The Scary Part is OVER!

I have a confession to make.....

the IDEA of today TOTALLY freaked me out!!!

When my mom told me that her condo in Destin was available the week of our Spring Break, I totally jumped at the chance to come. Chris and I had originally planned to head to Disney World this week, but had to postpone that trip till May. I wanted to "get away" for Spring Break, and this would be the perfect opportunity!

Originally, Chris (caring, loving, wonderful provider that he is) was going to come along. Unfortunately, plans changed. Chris is very busy with work right now, and that just couldn't happen. I couldn't bear to disappoint the kiddos, so bagging the Beach Trip was NOT an option!

I knew that once we got here, things would be great...it was the "getting here" that scared me!

How in the WORLD would I travel alone (5 plus hours) with 3 kiddos and a van stuffed to the hilt? How would I manage to keep them entertained AND drive safely???? On the one hand, I knew that my kids were pretty good travelers, but for some reason I kept going to a bad place. The place where Greer cries the whole way and the big kids keep needing to stop to go potty.

All I can say is, God heard your my prayers! Thanks so much friends! We actually had an awesome trip.

The plan was to leave right after Reeves got home from school (3:05 to be precise), but Greer was still napping and I was still packing. We didn't get out of town till 4:08 (yes, I looked at the clock as we pulled out to the driveway). Lucy had an immediate meltdown (aka..."I want DAAAAADDDDEEEE"). I said, "But Mommy can't wait to be with all of you". To which she replied, "But I want BOTH of you".....tears were flowing.

Thank the Good Lord for the brand new Pinocchio Movie that Honey brought over last night! It was a hit.

The hit I wasn't expecting came around very quickly. Unfortunately, it took us almost an HOUR to make it out of town (I guess everyone decided to head out after school today). My blood pressure rose quickly, and more than once I thought about turning around.

Thankfully, there were no major meltdowns, and before long......

We caught a glimpse of THIS in our rearview mirror

It's one of the landmarks on the way to NorthWest Florida. Let me just tell you, there are quite a few gems along the way.....

A Gigantic Confederate Flag

The State Capitol

The Peach Places

Pecan Orchards

Trailers next to Mansions (Plantations I should say)

Country Churches

Pick-up trucks filled with Watermelons and Tomatoes

Dark Scary Roads in the Middle of NO-WHERE!!!

A Daylily Farm

Priester's Pecans

Bates Turkey Place

5 Dozen Cracker Barrels

Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia Tags

Just as I was lifting my feet to cross the Florida line, the last of my 3 little angels fell fast asleep. The dark, deserted back roads were perfect for sleeping babes......Lucy hadn't made it more than 20 or 30 minutes after our impressive SINGLE stop at Subway for dinner. The soft Praise Baby music filled me my van with perfect Peace and I knew we had made it. The scary part was over!

We arrived around 10, and all three kids had been asleep for the last hour and a half. Lucy and Reeves got a second wind after our arrival, and it took me till close to 11 to get them to sleep. Greer (aka the absolute best baby in the whole world) went right to sleep in her pack and play, and I got all the bags unloaded while the kids made sure everything was just as it should be around the condo. It took some convincing, but I finally got them all tucked in to the big kingsize bed. I bet if you asked them, they would say this is their favorite place in the world.

Thank You, Charcey and Papa, for sharing it with us!