Road Trip...The End

Last Day On The Road!!!

I took this picture right before we hopped in for our last, LONG day on the road. We had a rough start because Eden couldn't find her glasses. After a prayer she found them sandwiched between her seat and the side of the car...and they weren't broken. A Miracle for sure!

We only had to drive through a little bit of Pennsylvania, it was short and sweet and pretty.

Once in New York I new this was going to be a long state to get through. We tried to find things to distract ourselves, we saw and Eden sign that we had to take a picture of.

We were still on the look out for old farms...notice how gross my windshield is?! I did clean it twice before but you sure couldn't tell...

This is what New York looks like...green and pretty. C had to pee really bad and there was no place or time to stop so we had to pull over. Notice that there wasn't much room on either side of the road...it was tricky but we did it.

Thank You Massachusetts!!! We still had a few hours to go but we were so close it felt so good to be almost done...that last 45 minutes was a killer!

Now this was the sign we had been waiting for...it's blurry and dark but it made me cry when I saw it so I had to take a picture...

Aric was waiting for us with a home cooked meal. This next picture is so precious, Camden literally flew out of the car to get into Aric's arms...

There was not a happier people on the planet at this moment than the five of us. After six long weeks, that included 6 days on the road (13 states and 3000 some miles), we were finally together again.

Here are some things that happened on the road that I don't want to forget...

My ipod died and I left my charger in North Dakota so we had to listen to a ton of radio and a CD that Maya's friend made for her so these were some of the songs that kept us going. We would sing them at the top of our lungs...

Somebody that I used to know - Gotye

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus

Payphone - Maroon 5

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men

Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heros

We Are Young - Fun

Give Your Heart a Break - Demi Levato

What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction

I can hardly listen to the first couple bars of any of these songs now but I needed something to get me through those many miles.

I hate fast food so being on the road was going to be torture. I was proud of us because we only ate at McDonalds once. We hit Arby's and Wendy's twice, Taco Bell once and Subway a few times. We packed food and tried to eat as healthy as possible. No one got car sick and I am so SO grateful for that!

I loved looking in the rear view mirror at Eden singing. I still can't believe she didn't watch a single movie the whole time. Camden was the only one who watched anything and he only watched three movies! 

The girls left notes at every hotel thanking the maid service.

I loved looking at Maya just staring out the window. I wondered what she was thinking. I wanted to ask a few times but decided to let her be alone in her thoughts. We were all processing a lot and it was hard to have a real conversation with C asking for something every two minutes. I feel like I watched Maya grow up right before my eyes on this road trip.

Overall the trip I had been dreading wasn't that bad at all. Some days were better than others but I didn't even raise my voice once. The kids were absolutely AMAZING. I never felt scared. Even though it was long I think it was what we all needed to emotionally process what we were going through. I am so glad it's over but I am also so grateful for the experiences that we had, and the miracles that happened that brought us safely back together again.