The Best Laid Plans

Not long after Robert and I got married we were talking about all the family members we have in the Pacific Northwest and how fun it would be to take a road trip and visit them all. I didn't have much PTO since we had just gone on our honeymoon so we put it off. Then I changed jobs, we had a baby, I changed jobs again, we had another baby, I changed jobs once more and we found ourselves pregnant one final time. We've talked about the trip several times over the last 8 years but the summers were either busy or I didn't have enough vacation time.

Back in January while I was 6 months pregnant I asked Robert "What do you think about doing our Pacific Northwest road trip this summer?" I expected him to say "Are you crazy?" or "I don't think so" or just laugh in my face but yet again my husband surprised me by saying "Yeah, let's do it!" And why not? I was going to be on maternity leave, it's Emerson's last summer before he starts elementary school AND we have a sweet new van. The odds seemed ever in our favor. There was one catch, Baby Rex. We decided we would plan on taking the trip but wouldn't put real plans in place until we met Baby Rex and saw what he was like. Keaton was born and was a sweet and sleepy baby. Once I started feeling better post c-section the trip was on! We called the family we intended to visit and set up the dates.

Next we started planning and prepping. This was admittedly easier to do since I was home on maternity leave and didn't have the distraction of work.

• Step 1: Getting in the right frame of mind. We talked about how there would probably be some whining, a few fits and testing of our patience but we decided it was worth it. We promised each other that we would be patient and help keep each other calm.
• Step 2: Logistics. With Reese potty training we knew that we would have to make frequent stops plus we would need to feed Keaton. So we divided up our driving legs into manageable chunks. Robert did an amazing job mapping out our route. 
• Step 3: Lists. If you know Robert and I well you know that we love lists. We had a list of things we needed to do before we left - house sitter, talk to daycare, mow lawn, etc. A list of things we needed to buy. And I made several packing lists - one for each kid and one for the van - that I would add to over the weeks leading up to our departure.
• Step 4: Necessities. We also started buying things we'd need for our trip. First things first? TVs and a DVD player for the van. We got the kind that slip over the head rests so we could use them for the trip (and any other long trips) and take them off when we're home. We also bought a waterproof liner/insert for Reese's carseat. IF she had an accident we didn't want her to have to sit in a wet car seat for a number of hours afterward. Side note: Not a single potty accident happened in the van. In preparation we also read some blogs about road trips with toddlers. One tip was to buy lots of $1 items and have a prize bag that you can dig into every so often to give the kids something new to play with or an activity to do. So we started picking up little items here and there to have on hand. 
• Step 5: Packing. I started pulling things together the week of. Lucky for us Robert's best friend and his wife were visiting us the three days before we left. They were great at playing with the kids and holding Keaton while we packed. Especially the night before we left. 

At midnight the night before we left everything was in the van and ready to go. Robert and I were both really proud of ourselves that we were done that early! We were off to bed.