Road Trip Tips from a Semi-pro.

We have completed our share of road trips. Many, many short ones (1-5 hours) and several LONG ONES. Our most recent trip from Dallas to Denver took us right around 13 1/2 hours. It was smooth as silk. Partly because of luck (we didn't get so lucky a few months ago making the opposite trip) and partly because we really are getting "that good". So there it is, I'm a self declared road trip expert - for whatever that's worth...

Here's our route. Right around 14 hours. 

And here's us!!! 

The biggest mistake we made this time didn't appear until the day after our little trip. I'll just say this...we pumped Braden full of juice boxes ALL DAY and it was a digestive nightmare.

I have some road trip necessities. I put these in a small makeup bag in my purse because it's remarkable how "gross" being in a car all day can make you feel.

• Gum
• Chapstick
• Hairbrush

They really end up being lifesavers when the "I'm hideous" feeling sets in. Brian and I have a few other necessities.

• Sunflower seeds (empty cups for seeds)
• Bottled water (who wants to pay $2 at a convenient store?)
• 5 Hour Energy (I get groggy in the car which is scary and dangerous)

And here are a couple of practical things I've learned.

• Take empty grocery sacks for garbage. I stick them in the jockey box and pull one out at a time for garbage. When we stop for gas, I toss it and get out another empty sack. I cannot stand garbage rolling around the car...it just increases the "gross" factor of being in there all day. 
• Another jockey box necessity - a roll of toilet paper. There are some L-O-N-G stretches of nothingness our there on the open road. Try not to die thinking this is disgusting (it pretty much is), but we've also mastered a great method for peeing on the side of the road when there aren't places to hide from passing cars :) You pull off, put your hazards on, one of you pretends to be doing something on the car (don't put the hood up or anything - you wouldn't want any good Samaritans stopping for the show - Brian likes to inspect the luggage rack) and the other one of you opens both doors on the passenger side and takes care of business between them. That's when the toilet paper comes in handy. For the females anyway. Disgusting, yes. BUT, at a certain point of full bladder discomfort and millions of miles until the next town, you happily revert to primitive ways.

For kiddos (toddlers) we've definitely learned some things to do and some things not to do. We pack a little duffel for Braden's stuff. I used to pack the thing to the brim....with puzzles, coloring books/crayons, toys, treats....on and on. The problem is that a bag full of crap ends up being more of a hassle than a help. Now I pack a few small toys that he's interested in at the time. And absolutely NOTHING with pieces....because I don't like to spend the day as a human dart board. We don't give him anything until we have to. We don't like to play our cards too early because if you run out, heaven help you. And we do pack some snacks in individual zip locks just to make it easy. I learned the hard way not to give a toddler a granola bar with chocolate chips in it. And when times get really tough...we pull out the TV. On this drive he watched less than an hour of TV, which I LOVE.

Early on...B is loving our trip.

A little later...stir crazy.

Most of the time we eat while driving, but because it was such a long drive we decided to stop for dinner. We picked a Burger King (because it was the only thing off the exit). From a food standpoint it was the mistake we expected it to be, but there was an indoor playground and it was really nice to let B get some energy out.

Other than that, we try not to be in a HUGE hurry. I mean, we have tried that and it's landed us with some pretty hefty fines and simultaneously slowed us down drastically. The irony, haha. We actually feel like the trips go more quickly when we're not on a "time crunch" and they are just more enjoyable when they are an adventure and not just about reaching a destination. I used to get such bad anxiety leading up to these trips, but now I quite like them. Happy travels!

Farewell Dallas, Hello Mile High City.

There were some things we really enjoyed about being in Texas this summer. We met some great people in the sales office. We got to hang out with Brian's cousin, Adam, who is on anyone's scale one of the most awesome humans in existence (probably of all time), we loved the ward - true southern hospitality, some of us really loved the heat (the ones of us playing at the swimming pool, not the ones of us knocking doors), and we loved our apartment and the AWESOME jogging trails that went for miles around it.

TEXAS

 The beautiful view from our apartment complex.

B's new Super Why! undies.

We went to lunch at Chilis and B napped the entire time...

it actually felt like Brian and I were on a date!

Date night with my hot hubby at a Mexican Grill that we really liked.

Love this cheeser.

"The train is coming!" B loves trains so Brian would take 

him out to the train stop in the morning (hence the pajamas) 

and let him watch the trains come and go.

B sporting a Vivint hat.

My little monkey climbing the fridge.

His dad got him this ice cream sunday...

you can tell because it has every topping available on it :)

Story time!! 

Doing chores. He loves to vacuum.

Playing in the hot tub. He always puts diving rings on his head and everyone else's.

Baby in a basket.

My Mother's Day haul. Brian has learned that the best gift he can give me is money. 

Then I get 2 presents - shopping & stuff!!!

Playing in the courtyard.

Taking a break in the sandpit at the PGA Golf Superstore. 

This was one of Bri and B's favorite places to go in Texas.

Just relaxing.

Unfortunately, being in Texas just wasn't perfect for us. We got to a point where we didn't just think a change of pace would be good for us, but where we felt like it was necessary. At that point, Brian and I decided we would move to Denver for the second half of the summer before heading home in a couple of months. 

Moving out to these places across the country for the summer can be tough. There is a lot of thought, work, and money that goes into the process. We buy a lot of things that we need once we get to our destination. A LOT. Off the top of my head - all cleaning supplies, many kitchen items (pots, pans, dishes, kitchen gadgets), laundry soap, bathroom products and food. On the first trip to the grocery store I fill my cart with flour, sugar, butter, salt & pepper, seasonings & condiments. Then I get home and realize that we have nothing to eat :) Then I make another trip to the grocery store and fill my cart with eggs, milk, lunch meat, cereal, produce, and a million other things. So, leaving one place in the middle of the summer and moving to another unexpectedly is a huge challenge. We arrived in Texas with a car that was literally packed from top to bottom and side to side. When we left Texas to come to Denver I actually thought the car might burst because it was so full :) I tried to bring everything that I could, but in the end we determined that bringing food was simply not worth the hassle. Our Texas friends hit the mother load on free food. Their food budget will be untouched this month. Ours on the other hand took quite the hit. Those little frustrations (like spending money on food that we will never eat) can really get to me, but the longer we do this job, the easier it becomes for me to shrug it off. I have learned some real life lessons about not stressing over things that 1) really don't matter in the long run, and 2) that you can't do anything about.

So, pack up the car we did. Before we hit the road we decided to catch a Rangers game. They were playing the Twins so we didn't really know who to root for (we lived in Minneapolis a few summers ago). We just love baseball games. After the game they did a HUGE firework show. It was unreal. It was better than every firework show that I've ever seen combined and times two. Braden loved it almost as much as the way too big blue icee that we let him dominate during the game. It was a great family night. I will never be able to say it enough, but I sure do love my boys and every minute I get to spend with them.

PACKING (w/ the help of Braden)

RANGERS GAME

 So excited for the game to start!

The blue ICEE! 

By about the 7th inning B was getting a little bored

 so he started looking at a magazine...

...Then B decided to share what he was reading with his new 

friend while we unknowingly posed for a picture. He is so friendly.

It really was bittersweet to leave Dallas. We don't love all of Texas (by any stretch of the imagination), but Dallas itself is a city that we really enjoy. It's on our list of places that we wouldn't mind living. We were really excited to get to Denver though. Closer to home, an office with lots of wives and little boys, and on the top of my list - my brother and his family live here. It's a great place. And I didn't know this at the time, but there is a CAFE RIO here!!!!! It was definitely a good move for us. The road trip went well. It was actually fun. 

When we got to Denver it was pretty late in the evening. Brian and I have pretty intense personalities when it comes to cleaning places and unpacking. Unfortunately we had to move into an apartment where some of the single guys had been living and it took some real effort to get it up to our standards. The first night we were here we got less than four hours of sleep. Braden barely got more than that even though we started in his room and got him to bed as quickly as we could. A few years ago I would have had a meltdown over the condition of the apartment, especially at the end of a traveling day, but we've been doing this job for a long time and sometimes these types of things are part of it. Also, the move in the middle of the summer was by choice. We knew what we were stepping into and I had mentally prepared myself for the worst. The apartment is shiny and clean now. We even got the carpets shampooed - FOR FREE!!! We went to the leasing office to find out who they used for carpet cleaning and they gave us the name of a company. A little while later we walked back past the office and the manager who had been on the phone said, "Are you the couple that asked about carpet cleaning?" So we said yes and he offered us a gift certificate for FREE carpet cleaning if we would like the apartment complex on Facebook. Save $100? YES PLEASE!!! Made my day - made my week actually. 

So here we are. Our apartment is clean. We are moved in. We have food in the fridge. I've been to Denver several times, but never to this area (the south) and I must say...I love it here. Our location is beyond ideal for shopping. Within 5 minutes (and I do not exaggerate) we have Super Target, Costco, IKEA, Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, Ross, a large shopping mall. It's shopping paradise. And bonus - I do not have to worry about space for the trip home because my parents are coming out to pick up Braden and I. My only real complaint with being here is the altitude which wouldn't matter the least bit except I've gotten very used to running in Dallas and it's almost at sea level. Lets just say that I thought I was closer to running my half marathon than I actually am. Lucky for Brian, he doesn't seem to mind the change in altitude. That man could probably run for 24 hours strait in any conditions. I'm definitely going to have to work harder here, but I'll be better prepared that way, so I suppose that's good. I've been having some knee pain for a month or so and it's just not going away so I've given in and I'm seeing a doctor next week. Hopefully I will get some good news so I can move forward with my training schedule.

A Texan Fourth of July

Brian had to work all day on the 4th, but I took B to the parade. He loved it. 
Especially after he got a flag and a sucker.

B with "Abam" or Adam as we call him. Adam is Brian's cousin and B-dawg just loves him. 

Waiting for fireworks!! 

Waving their flags

The whole family...B is yelling the colors of the fireworks as we snapped this picture :)

I'm truly grateful to live in this country and for the freedoms I enjoy every single day. And because 'freedom isn't free', I'm very thankful for those that fight for my freedom. 

Happy Independence Day!