Traveling with kids

Wow. 14 hours in a car with 4 children. Surprisingly enough, my mom and I and the kids did quite well. I wouldn't have expected it, but I guess that we haven't tried driving that kind of a distance with the kids yet.

But, as far I'm concerned, the keys to surviving this kind of a trip would be:
1. a dvd player with multiple screens...easy viewing for all passengers
2. your entire library of DVDs, borrowing a few DVDs from friends. Watching movie after movie really helped the kids pass the time.
3. DSs and Leapsters...God bless the people who created them.
4. Activity bags that the kids pack for themselves...They picked their favorite books, small toys, and stuffed animals.
5. Snacks a-plenty...We had a good variety, favorites and new stuff.
6. McDonalds...Happy Meals work...new toys, stretching your legs, using the bathroom
7. a GPS system and printed "TRIPTIK" maps from aaa.com...It was nice to have printed maps in our hands, listening to the GPS calmly give directions. If we made a wrong turn, it would quickly recalculate a route for us to get back on track.

Really, we arrived at my sister and brother-in-law's place ready to get out of the car, but completely non-stressed and happy. I do believe I would be up to handling a big trip like this again! And that is really quite something to say give the fact that we just arrived a couple of days ago.

I am finding that I don't post as much when we've been traveling just because it takes some time to settle, and because if I post, I need to borrow a computer. But...it feels good to be back!

We've been having a wonderful time. My sister and her husband just finished some major remodeling, and we've all been enjoying this beautiful space they've created. The kids have been swimming NON-STOP, and I am not even slightly joking about that. OK, they have taken some time to eat and sleep, but other than that, they've been wet. :)

We do have some pictures, and we'll post them as soon as I figure out how to plug my disk into this computer. Henry has even taken quite a few. We gave him our old camera, and he has apparently been bitten by the shutterfly.

Pictures to come!