - realized that the GPS was set to "avoid highways" and quickly changed it back...
10:18am - Potty and walking break in Pontiac, IL
10:31am - ODO: 12,363 - left Pontiac
11:20am - "Bee Movie"
12:00pm - Rest Stop near Sherman, IL for picnic lunch
12:38pm - ODO: 12,457 - Left Sherman
2:40pm - ODO: 12,570 - Arrive at our cousin, Ben's, apartment on the Washington U Campus, St. Louis, MO
3:56pm - After ice cream and some walking around, we leave for The Magic House Museum with Ben and Saskia
5:45pm - ODO: 12,582 - Leave The Magic House
6:00pm - Arrive at California Pizza Kitchen (well deserved dinner)
7:27pm - ODO: 12,587 - Leave CPK with unknown destination, "Muppets Take Manhatten"
7:45pm - ODO: 12,603 - Gas stop in Eureka, MO
8:36pm - ODO: 12,638 - Potty and ice cream break
9:04pm - Movie over and dark out...hoping for sleeping kids any minute
9:27pm - Leo out
9:38pm - Amelia out
10:30pm - ODO: 12,743 - Arrive at the Holiday Inn Express in Lebanon, MO.
11:40pm - Everyone asleep, but me ;)

For pictures of our fun and exhausting day, go HERE :) Goodnight!!

My Boys

Both as cute and goofy as the other!

How cool are these??

One of the most important things I wanted to get for the trip were cupholders for the kids. I spend most of our days out passing their water bottles back and forth and didnt want to end up with a cricked neck by the end of the first day of driving. I had a very hard time finding cup holders that attached to the car seat itself and I didn't really want to spend $20 on each one. As we were outfitting the car last night, I was telling Danny about the cup holder situation and asked if we could just find something to hold the cups - a box or a tupperware - that he could make work with the carseats and the toy caddy in between. I went in to get something else and grabbed these 2 plastic cups. I got outside and Danny asked if we had any binder clips to hold them on. I have been working really hard to spend as little money as possible on this trip and this is a pretty good start! How cool are they??

Why my kitchen sink is always full...

http://cantstopcookin.blogspot.com :)

Perfect Day for a BBQ

I had been checking the 10-day forecast for, um, 10 days now and I am so happy that it didn't let me down. We had our first outdoor bbq (so, now the kids can stop asking when we can eat outside) and it was wonderful. A tad on the windy side, but no bugs and no rain and no humidity. Our swingset continues to be the best purchase ever and I just love our backyard. The company wasn't so bad, either ;)

Good Mommy

Just like me, Amelia can't go to sleep without knowing that her babies are tucked in just right...

Bath Time

After numerous attempts to get a picture of both of them - looking at the camera - Amelia felt for me and took her cue and put her arm around Leo, the universal sign for "let's smile for Mom so she will leave us alone". I would have liked to see both faces, but I love Leo's sneaky look, so I took *my* cue and let them get back to their bath.

We Love Indoor Pool Parties!

Today was Amelia's good friend, Heloise's, birthday pary and both she and Leo were invited. It was at an indoor pool and there arent any water pictures because (this is how much I love my son), I was IN THE WATER too. The kids had a great time in the pool and at the party afterward. Amelia's other good friend, Race, was there and they got to spend some quality time together. They haven't really played together in the last few months, but have been good friends since before they were 2, and it was nice to see them together. Leo was the youngest one there, but didn't seem to mind. He got right in there with the dance contest and the limbo, but listened to all the directions that the party leaders gave and I got to sit for the entire party...I guess good things really do happen to those who wait (4 1/2 years!).

A great start to the summer!

Whether I could afford it or not, I am not one to leave my kids with babysitters very often. It is really important to me that whoever I leave them with is treating them and caring about them the same way I would. I can only get things done while they are gone if I know that they are ok and having a good time. I was lucky enough to reconnect with an old neighbor of ours who I used to babysit for when she was my kids' age. Phoebe was back for a couple of months and I nabbed her as soon as I heard she was looking for a job. I just knew that the kids would have an amazing time with her and that it would be time well spent for me. Today was Phoebe's last day with us, but as you can see from the pictures they took at the park, I think this will be a summer to remember :)