Ok, here's the recap of our roadtrip down to Cali....FINALLY!
I really really wanted to go to my best friend, and college roomie, Jen's baby shower. Trouble was, it was all the way down in the Bay Area. But one of the beauties of staying at home with a flexible work schedule is that I am able to pick up and go places as I please, if I please. I just have to bring the boys with me. And I have to do it alone since Roger' doesn't have the same freedom right now.
This ability (and responsibility) of being able to go places with the boys has pushed me out of my comfort zone to be a more adventurous and independent mother. I actually never would have imagined that I could do so many things on my own with my two youngsters.
That's the reason why my first road trip with my little road dogs (Part 1 & Part 2), and this second trip feel so liberating, and why I am both eager and half force myself to do them.
I prepped for the trip with some new car activities. portable pinball toys, dry erase boards, magnetic games, search and find pages (super easy to make), healthy snacks, water & juice, all packed into their little backpacks.
Halfway into the first hour of our 12 hour haul, Rowan says to me, "Mom, THANK YOU for packing all these fun stuffs! This is the best road trip EVER!"
Toward the end of the second hour, they were totally over all the goodies and wondering when we were going to be there!
We only made a couple stops for gas, potty breaks, and McDonald's (McDonald's is a road trip staple in our family, say what you will, it makes everyone happy and gets us through). I was especially happy with the McDonald's that we stopped at in Medford. It had a nice indoor play place that was much more open than others we've been to, so the kids were very visible and accessible (Cid often gets stuck up in the tunnel type ones, leaving me with a predicament...do I climb up there and get him? Do I leave him to go find a McD's employee? Usually I enlist some of the older kids to help him out, but it can be a bit truamatic). When you're traveling alone as a mom with your kids, places like this make the experience much more comfortable.
Our first real stop was at my dad's house in Cotati, near Petaluma. The kids love all the old-school games that Barbara has: Cooties, Don't Break the Ice, Ants in Your Pants, etc. And Cid is obsessed with their pet duck.
The next day we were off to Jen's baby shower in the East Bay. It was so nice to get to see our peeps. We enjoyed the party and the company! Baby Decker made out good, but I think Miss Hailey (Jen's little girl) made out even better. Of course, Hailey was an angel the whole day, as usual, while my kids were into everything and had me running different directions constantly. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos this day, but Rowan did take this one of a Lego storage container.
We got to stay a couple days and nights with the Ballous, which was also so much fun. Sorry-not-sorry for cramping your style and keeping you guys up late!
And visit with a few of our great ex-neighbors. We were seriously so lucky to score all those wonderful people.
And André and Shelley drove up to meet us for some park time, dinner, and dessert. The boys love these two! (We do too).
We drove back up through Petrolia and spent a whole week there. Being there was great. Driving there sucked. The boys still held it together amazingly well, but Cid did puke up all his McD's fries and chocolate milk. He was super upset and confused. He kept screaming, "WHAT is that?!" until I was finally able to find a "safe" place to pull over. (Note to self: Never, never, EVER take the Wilder Ridge route again).
We did the usual P-Town things with a couple extra bonuses. This time around I got more R&R time for myself while the kiddos went to preschool, including a lovely yoga sesh tought by Rupali Brown.
Fun adventure you "road dogs"!
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