This year's reunion was so much fun! When we found out from Grandma and Grandpa that we were going to be going on the jet boats everyone was so excited--especially because at the time we were in the middle of winter and dreams of summer fun were just what we needed! The plan was to drive down to Winston, OR and go through the Wildlife Safari then head over to Gold Beach, OR for a weekend of fun. On the way down we decided to make a detour in Eugene, OR to show the kids where I went to school and lived my freshman year of college. Unfortunately, that turned into a pointless detour since they were holding the track olympic trials that weekend so the whole U of O campus was pretty much blocked off:( Oh well, it was worth a try!
The worst part of the whole trip was the moment that we were ready to pull out of the parking lot to go home and nobody knew where the car keys were. Everyone had seen somebody different with them last. We spent about 30 min. tearing apart the van, the hotel room, praying, freaking out (me), and desperately trying to find those darn keys! In the end my grandpa found them in the bottom of a random bag of empty water bottles that had been taken to the car earlier in the morning. I know the only logical way those keys could have ended up in the bag, but since "nobody" put the keys in the bag I am led to believe that either I put them there or the keys grew some appendages and put themselves there. Funny how that works, isn't it? In the end it was just a miracle, that I was definitely grateful for, that the keys were found and we were on our way!
I think on our way home the kids were a little sick of being in the car...although with stopping every 30-45 minutes for something it's not like we were in the car for any really long stretches of time. Reagan discovered that saying she had to go potty meant that we would pull over somewhere to take her to the bathroom. It was really frustrating, but we definitely didn't want to have her pee in the car seat! And for some reason everyone never seemed to need to go to the bathroom at the same times. I'm thinking on the next road trip pull-ups for everyone under the age of 13 in the car....maybe we will actually make some decent time;) Reagan got really angry at one point because we wouldn't pull over for her to fake go potty. I ended up giving her the gps to play with for a while--she thought it was pretty cool.
Andrew, ever the optimist, tried to keep a positive spirit about the whole road trip.
The worst part of the whole trip was the moment that we were ready to pull out of the parking lot to go home and nobody knew where the car keys were. Everyone had seen somebody different with them last. We spent about 30 min. tearing apart the van, the hotel room, praying, freaking out (me), and desperately trying to find those darn keys! In the end my grandpa found them in the bottom of a random bag of empty water bottles that had been taken to the car earlier in the morning. I know the only logical way those keys could have ended up in the bag, but since "nobody" put the keys in the bag I am led to believe that either I put them there or the keys grew some appendages and put themselves there. Funny how that works, isn't it? In the end it was just a miracle, that I was definitely grateful for, that the keys were found and we were on our way!
I think on our way home the kids were a little sick of being in the car...although with stopping every 30-45 minutes for something it's not like we were in the car for any really long stretches of time. Reagan discovered that saying she had to go potty meant that we would pull over somewhere to take her to the bathroom. It was really frustrating, but we definitely didn't want to have her pee in the car seat! And for some reason everyone never seemed to need to go to the bathroom at the same times. I'm thinking on the next road trip pull-ups for everyone under the age of 13 in the car....maybe we will actually make some decent time;) Reagan got really angry at one point because we wouldn't pull over for her to fake go potty. I ended up giving her the gps to play with for a while--she thought it was pretty cool.
Andrew, ever the optimist, tried to keep a positive spirit about the whole road trip.
At one point I gave Jonathan a coloring book and some crayons...he used his face instead of the book.
I tried a road trip tip I found on pinterest and each of the kids had a clothespin on the visor. If they were acting up/fighting/not listening...you get the idea, then their pin came down. Every so often I would pull out a bag of treats/surprises and everyone with a pin up would get to participate. Then we would start over. The kids loved it! I found that it was pretty easy to get my point across since I didn't have to yell for a response I just had to reach up and take the pin down. It's amazing how motivating it can be to behave when everyone around you is getting some candy and you have to watch them eat it. Reagan loved the chocolate:
About 2 hours from home Reagan finally fell asleep--holding onto some ear phones and Uncle Noah's finger. So precious!
Although there were a couple of low points, there were far more highs and this was one of the funnest family reunions ever. Thank you mom and dad for making this memorable experience possible--we love you!
1 comments:
Aw, what a sweet picture with her uncle's finger. I like the idea of the pins on the visors! Great idea.
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