The Adventures of Nana, 5 preschoolers, and a 2000 mile road trip . . .

For once we left on time. To be fair, Nana usually leaves on time, but for me and the preschoolers, it's a rarity. After loading the car and trailer, we departed Carin's house about 11:33 this morning. I know it was 11:33 because my niece pointed out that her watch said 11:33. The 11:27 on the car clock did not matter.

We made it about 48 minutes down the road before stopping for lunch at a Whataburger. Road trips with kids are glamorous. About as glamorous as all 7 of us in the same one-holer restroom together at said Whataburger. But the guy and his kid that came to Whataburger in their ATV were pretty classy too. 

Once we got on the road, things picked up. Well, our speed picked up at least. The little guy fell asleep pretty quickly. The big kids found great amusement playing with a string they found in the floor. 

We gave them their first 'present' - individual marker boards. From the $1 bin at Target, these awesome boards include a marker/eraser and have a blank side for drawing a a lined side for writing. They can also be used as a lap desk later with other gifts. (Nana has wrapped all of the goodies like Christmas gifts, complete with Christmas paper, to add to the fun of car surprises.) Two hours flew by until the markers began to run out.

 In Childress the baby started to stir and the bigger kids seemed antsy. We pulled in to a Dollar General to discreetly restock our dry erase marker supply, then picked up Sonic happy hour drinks (total under $5) and headed for the only park in town. 

The selection of play equipment provided a pleasant surprise - slides and swings galore, merry-go-round, see-saws, climbing wall, and random jungle animals. While we grown-ups got sweatier than we would have liked, the kids showed off on the monkey bars and begged us to see-saw or push the merry-go-round faster.

Bailey took a spill off the tire swing that left her a muddy mess, but she good naturedly washed up in the nearby restroom and was back to playing in no time. 

After we all used the restroom again, we loaded the hot, tired crew back in the car for the final stretch of the day. We listened to some kids books on tape and played "Guess Animal" as we drove through the intermittent rain. A few miles from our hotel we grabbed dinner at Rosa's and thoroughly enjoyed the gumball machine. 

The Springhill Suites in Amarillo proved to be a perfect choice, with our room featuring 2 queen beds and a comfortable couch with a drawer bed. Sleeping space for 7 in one nice cozy room. Showers went quickly and the kids all drifted off to sleep with relative ease. (Ok, I had to threaten to make Troy sleep on the floor if he didn't stop trying to take Bailey's blanket, but then he did settle down and go to sleep.) Our day ended with a final disappointment - lukewarm showers. As two people who like HOT showers, this was a tragedy. However, after 350 miles in the car with 5 preschoolers, if the worst part of the day was lack of a hot shower . . . okay. 

Tune in tomorrow as we attempt an entire day on the road . . .