THE DRIVE

Prep for the trip: I cooked up two things of meat- one for taco salad, and another for sloppy joes. I packed all the food and snacks we could fit in my cooler/car. This way we could avoid as much fast food as possible. Didn't need bloated tummies and hyper children:)
DAY ONE:
Me, the boys, our Nala, and my life long/good as a brother Cameron set off with my in laws in the moving truck behind us at the crack of dawn. The first day we drove into Wyoming and stopped to change into day clothes, let the boys stretch their legs, and relax for a minute; it was cold.

We later stopped in Nebraska for another break. The boys played in the arcade that was in the gas station while I made PB and J's in the car. Has anyone tried doing that? Well on top of that trickiness, add your PB being frozen... and trying to spread it with a flimsy little knife and you'll have my situation; it was an experience. Nebraska was HECKA COLD! We spent the night in Lincoln, NB. I have to say I was surprised and grateful and proud at how well my boys did that first day. We drove 14hrs that first day and those boys were total troopers. They didn't start their first movie until around 1:30ish and only watched two movies total. CAN'T express how good they were!

Day Two:
We set out early the next morning and continued another 10hrs ish through Iowa and Illinois before ending the night in South Bend, Indiana. They boys were so good this day as well. Maddix's highlight was when we had to pull off on the freeway edge so he could pee and he got to turn the snow yellow ha ha. Nala even enjoyed the ride and basking in the sun. All I really remember from this day was lots and lots of fields. That night was really fun though... COLD once again, but fun. We went and roamed around Notre Dame Campus and their stadium before wrapping up the night.

Day Three:
The next morning rolled around bright and early and I couldn't be too surprised when the boys were a little less than pleasant on this 8 1/2hr drive; that being said, they were still good boys, but even Nala was feeling a bit ancy. We stayed the night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While Cam and my in-laws went out to dinner, the boys insisted in staying in the HOTEL to take a bath; you can tell we didn't have a bathtub for the past forever! That was their highlight :)

The LAST DAY OF DRIVING:
Oh this was a Glorious Day; this day was only to be a 4hr drive! We slept in and then headed over to the Hershey factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This was definitely worth a stop over too. I'm not the world's biggest chocolate fan, but the factory was so cool, and the little amusement ride got my boys pretty jazzed. After that, we were pumped and reenergized for the last bit of our drive. This day was pleasantly warm (like low teens and sunny) compared to the other days, but I'm not complaining by any means. There were some monstrous storms along the way and we seriously drove just behind them, and just in front of the ones that followed; we were so blessed. So the day moved on and we finally made it to our realtor/new family friend, Carol's house where she invited us to stay until Monday when we'd have the keys to begin moving in. And that was the journey. We made it to Carol's where her wonderful family made us feel so at home, we watched Big Hero 6 and waited.... then finally.... FINALLY after a couple of hours Travis arrived at the house and everything was worth it. And it has continued to be worth it each and every day since then. We are happy. We are content.

Life is Good

 So SO happy to see his Daddy; he instantly took his hat and wouldn't give it up all night.

 This little one won't stop saying, "Daddy," now that he has his back:)