Road Tripping with Kiddos

Before we left on our 30 hour road trip to the Oregon Trail I broke the news that our cargo would consist of a 1.9 and 3.9 year old.

Mile 5, they look happy, right? 

We left home with a glove box full of snacks and juice boxes. We had a huge bag of reserves in the trunk because our best of friends dropped off loads of sugar to help keep these little people happy. 

Before we left town I wrapped up a bunch of crap from the dollar store. At every stop they excitedly opened a present... stickers, books, slinkies, crayons, videos, sun glasses, plastic dolls, koosh balls, etc. etc. We also got some fun car toys from the same great friends...I think they were mostly concerned about our sanity?!

In case you are wondering, yes, both kids had their own video players. They were not the electronic babysitters we were hoping they would be. They did the trick here and there, but certainly nothing magical. Videos are not a cure for sore buns.

We tried our best  to stop whenever necessary in hopes that we wouldn't push these kiddos too far into a state of misery.

So we did a lot of this...

Did you guys know that Burger King has play lands? All in the name of competition, I guess, good for them!

We can tell you where every playground is from here to the Pacific Ocean.

We also made some special pit stops to see the sites.

Jamestown, ND 

Get ready...the next picture is a big deal. Apparently, there are people that camp out for days to see 'the white buffalo'.

We didn't have days, we had an hour to run around and buy some plastic crap at the tourist trap, but an hour is all we needed. Bucket List: White Buffalo. Check!

We also spent some time running around at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park Visitor Center.

Caraline taught us how to play Toilet Tag! Fun times.

Believe me when I say, it did NOT get cuter than this!

Aside from our frequent pit stops, Henry and I committed to swimming every night. It was our bed time trick to tire out our sugar packed and sedentary passengers. 

If you have a smart phone disregard the next paragraph.

We sent a text to a loved one about our projected stop and they would make us a reservation at a hotel with a pool. If you must know, we also used a good old fashion road atlas (my brother was mortified that we had to pay money for it).

They really do L-O-V-E to swim.

Here are a few shots of happy hotel times. We don't have any shots of unhappy hotel times because we were too busy being unhappy.

Thankfully, the phones are unplugged because these two were on the phone all night like a couple of teenagers.

Only the best. A special room service treat. wink! wink! It was actually leftover lunch, but Henry plays a convincing Hotel Waiter.

The 29th Hour.

Both kids got a little bug on day 4. Oscar drank some chocolate milk and an hour outside of Portland he barfed all over the car. As we were frantically trying to pull of the highway, Caraline popped her head out of her blankie and said "Auntie Nikki, Oscar spilled his milk!"

Still makes me smile.

In the moment, there were certainly some trying times, but looking back I don't have much to complain about. We all had our moments of insanity but the memories are mostly good. Henry might sing a different tune. Henry?

Wait, have I mentioned that Henry drove back to Minnesota alone?