The boys and I headed out on a road trip adventure up the 101 to visit my best friends from college and their families in Healdsburg last week. I've found that the more time I spend at home and running around town with the kids and going about our daily routine, the more reluctant I am to stretch myself a little and do something different. It's also been a long time since I've traveled without Jared, and I started feeling like I needed to challenge myself a little bit. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to spend time with friends and to shake things up a bit. The boys were pretty darn good, with a few low points here and there, but nothing much more than what we experience at home in a given week. The driving days were actually surprisingly easy, and I accomplished staying at a hotel alone (with the kiddos) for the first time :) We spent the night at a hotel in San Luis Obispo on the way up and back and spent two and a half days at a virtual Disneyland of fun and happy times. Thank you to the Morks and Moores for a wonderful and crazy fun visit!! I think the boys would have exploded if they had too much more fun...it was definitely an idyllic summer camp experience that we will hopefully repeat every year :)
Watching cartoons at the hotel on our night on the road heading North...a treat to unwind after our first five hours in the car.
Ready to hit the road for Healdsburg the next morning; they both packed their own backpacks with toys for the trip--Levi's was insanely heavy ;)
Picking up brochures at the hotel for entertainment in the car--Parker decided that he has started a "brochure collection," among his many, many other collections...he would spell the words to me as we drove and I would tell them what they said.
Parker documenting the trip with his camera (which I very sadly lost on our last day there...)
Parker really wanted to help wash the windshield whenever we stopped for gas...unfortunately, he could only reach a few inches of it on either side!
Truck-stop lunch...it served its purpose...
Levi fishing for already-been-thrown pennies in the fountain at the Healdsburg Plaza
Kids! Between the three of us, Mel, Em, and I have produced seven children...from Left to Right: Levi, Parker, Alice, Ella, Owen, Josie, and Chiara. Cuties!
Reunion :)
Fast friends...more like family...
Bubble Mania!!!
Serious bubble craziness...
Baby Alice with her bubble beard
Chiara and Parker
Parker and Levi got their first water balloon launching experience...they both LOVED it! The Morks have a serious launcher set up to shoot balloons out into their lake.
Preparing to launch
Levi loved throwing his balloons into the plants, and then graduated to loading his balloon into the launcher while I shot it into the lake.
Parker interviewing Josie for what will sadly be his "lost" documentary...
At the Sonoma County Fair...Josie and Parker heading hand-in-hand into the Fun House. Too cute. They are such sweet friends.
Parker and Levi learning how to milk a cow...
I see a bright future for him on the farm...
Child of the Corn
They had the best petting zoo ever!
Parker and Josie on the trampoline
Zonked!
A lot of people asked me how on earth Parker and Levi entertained themselves in the car on the drive up there...here's Parker (and his dirty feet mere inches from my face) drawing the road signs that he saw along the way...
And here he is educating himself on Paint Ball wars...
And here's Levi ever-so-briefly entertaining himself with a book...both boys did amazingly well in the car! I did have to tickle a lot of toes, though...
