it was cold and rainy for HOURS.
not the most ideal thanksgiving holiday travel….but craig likes a challenge.
she was hot.
and ramping up for her usual "i am going to throw up" routine.
she didn't.
thankfully.
charging everything constantly.
so foggy we couldn't see the top of the arch!
i was texting on my phone and reading email on craig's phone.
he has a data plan and i don't…..i am SO deprived.
only 404 miles to go!
the sun finally came out….yay.
switiched seats.
nashville.
we pulled up to craig's sister's house to a classic song by fire house….ha ha ha.
we sang loud.
and wished we were at a high school dance.
(did you click on that song? that hair is unreal!!)
12 hours in the car with all seven of us.
6 movies….10 fights…..5 bathroom stops….but we made it to atlanta….good times.
we were welcomed with open arms.
and a beer.
a very yummy beer.
Jolandi Kerstetter - Heh, a drink or two would be a good reward. Congrats on finishing one long road trip. Indeed, trying to keep the peace in a car with kids can be tricky. Well, nevertheless, I hope you found some fun during the trip!
Trish @TheOldPostRoad - We’ve made that drive several times – same route – from Georgia to KC (my sister’s house) and back. One stop we enjoyed was at Cave in Rock in southern Illinois – you take the ferry across the Ohio from kentucky (going north). The kids will never let me stop and see the zoo in St. Louis (it’s free for pete’s sake!) We live in a great country.
-Trish
Christina - Yes, I was also going to say,”only 10 fights?” My kids had about that many just during our Advent reading and activity tonight. Ugh. 🙂
elisa - Only 10 fights? thats amazing! fun pictures! i don’t think i’ve ever commented on here but i love your blog! 🙂
Kimberlee J. - Loved all the pics.
Wowza…that was a big trip.
I’m glad you guys were able to get away!
Tara - i’m so glad that the whole trip ended with a really good beer.
you make me laugh….this place is always refreshing to me.
Shauna - oh baby! that is a full backseat!
i am glad you were greeted with a drink…..well deserved.
next time we both go on long road trips, lets drive toward each other and meet in the middle, kay? where would meet up? Utah? oh man let me brush up on my US geography and I’ll get back to you…that is sad.
karen - I think i’m the only 32 year old without a cell phone…and i like it that way. 🙂
Kristin S - I assume the phone with the zebra case is yours and not Craig’s.
🙂
Suzanne - Great pictures. I kinda felt like I was on the trip with you guy..especically when I found myself calling out “he’s touching me!”. Oh by the way, “Love of a Lifetime” was our wedding dance song. Love it! We play it in our home often and we too sing at the top of our voices. Nothing but the best!
Merry Christmas!
Suzanne
Transparent Mama - Funny. I just did a post on our 21 hour road trip with four boys and a dog. We went 40mph at most through most of Idaho in a blizzard on ice. Glad we aren’t the only crazy ones.
Heather R. - I would need a beer or 5…
Love the song and the 80’s hair.
🙂
Kathryn - so the building in nashville with the two skinny towers on top? people around here know it as the batman building. 🙂 because i know you wanted to know that. 🙂 glad you made it safely through all that rain!!
Kat - Only 5 toilet stops?!! Wow you did well. We can do that many in an afternoon at the shops with my 4 little kids.
Nothing like a road trip for family bonding, or to put your patience to THE test, lol.
Glad you survived it 🙂
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Only 5 pee stops…impressive:) We just had our trip back to IL. I need a laptop or ipad or something. To watch a movie would help tremendously!
Sandy - In the first picture of the back seat I thought Talby was in Annie’s carseat…figured they were happier that way. ha ha Then in the second picture (of the back) I realized that what I thought was a carseat was actually a blanket. 🙂
When I was in 7th grade my parents drove all 8 of us (6 kids and my parents) from Ohio to California and back. In the winter. And a really nasty ice storm. It was a great trip for us kids, but I’m still not sure how much enjoyment my parents got out of it. 🙂
I love that you have a big family.
Signed,
Sad that I only have 2 kids
Renee - i have that same blue blanket wth snowflakes & snowmen!
jess - you. are. brave! great post…love family road trips!!!
Vicki - Nothing quite like a classic family road trip! We’ve made many yearly treks from Texas to Washington state…32 hours in the car…it’s like we just never learned! I’m not sure which is better…open arms…or a good beer!
Lucylu ~ - Wow! Nothing can dampen your spirits!
Julie - After 12 hours in the car, I’d need a beer. And I’m not a beer drinker. More of a wine girl. We recently drove 6 hours to Belgium and I thought that was bad! 🙂
I was the kid who always got car sick so I feel for poor Annie! I still don’t travel well, and yet I spend most of my life traveling. Go figure! Good times spent went family though are worth the effort, huh?!
Rach - OK, let me re-phrase that first question:
Were you ordering Christmas ITEMS in the car. Although ordering Christmas itself would be pretty spectacular as well. 🙂
Rach - OK, two questions:
Were you ordering Christmas in the car because that is just fantastic multitasking.
Do you guys have a minivan or an SUV because we need to upgrade to another row of seats and I am always curious about people’s thoughts on their cars.
julia - You were a mere 9 hours away….hey, weren’t you JUST in Atlanta?
Please tell me you finished that magazine.
Laura Phelps - THAT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You just took me on a great trip
loved every minute of it
and you know, I know a little something about lots of kids in a car for a really long time
I also know how it feels to be greeted by open arms and a cold beer 🙂
miss you
must road trip to Kansas…
Trina McNeilly - You are brave that is a long drive with 5 kids. But road trips are always kind of fun…at least in theory.
Ok.. what kind of car do you have? Just wondering how you escaped a mini-van with 5 kids. I have always vowed I’d never not ever own a mini van and now that I’m prego with #4 it’s like mini vans are stalking me or something. Trying to fight them off. Ha!
XO
melissa - Dude, you drove RIGHT. PAST. ME! I’m 45 minutes from Nashvile!!! Next time.
Courtney Walsh - Oh wow. This gives me hope for when we go home at Cmas! 15 hours in the van with all five of us!! I so wish I could read in the car. Looks like it was fun in spite of the crazy weather! 🙂
Staci - I love a good roadtrip!!! Glad you made it safely!!! And that song….oh my word!!! You are sooo right….high school dances 😉 LOVE IT!!!!!!
Jeannette - Love all the pics, especially the Nashville skyline……I miss that city. We have made several trips that have been that long in the car and next road trip I am breaking out the camera more, I almost felt like I was road trippin with y’all. Glad you made it there safe and I am sure had a great holiday.
Jeannette
Plant City
Cathy - Ahhh…. roadtrips…. You can’t beat ’em for making memories. Seeing your pics brought back memories of our trips out west. You’ve captured the essence of what it’s like on the road. Glad you made it safely!!
Carolynn - Ahhh the joy of visiting family far away on the holidays! It’s always an adventure, isn’t it :)! Makes for great stories around the dinner table. Thanks for bringing us along for the trip! Fun, fun, fun!
april - love the pics…i know i know i always write that…lols….I have the same phone cover….looks like smeone is letting their hair grow out…very handsome…
valerie - We make the road trip from LA to San Francisco a few times a year so I am so relating even though it’s only half the trip you made. I feel like we’re making memories…I think it’s a good thing 🙂
Valerie
Dana@Bungalow'56 - I just want to say, I will never complain about our five hour drive to the city ever again. You have changed my attitude.
Dana
Kirsten J - There are only 4 of us and we only went 5 hours to the Oregon Coast (well, should have been 5, took 8 getting there) and we just about killed each other. And I can’t count the potty stops. Phew! Oh and the charging – it’s the end of the world if my little one forgets her DS charger. The. End. So what is it with the husband having the data plan? That would be our picture, also…hmmmm…. But I cannot stand to have stuff on the dash – he uses it like a desk or something, and I’m always clearing it off!
virginia - i love the heart shaped lights in the night picture meg!
Heather @ Cookie Mondays - fun! this looks exactly like our road trip to san diego last week… chloe in the back, stripping down/nauseous/nobody allowed to look at or speak to her… wireless head phones and ipods galore…but, sadly, matthew meade made it to my mailbox AFTER we got home 🙁 now i’ll surely never be able to read it.
happy happy holiday season, megan!
Stephanie - Love the pictures. We drove from McPherson to Chicago and I wish I had the trip in pics like you. I also took the Matthew Mead book. Loved it!!
tasha roe - I know it sounds crazy, but i LOVE road trips!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!
And only 5 bathroom breaks for a 15 hour drive – not too shabby. We had 5 going from St. Louis to Topeka. LOL
Katy - Loved all the pictures in this post but one thing just sticks out.. I have the same phone cover as Meg Duerksen. 🙂 Hahaha!
Lisa - Looks like a fun trip! Oh, Firehouse. Crazy memories there, but at least my hair never looked QUITE that bad! LOL.
Holly - Ok you were just minutes from my house! Well Actually I am about 35 miles west of Nashville. I love the Firehouse song. My kids call it the Old People music!
pam - That hair is hysterical! Speaking of beer my family would like to say THANK YOU! Your frozen Margaritas have become like a staple when a family gathering happens. Meals are planned around the goal of having those Margaritas. We try different kinds of beer. Everyone is in love so thanks for sharing that one!
Joni - We do twelve hour trips several times a year, I SO know what that’s like! He he…you needed that beer, didn’t you?
Love the pic of all the iPods plugged in! 😉
Joni
Heather - I have one of those…”I’m going to throw up” girls, too. Sigh. Exhausting, isn’t it? Glad you made it safe.
kristine - way to go! beer sounds nice! wait, is 8am too early!? i love nashville…but never been to atlanta!
Rebekah - I <3 the Nashville skyline. 🙂
Kelley - I love those tall suspension bridges driving through St. Louis! They don’t have any like that in Atlanta. I’m sorry you had such crummy weather. I took all the good weather with my family and me to Florida for the holiday and managed to bring none of it back. Boo hiss.
Kacey - Oh, wow – that is a long road trip. Your “charging station” made me laugh!
Cassie - would you roll on the floor, dying laughing, if i told you that when paul and i got married my brother and his guitar-playing friend (who were in a “rock band” together) sang that song AT our wedding…like IN the church. and i almost cried. 🙂
go ahead. laugh.
but it was AWEsome. 🙂
aaahhhh…the good ole days. thanks for stirring up those memories.
miss you.
Gemma @ Musings of a gem - Hi Meg!
It’s great to see a post like this one…I’ve missed reading them recently!!
You guys were brave…I bet it was worse than a long haul flight!
Happy December!
Gemma x
christy - 12hrs, YIKES! When we drive to TN to visit family it’s a 6.5hr drive, that seems about all I can handle. I probably would never last on a cross-country road trip! 🙂