Road Trip: Family Style. (Part One)

Last weekend, our little family joined my larger, extended family, and ventured down I-94 to visit even more of our family that was descending upon Bismarck.  This was to be the baby's first long car trip, and Brynn's first long car trip since she was a baby.  I had visions of screaming children, multiple potty breaks, more screaming children, and spilled beverages all over my already messy, sticky car interior.

I spent much of Friday night packing, as well as Saturday morning.  The plan was to leave Saturday around 9am, when Brandon usually goes down for a nap.  (Sidenote: I cannot believe how much C-R-A-P you need to pack for children. I had to make several confirmatory calls to my mother and a friend to determine if I was overpacking. They confirmed that I was.)

As I truly was expecting the worst, I decided to keep a log of Saturday's activities:

5:45 a.m. - Brandon wakes up. Good Morning Buddy!!

6:04 a.m. - Brynn wakes up. This is alarming on many levels. First level: It is a chore to get her out of bed at 7 a.m. during the week, and that's when she goes to bed at a reasonable time.  She was up late last night, so I was planning on her sleeping in, so I could finish packing...

6:06 a.m. -- Brynn starts screaming and crying over a blanket or a Barbie -- I can't really understand her.  Brandon empathizes and chimes in.

6:09 a.m. -- Brynn is sent back to bed.

6:10 a.m. -- Brynn promises she's done crying and she wants to wake up.  She agrees to lay on the floor and watch a movie.

6:42 a.m. -- Brandon is playing with cat toys and is enjoying himself. Meow to you.

7:35 a.m. -- I took an extremely long shower to avoid the family for awhile. I think I only had 2 visitors while I was in the shower. I "love" when my family thinks that they are somehow in my inner circle enough to come visit me while I'm showering and how unlocking a bathroom door is simply a required step to begin a family shower pow-wow.

8:15 a.m. -- I found Brynn disassembling her father's earphones. Luckily he was in the shower and still does not know about this...

8:23 a.m. -- Husband starts complaining of stomach cramps. I immediately confirm my fears of a late departure and multiple bathroom stops. I ponder cancelling the trip, and silently curse my spouse for assumedly eating something inapropriate

8:45 a.m. -- Tell Husband that he does NOT need to pack 2 pairs of shoes for the trip, as nobody else is.  I pack the car and let him deal with the children (whom I love dearly, but ... you know.. I've already been up for 3 hours and our fridge was Red Bull-less)

9:15 a.m. -- Get everybody in the car. We stop at the gas station and at the bank.

9:36 a.m. -- We're on the ROAD!!! I tell Brynn that she is not going to watch a movie until it's at least 10:30 am.

9:37 a.m. - Brynn starts watching a movie.

10:03 a.m. - Jeremy acts legitimately surprised that I am not planning on driving straight through. I want to smack him, but refrain. Apparently, he has not been listening to me at all these past weeks as I have been discussing this trip and detailing our stop in Jamestown. Eh.

10:07 a.m. -- Brynn is wondering if we're there yet.