For anyone who has road tripped with small children for any number of miles…. I would like to officially congratulate you on A.) Making your destination, and B.) Keeping your Sanity. There is a certain type of “decision making” that can be classified in the “Crazy” file…in cases like this…and that is, deciding to DRIVE, rather than FLY.Us Maxwells embarked on quite the journey this last week as we traveled roughly 1,676.96 miles to Vegas, Arizona and back with our almost 2 and 5 year old kids. This might not seem like alot to some people…road tripping is like an idyllic family vacation right????? Its what dreams are made of!!!! I have a hard time entertaining our kids driving 50 miles to San Francisco, I don’t know HOW I thought we would manage crossing 2 states.
We left last Tuesday morning at 4am..so the kids could sleep for a majority of the 8-9 hour drive to Las Vegas..We were going for the annual WPPI photography trade show, and to visit my dad before we had a wedding to shoot in Arizona. It was originally just going to be me flying out to Arizona for the wedding, but we thought we would make a family vacation of it, save some money, visit some family…and enjoy the countless hours of family bonding. Jason and I have done the “Drive” to Las Vegas mannnnnnnnnnnny times. He lived in Vegas the whole time we were engaged, so we drove to or from Vegas at least once every other month to see each other. Not to mention the countless times we did it while we lived there for a year and a half. Its a tiresome, yet bonding experience that we came to love and tolerate …but it is exhausting… and every time we do it, we say its our “last time” driving…but because we are crazy and frugal we still drive it…almost every time. Anytime you leave to go anywhere with kids, you pretty much have to pack your life up in your car..there has to be enough snacks, entertainment, kid songs, and not to mention an unlimited supply of patience to make it from point A to point B. Jason is a rockstar and ALWAYS drives while the rest of us sleep, play with toys, and for me, play on my phone, or in this case, make accessories. I literally had no foot room on this trip because I managed to fit: 3 tupperware boxes of a broches and jewelry supplies, 2 Anthro bags of fabric, one purse, diaper bag, daytimer, and 2 vitamin waters..all on my lap or beneath my feet. I have a ton of accessories to make for our new little business venture, and figured I might as well be doing something productive to keep myself awake during a majority of the drive..and force myself to “sew” rather than just hot glue..:) I could literally write a NOVEL about our trip, but no one wants to read that so I will give you a few bullet points (i.e-rambling) of our week. Any teachers out there..I know I am never grammatically correct. I write how I think..try to refrain from busting out your red pen on me:)
-My daughter Kyla probably asked the phrase “Are we there yet” over a million times..in every language, and every voice decibel possible. She wanted to know our progress in miles, hours, and minutes..between every stop.She would even ask me, and then a second later re-phrase the question to daddy….this is where I would find myself taking deep breaths and reminding myself that patience is a virtue.
-The greatest thing about road trips is going into restaurants in your pajamas. If you stop in Bakersfield at Cocos..it is highly unlikely you are going to be running into anyone you know. We were totally that family in the corner booth… head to toe pajamas. This is funny and cute when you are a high school girl during spirit week or after a sleepover. When you are a grown adult, it just looks creepy…and lazy. Although our kids and obvious bed head were sure “Tell all Signs” of road-trippers-passing- through..I still felt the need to put a disclaimer sign on my forehead to make myself feel better. Kinda like when Prego girls want to wear shirts that say “Pregnant, not Fat”. We just want to get the story straight.
-Vegas is home of the greatest sandwich in the world. There ..I said it. Restaurant-Capriotties. Sandwich-The “BOBBY”. 20 inches of everyday Thanksgiving glory. Ingredients-turkey, cranberry, stuffing, mayo. DO NOT EAT IF- a.) you are wearing your skinny jeans b.) on your way to try on clothes c.) planning on eating anytime in the next 3 days. Its a belly buster and will make your thankful they only have this shop in a few states, because this sandwich is seriously addicting and will rock your world. (And no-I don’t eat the whole thing myself..Jason and I split it..C’mon now! Not to say I don’t want to eat it myself:)
-Vegas is home to my sweet daddy and punk rock adorable 8th grade brother. They are worth every second of our drive..to even see them for a single moment…
-WPPI- An inspiring and crazy trade show that makes you feel so small in a sea of photographers..really pushes you to want to find your “voice” and create your “brand” in this huge market. It also reminds me of why I don’t do indoor studio pictures…I’m not sure what types of pictures I could do with a waterfall backdrop and stuffed rabbit props. Something about that is. just.not.natural.
-Kids+smokey casinos= relapse in the winter cough.
-Hotels are like Disneyland for my kids. One day we literally stayed in our hotel in Vegas for 6 hours before they went to bed. They had no toys, no cartoons..they were perfectly content jumping on the beds, playing in the closets, snuggling with us, eating pistachios and cheez- its on the beds. They just LOVE family time. If nothing else..one thing Jason and I have done well so far..is make our kids the affectionate little things they are, to embrace simplicity..and just enjoy being together. We didnt really do too much in Vegas during our few days there..a few meals with my sweet dad..but for the most time..we just burrowed in our room! Let someone else clean up for a change!
-Arizona-Stayed with my darling cousin Jazzy..whom I LOVE with all my heart. We photographed her friend Crystals wedding in a quaint little place in Mesa called “Lavender and Old Lace”…our first REAL out of state wedding..first of one of 3 for this year!
-While driving across the Hoover Dam at 2am back to Vegas..stargazing, going in and out of sleep, listening to my sweet babies snore, I decided that OFFICIALLY..the best music to listen to while road tripping is: The Avett Brothers, Dashboard Confessional, and the Shins. You just can’t go wrong. I was also thankful that it dark and the middle of the night, so Jason couldnt see that I was pretending I was singing in a music video….. Dont pretend that you dont do that. You know you do.
-We thought we could do the drive from AZ to San Jose all in one night after shooting our wedding on Saturday. We thought we would switch off sleeping and driving and try to do the whole trip while the kids were asleep. I know..what were we thinking????? We made it to our friends house in Vegas by 3 am in the morning to pick up our dog Zooey..( they watched her ALL week)..we ended up totally crashing on their couches and sleeping til 7..because we were total zombies. We got up…had one last breakfast with my daddy, (partial pajamas), and made the 8 hour trek back to San Jo…After stocking up on Starbucks, gas, inevitable fast food, and a Light Brite and Mr. Potato Head from Target, we set out on what seemed to be..the last drive home from Vegas….for now at least:) We counted cows,talked about every type of animal known to man with the kids, answered a million and one of Kylas questions about life,watched Hayden spill his juice down his neck for the tenth time, and we all complained about how our bodies ached & we were so uncomfortable in the car..I even started counting the hours on my fingers..to see if we were almost there.
-When Jason finally hit the wall of exhaustion and let me drive the last few hours..I had a “MOMENT” while driving. One hand on the steering wheel, once hand clutching my Taco Bell bean burrito..peering through the 2%- visibility-bug splattered windshield….staring at my gorgeous husband, sweet kids & border collie in my rear view mirror…and I realized that while we were SO desperate to reach our destination…to “be” home…that we were in fact, already” HOME” . They are my HOME..and the LOVES of my life..I would do anything for them..and pray that I can be half as significant in their lives as they are for mine.
There’s always an adventure with us Maxwells..thanks for comin along for the ride…hope you are enjoying being “home” today… wherever….and with whomever that may be…XOXO…
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