In part one, the Thanksgiving Road Trip to Arizona, went fantastically well. The kids all packed their stuff and car activities. Many Rainbow Loom bracelets were made and some new weaving techniques were discovered:
That is what happens when a crafty kid has many hours to fill in a car. HA!
We all arrived in Arizona to my parents’ house, all happy to have arrived. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and then we’re off – again.
We broke up the return trip by staying at my cousin’s house in San Dimas, on Friday night. We had a fun night of conversation, ping-pong, twister and kids poker (they all learned how to play).
The next day we were off super early in the am. About an hour into the ride back Georgia – age 11, said she was not feeling well. We opened more windows, gave her water, etc. To no avail, she finally barfed unexpectedly and into her comfy blanket too! UGH! But not only did she barf, her sister Piper, freaked out, started to scream and pushed Georgia (while barfing into her little brother).
Awesome!
Apparently I forgot to teach that one compassion. We pulled over, cleaned and washed up (as best we could). We rearranged seats to get Georgia to a middle row seat, on her own this time. Phew! On the road again . . . Sing it Willie!
I think maybe an hour went by and Georgia was feeling unwell again. I said, “open your window and breath”. She took that as “open the window and barf into the wind”. The next second I heard absolute horror as Piper and Freddy started to howl, “she barfed in our faces.”
In fact, when she barfed out the window, it all came back in to the very back seat right into their faces and mouths! I seriously could not believe it. I started to laugh, because I guess this is what happens when we are so overwhelmed by something that our emotions go haywire! I then cried, as I was so bummed for the kids in the back and felt totally helpless. The back row kids were in total meltdown at this point and my husband could not get to the side of the road fast enough, in fact, there was no place to pull over (of course). Then my son Freddy (recent barfee) had to barf too, and climbed over Georgia and put his head out the window. I was pretty sure his barf came back in too, but I checked out for a few seconds, so who knew. For a few minutes the car was in total crisis! I alternated between laughing and crying and of course we had no paper towels or wet wipes.
We finally pulled over and everyone piled out. We found shirts to wipe down. I unloaded their bags and helped them change at the Vista Point, not even a Rest Stop. The two in the back were furious at their sister for the major and unjust event. She was crying and the other two just wanted to get clean. At this point, I had been trying to figure out if I could live with out the 2 blankets and clothes that were at the time a stinky mess. There was no trash nearby to deposit them. So back in the car they went.
Amazingly enough we still had 2 hours to go. I think the longest 2 hours of our lives. Georgia barfed again, but this time we had found a bag, which she was keeping on her lap.
Georgia slept the rest of the day and evening. I guess it was not motion sickness after all, but it dawned on me that maybe now the rest of the kids will get sick too =( Quite honestly I cannot imagine that they can escape it now. Super duper =)
I suppose all was not lost, later that day, we still made it to my friends birthday party and then to my sons basketball game. Now, it is all just a very bad memory that I hope never to live again!
Here are my wise words to live by for traveling with kids:
“Don’t ever forget to bring paper towels or wet wipes!”
And the kids all say,
“We are staying home for Christmas!!!!!!”
Have you had any *cough* bad experience *cough* during your road trip / travel lately? If so, what are your take aways? Do share in the comment below~
In part one, the Thanksgiving Road Trip to Arizona, went fantastically well. The kids all packed their stuff and car activities. Many Rainbow Loom bracelets were made and some new weaving techniques were discovered:
That is what happens when a crafty kid has many hours to fill in a car. HA!
We all arrived in Arizona to my parents’ house, all happy to have arrived. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and then we’re off – again.
We broke up the return trip by staying at my cousin’s house in San Dimas, on Friday night. We had a fun night of conversation, ping-pong, twister and kids poker (they all learned how to play).
The next day we were off super early in the am. About an hour into the ride back Georgia – age 11, said she was not feeling well. We opened more windows, gave her water, etc. To no avail, she finally barfed unexpectedly and into her comfy blanket too! UGH! But not only did she barf, her sister Piper, freaked out, started to scream and pushed Georgia (while barfing into her little brother).
Awesome!
Apparently I forgot to teach that one compassion. We pulled over, cleaned and washed up (as best we could). We rearranged seats to get Georgia to a middle row seat, on her own this time. Phew! On the road again . . . Sing it Willie!
I think maybe an hour went by and Georgia was feeling unwell again. I said, “open your window and breath”. She took that as “open the window and barf into the wind”. The next second I heard absolute horror as Piper and Freddy started to howl, “she barfed in our faces.”
In fact, when she barfed out the window, it all came back in to the very back seat right into their faces and mouths! I seriously could not believe it. I started to laugh, because I guess this is what happens when we are so overwhelmed by something that our emotions go haywire! I then cried, as I was so bummed for the kids in the back and felt totally helpless. The back row kids were in total meltdown at this point and my husband could not get to the side of the road fast enough, in fact, there was no place to pull over (of course). Then my son Freddy (recent barfee) had to barf too, and climbed over Georgia and put his head out the window. I was pretty sure his barf came back in too, but I checked out for a few seconds, so who knew. For a few minutes the car was in total crisis! I alternated between laughing and crying and of course we had no paper towels or wet wipes.
We finally pulled over and everyone piled out. We found shirts to wipe down. I unloaded their bags and helped them change at the Vista Point, not even a Rest Stop. The two in the back were furious at their sister for the major and unjust event. She was crying and the other two just wanted to get clean. At this point, I had been trying to figure out if I could live with out the 2 blankets and clothes that were at the time a stinky mess. There was no trash nearby to deposit them. So back in the car they went.
Amazingly enough we still had 2 hours to go. I think the longest 2 hours of our lives. Georgia barfed again, but this time we had found a bag, which she was keeping on her lap.
Georgia slept the rest of the day and evening. I guess it was not motion sickness after all, but it dawned on me that maybe now the rest of the kids will get sick too =( Quite honestly I cannot imagine that they can escape it now. Super duper =)
I suppose all was not lost, later that day, we still made it to my friends birthday party and then to my sons basketball game. Now, it is all just a very bad memory that I hope never to live again!
Here are my wise words to live by for traveling with kids: