Dallas or Bust

We had planned to leave Colorado bright and early at, say 4:00 AM Saturday morning.

We didn't get on the road until 6:30 AM.

And that was still painful enough.

Here's the cast:

2 parents

3 sisters

1 in law

3 nieces

3 nephews

3 vehicles

Don't we look so bright and chipper?

We even had a little Travelocity gnome to keep us company on the long drive.

We even decorated our caravan with window chalk.

I think the "birthday" girl got the most honks.

(it was not her birthday)

Yee haw!

See?  Still bright and chipper!

Gotta love milkface.

So I'm not complaining or anything, but we kinda stopped a lot.  Like every 1.5-2 hours.  But that's what happens when you travel with 7 girls, one of whom is a baby.   We took a long lunch in the "scenic" town of Clayton, New Mexico.  Also known as BFE, or Butt Freaking Egypt.

My mom set up a little shop in the trunk of her car.  The kids all earned play money for every hour they were good and when we stopped, they got to shop out of the Cooperation Box for toys, candy and other goodies that my mom picked out for them.  Each item had it's own price.  I even earned some money! 

We fixed up some chicken salad pitas and let me tell you, I could eat chicken salad every day for the rest of my life.  I think something clicked when I was pregnant with Avery and now I am in love.  But this is not a post about chicken salad.

Although it probably could be.

No road trip lunch break would be complete without a baby swinging with her auntie at a creepy, dilapidated elementary school in the middle of BFE.

My nephews are no longer allowed to get older.  Period.

Long story short: we totally rocked that town.

Also, chicken salad.

We eventually made it to Texas and it was instantly hotter.  100 degrees and alotta humidity.

Not alotta to see except ranch after ranch and GIANT mutant bugs at rest stops.

Also, adorable baby photo ops at a truck stop playground.

Which was great and all until we had to get BACK in the car yet again.

We were equipped with a dual monitor DVD player which saved the day on multiple occasions.  I can now quote 1/3 of Finding Nemo and A Bug's Life, in case you were wondering.

In the end, it took us something like 17 hours to drive from Greeley, Colorado to Dallas, Texas.

The last 2 hours were the worst, I'm telling you.

Texas is no place to get lost at night when you're tired and the baby is screaming her poor baby head off.

But we arrived safe and sound, nonetheless.

Hallelujah!