"Boys are found everywhere—on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair
and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket."
Author: Alan Beck


Monday, April 4, 2011

We Survived.


Road Tripping with 5 boys is a lot like childbirth.  You forget how painful it was the last time you did it, and you become dumb (or forgetful) enough to do it again.  The road trip we did over spring break was no short jaunt.  We traveled 2800 miles (round trip) to visit family in not-so-sunny California.

The first day, we drove non-stop to Vegas, where we spent the night at Circus Circus.  Being Vegas virgins, we thought staying at a kid-oriented an establishment with Circus in it's name would be a real treat for the kids. 

This is the part where I give a shout out to family members who knew of our intentions, thought they were a bad idea, and neglected to chime in and warn us.  (To DECLAN and LORIE, we sincerely THANK YOU!)

If you're a fan of cigarette smoke, drunk parents who are more worried about losing the humongous bear they just won at the balloon pop game than they are their own offspring, bathtubs with ring around the tub and bodily hair that DID NOT fall off anyone in your family, police officers detaining people 3 doors down from your room at 8:00 AM, and smells that cannot be identified, THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!

Lesson learned-Not all things with the word 'Circus' in their titles will be fun....or suitable for children.

Our second stop, was Pa John & Annette's house in Clovis, CA and was a much more enjoyable experience.  After a long day of driving, we were happily greeted with a huge meal and warm (and clean!) beds to sleep in.  Our visit was much too short, but was filled with bug-hunting, fish-feeding, karaoke, walks with Pa John, and Annette's famous oatmeal (which I will spend my life trying to perfect).

The rest of our trip was spent in Brentwood, CA with Dec and Lorie, and in San Francisco, CA with Uncle Mark and Auntie Sheiwa.  We visited fabulous places, like the California Academy of Science, several 'factories', including Jelly Belly, Spaghetti & Fortune Cookie, and even went hiking up Mt. Davidson in search of the shimmering rock.

This boy turned 7 during our trip and told us that "Turning 7 in California was the bestest birthday ever!"
Happy birthday to the bestest 7 year old we know!
The rest of our time was filled by loving on the cutest baby in all the land...
From backyard fire pits (complete with marshmallow roasting), to crab dinners, to light saber fights with Darth Maul, let the record show that 2011 holds the record for the BEST spring break adventure our family has even seen.
We're already counting the days until we can do it all again next year!

PS-Let the record also show that Darth Maul wears jeggings.  Only in California.

2 comments:

  1. Perfect post! I concur with all of it...and was also shocked to discover Darth Maul's affection for jeggings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No I don't wear tights (jeggings). I wear the required uniform.


    It was the best visit ever. Wish you guys were still here.

    ReplyDelete