Home again, home again jiggity jig

17 days. 4000 miles,10 states,  hours and hours and hours in the car, hundreds of gallons of gas, 9 hotels (some really crappy), too many screens watched and played,  too much fast food, countless "Mom he/she touched me", "Mom he/she's looking at me", "When will we be there?", "How much longer?", "I have to go potty!"

Not to mention many books read, hundreds of funny moments, new people and adventures,  countless laughs together, seeing America the beautiful,  hundreds of memories, lifelong stories to tell, multiple occasions of feeling the spirit together,building relationships, creating stronger extended family bonds, having my husband and kids around for 17 days, good talks in the car...etc.  It was better than I ever expected it to be.

Multiple times people have said to me, "I can't believe you did it." or "I would/could never do a long road trip like that!"   To those naysayers ;)  I say never say never and/or don't knock it till you try it! I would never have tried this when my kids were much younger.  It would have been a nightmare with a baby, but my kids did great.  But they also have been road tripping since they were born since we have always lived away from family.   They are used to time in the car and know what to expect.  Now they aren't used to multiple days in the car, but they did so great.

 Dave and I have talked multiple times that we have THREE summers left with our oldest until he goes off on his mission and honestly I know how fast 3 years will go as time seems to be rolling along more and more quickly as my kids get older.  I want my kids to have lifelong memories of our family together.  I want them to have funny memories and stories that will only get better with time.  I want them to see our beautiful country and be exposed to new things and diverse people.   I mean who knew that Iowa and South Dakota had the most beautiful scenery of the trip?  Who knew that I would want to go back to the Black Hills and explore?  Who knew that we would see THOUSANDS of motorcycles going to the Sturgis Harley Davidson rally near Mount Rushmore?

People ask us what the highlights were and everyone has a different answer, but mine has to be having my little family together and building memories. Mine is the picture at the beginning of this post, yes my 3 year old was grumpy and wouldn't look at the camera and was crying, but we were at the Nauvoo temple together!  Sometimes I would look all 5 of them sleeping at night all in the same room and it my heart was so full from the gratitude I had for them and for this experience.  My family is changing, my oldest starts high school, my youngest starts preschool.  I won't have all of them on vacations like that much longer.  I have seen my siblings become empty nesters and miss these times together with their kids. So the fact that we had this opportunity for 17 days just makes me happy.

I have also been asked, "Would you do it again?"  My answer is unequivocally YES!   I wouldn't go the same places,  I would want to see new places and have different experiences but I am already in my mind planning where we will go next!  It certainly wasn't perfect, it certainly was crazy, and crowded and messy and  noisy and stressful at times.  My kids got on my last nerve multiple times, but it was totally and completely worth those times to make the memories and stories and fun we had.  As it is right now, my kids are talking about the fun times, not the time in the car, not their brother annoying them or the crowded van.  They remember the good stuff and that was the whole goal of the trip.

We will do certainly an #epicroadtrip (my hashtag on instagram for this trip) again!

Epic road trip 3

Goodbye Nauvoo. We will miss you. We loved Nauvoo, it's such a fun place for families. My kids are throwing rocks in the Mississippi at the end of Parley street (trail of hope)  where the Saints left Nauvoo. 

Hello Nebraska! State #8. We are crossing "Mormon bridge" 

We went to the Winter Quarters visitor's center. 

We have a great heritage on both sides of pioneers. Some crossed with the ill fated Willie handcart company. 

This statue is in the pioneer cemetery where many sacrificed their lives for their beliefs. It is right next to the Winter Quarter's temple. Such a sacred feeling there.

Epic road trip 2

Family, that's what this trip is all about. Our main purpose in driving 3500 miles was to go to a family reunion in Nauvoo with my family. Here are a few photos of family togetherness.

My newest great nephew 2 month old Charlie. Drew loved him and so did I!

Emma loved her girl cousins! They are actually her second cousins, they are my nephews girls.

My Mom and 4 sister. Love these amazing women.

Grandsons after the temple.

My awesome parents. Celebrating 60 years of marriage! Pretty incredible in this day and age!

Epic road trip

I know I said I would blog regularly, but Internet coverage has been spotty at best. So here are a few highlights from Nauvoo. 

We were able to go to the Nauvoo temple with my siblings, spouses and parents and my boys did baptisms. It was incredible. The spirit of that temple is amazing, like none other I've been in. I'm certain it's because of the sacrifices and dedication of the early saints to get the temple built at all costs. 

Love this statue of Joseph and Hyrum

The grandsons (we do believe in equal rights, we did get one of the girls too, I just don't have it on my phone)

Love this picture! I have seen Dave pull a handcart before. I was his "Ma" on pioneer trek many moons ago (that's a future blog post).

My hero, Emma Smith. There's a reason my daughter is named Emma.

Just a few highlights. LOTS more to come.

On the road again

Today we embark on our epic 10 state road trip. The excitement is high, the car is packed to the gills, the movies are ready, the iPad is charged, and the kids have NOOO idea how long they will be in the car. However Mom and Dad do and are trying to be mentally prepared for the inevitable whining and fighting that will ensue. But we are also so excited to make these memories and build relationships. This is THE trip that our family will talk about for years! We will be blogging regularly as we go along. The older boys will help with the blogging as well. This is the journal for our epic road trip.  Nauvoo or bust!

Give me a break

Two weeks ago my 14 year old son gave me a scathing review as a Mom. He told me I have been acting super annoyed with them lately and yelling a lot, he said, "Sometimes you act like you don't want us around." It was not a proud Mom moment because I do greatly enjoy being with my kids and want them to feel that I do.

I had to agree with him, so I started to think of why I have been so easily annoyed. We moved. That says enough right?  Moving is supposedly one of the top ten most stressful life events. We lived in that home for 10 years and moving 7 people and all their stuff isn't easy. 

I also severely broke  my toe 5 days before we moved. I was frustrated and in a lot of pain. I also got really sick the week after we moved and literally didn't sleep for 5 nights because of a horrible cough. 

Stress, pain, no sleep and sickness are not a good combination for a happy, patient Mom. Fortunately in spite of my frustration I had an encouraging thought in my head that said, "You had a bad few weeks, it doesn't mean you're a bad Mom, give yourself a break."  

Now I don't want to use my hardships as an excuse for poor behavior, but I do think that sometimes as Mothers we need to allow ourselves to be human and make mistakes.  We need to not beat ourselves up for a bad moment or week or month. I have apologized to my kids and husband and we are moving on, not perfect but improving.

However,  I also was reminded by this conversation that my behavior is my choice. I can let it be dictated by my circumstances or I can choose to rise above them and be patient and loving. It has to be a very conscious choice because it is much harder to be patient than to blow up and lose it.  However my relationship with my children is extremely important for me to preserve and build up. I also feel strongly that how I behave in difficult circumstances teaches my kids how to react to hardships they will undoubtedly have in their lives. I can choose to find joy in my circumstances or I can let the happiness and joy be sucked from my life due to difficulties.

I was recently inspired by this article by a Mom who made the conscious choice to stop yelling. She admits her personality is fiery and she has a temper, but she says her children do not remember her as a yelling Mom because she chose many years ago to not yell. She admits she isn't perfect but works hard at it. 

So I am working on it. I won't say I'll never yell again but I am making a choice and commitment to improve my behavior and patience and in turn I am certain my children's behavior and patience will improve.

Ordinary day

This is the progress on my toe. The pain has lessened by 80%, the bruising is taking forever to heal. But I am functioning fine with it, thank goodness!

Emma draws pictures all the time. We go through paper like nobody's business. She wanted a picture of me holding this so I could put it on "endstagrand". 

Mud pie making. So dirty, but keeps them entertained for hours.

Scout camp is next week and I think someone is excited. He's already getting his pack ready. 

This guy spent hours on the computer getting his prerequisites done for his merit badges. Those badges don't come easy and both boys are working hard before camp so they can earn those badges. Nathan is close to getting his Eagle!

And Monday is always a big laundry day at our house. I don't get it all complete but try to get the majority knocked out this one day. I really don't mind laundry cycling or even folding it, it's the putting away that is my vice!

This week we get to swim a couple of days, yippee! I can sit in the shallow end  with a waterproof bag on my foot. Thank goodness for good friends with pools!