2000 miles and a basket full of bribes

I agree- 2000 miles in a car with three small kids and eight different hotels/beds sounds a little loco. We are halfway through our adventure and I have to say...best spur of the moment decision ever. I'm sure some of you are curious how this is possible, spur of the moment...I would be! We've been tossing the idea around for quite a while, so we were mentally prepared (and that's important...trust me). A few trips to China took care of unplanned hotel costs...thanks, points! We also have a holiday savings account which goes untouched all year. We allow six months worth of that for vacation and the other six months for Christmas shopping. This extraordinary trip up the east coast and back has costs us a fraction of what a week at the beach cost us last summer. Every minute has been totally worth it and aside from a few minor meltdowns and typical sibling battles, the kids have been amazing travelers.

We had the best time in Charlotte! We got to visit some of our good friends and reconnect with HIGH SCHOOL/college friends which was awesome. Monday, we moved on to Washington D.C. and ended up spending an extra night because it was so fun...and because none of us could bear another five minutes of interstate. We did more than we planned on in DC (our kids are rockstars)...the capital, the white house, played on the mall, Lincoln memorial, Thomas Jefferson, one of the Smithsonians (MC needed to get the hope diamond and Ford needed to see the dinos).

1000 miles down and 1000 to go...we're thankful for XM radio, a really long, really comfortable Yukon XL and my special basket full of bribes (chocolate, crackers, juice, toys, etc...) More later!

The Queen City

Blogging from my phone tonight, so please forgive all my errors in advance! Day two of our massive undertaking (or road-trip) has been, well...I'm hoping it's kind of like a cleanse. Day one is exciting and perfect and easy...day two is horrible and you get a sick headache and you want to quit and eat a pound of chocolate...etc. Eventually, things even out and the outcome is glorious. Yes? I'm crossing my fingers!

We made it to Charlotte, NC late last night and crashed into bed. It would've been cool to have taken a group picture in front is the 'welcome to SC and NC' signs...but "ain't nobody got time for that!"

Mac had to work today with his Lowe's crew, so the kiddos and I got to play all day with our dear friends (check out Terri's awesome hand lettering over at her Etsy Shop, Scribbles and Such)! They recently moved up here and though we miss them in Columbus, we're stoked to have people to see when we're in town!

Terri and I took the kids (all 2 million of them) to lunch at Pike's Old Fashioned Soda Shop in South End. If you haven't been here, it's a great little area of Charlotte with good restaurants and cute shops.  I'm not sure who was more worn out by the time we left...the kids, the moms, or the poor people sitting around us (oops).

Magically, everyone went to bed as soon as we got home. Later, our family headed to the hotel for a bit then enjoyed a great, relaxed dinner outside at Chuy's. Live music, guac, and beautiful weather...I'll take that anyday!  After dinner, the kids thought it'd be a fun idea to dunk themselves in a huge fountain before we could get to them. As if that wasn't adventurous enough, Ford pulled the fire alarm in the hotel elevator. Good times on day two!  Night y'all!