Random Things

We drove about 175 miles tonight...so roughly 12% of our total mileage. Umm...we have a ways to go ;)

We passed by a couple of things that made me laugh.

First, just before you reach the Alabama state line from Florida there is a sign that reads something along the lines of "FL highest point. 345ft elevation" LOL! 345ft...I knew it was there because I saw it last year when we made this trip so I had my camera phone ready. Turns out that I am not that skilled at taking pictures on my camera phone while driving.

I called my sister-in-law in Monument, CO, to let her know that I was at the highest point in the state of Florida. She laughed...I thought it was funny.

We also passed the "World's Largest Peanut Boil". As exciting as that sounds, we found it easy to just drive on past without stopping. I saw so many signs for boiled peanuts. I don't think I have ever had boiled peanuts. Strange to me.

We might have more interesting stops tomorrow and I am charging the camera right now so hopefully we can take a few pictures. We'll be driving through Nashville and St Louis tomorrow.

Good times!

Wow...it's amazing how much stuff you need to take on a trip. Whew! I got most of our stuff packed up in the van this afternoon. I found the source of a mysterious odor. That was fun. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to completely rid the van of the nastiness, but hopefully I will be able to shampoo the carpet tomorrow morning. Chocolate milk left in a cup that leaks a bit is never good...

The kids and I plan on leaving here after I pick Katie up from day care tomorrow. We are only driving a short distance tomorrow night, but it will break up the trip.

It's supposed to be HOT. Very, very hot.

I have to put a few more podcasts on the iPod before we leave so that I can listen to those while the kids watch movies. I have found that it is hard to listen to music while their movies are on. And if any of you have been in a vehicle with me while talk radio is on, you know I can't stand it. These podcasts are certainly different than talk radio so I hope I don't have the same reaction as I do to talk radio.

Lots of little stuff to pack in the morning.
Need to run the dishwasher so we don't have milk cups sitting around for 2 weeks. Yuck.
A few small loads of laundry.
Pick up the kids rooms.
Filled up with gas today so we should be good there.
Need to grab some ice and load up the cooler with water, juice, a few sodas, cheese, yogurt and a few other snacks.
Can't forget the trail mix. :-)
Brian still needs to pack his bag so I can bring it with me - this should create less time in the airport next Friday.
Brian is uploading the maps to the GPS - thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, if only I knew how to use it....
1353 miles to drive according to mapquest.
New tires, oil changed.
Lots of movies...
Disposable milk cups are a MUST

Please pray for safe travels. This is a really long drive to do without Brian. I have made long drives before with just Katie, but this is REAAALLLLY long. Thank goodness we won't have to drive through snow!

If you have my cell phone #, please call me while I am driving. I might need some adult conversation while I am driving (hands free of course). If you don't have it and want it, send me an email and I'll get it to you.

I'll be sure to post things as we go along. I think both motels I am staying at have high speed wireless available (I don't know of any these days that don't have it).

Kasey took a few tumbles yesterday...he must be one tough kid!

I put him down for his afternoon nap yesterday and was on the phone with my manager for our one on one call to discuss all sorts of things - development plans, issues with accounts, general questions, etc. And then I heard a really loud BOOM!!! come out of Kasey's room. That was followed by a second or two of silence...and then screaming.

Uh oh.

I was like "I'm going to have to call you back!"

I ran into Kasey's room and there he was at his door. He climbed out of his crib and fell on the floor. Oh man! He was so freaked out and had a bit of a fat lip as a result. It took me a good 5 minutes to calm him down. The poor little guy. He looked so scared.

Well I had him calmed down and let him down and he was playing with Dash. And a few minutes later I heard some BANG Bounce BANG and then screaming. He fell down the stairs!! I thought the gate was locked at the top, but apparently not! (It turns out the gate is not working properly so we are going to have to replace it.) If we had carpeted steps I might not have been as worried, but the hard wood seems a little less forgiving. He must have hit his face again because there was just a teeny tiny little spot of blood near the gumline on one of his top two middle teeth.

Oh man! I felt terrible! First he climbed out of his crib and fell on the floor and then he fell down the steps!

We decided to go ahead and buy him a toddler bed so he can start getting used to that. He likes to play on it and pretend to sleep, but if you leave him in his room with the door closed, he freaks out. So I am going to have to keep a close eye on him in his crib for a while. I do NOT want him to fall again!