Let's Talk Destin.

Okay - so you've seen the pictures (the last ones are posted below) but MANY people have emailed me and asked me how it was. If you know me well at all, you probably know I'm a pretty laid-back person... it takes a lot to get me worked up - usually. This trip was a HUGE exception to that rule. I was a complete wreck about it. In fact, the week before we left, I called Joanna after a trip to the grocery store and asked her to 'talk me down'. She asked me what it was exactly that was making me anxious - the drive or the trip. My answer was both!

So I promptly emailed my mommy friends and asked for road trip suggestions. The drive was going to be a nightmare in my mind and I wanted to be as prepared as possible. Many of you have asked what I ended up doing, so here's what ended up in "mommy's bag of tricks":

1. The DVD Player - Almost everyone responded with the suggestion of taking a DVD player. Sweet Lindsay let us borrow theirs along with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. I really wanted to get a new Handy Manny Video, but the Hubbs wasn't convinced, and I'm so glad he wasn't. The DVD player lasted for exactly 4 minutes before he wanted something else. He'd point to Mickey, try to push the buttons and then he was done. Although this sounds like it works well for most people, it didn't do anything for us.

2. SNACKS - Of course we loaded up with snacks. All of the gerber gear and goldfish, of course... then we got the suggestion of DumDums and pretzel rods. These both worked like magic. I ended up with a whole bunch of DumDums left and we got the Honey Wheat Pretzel Rods. They were fabulous and weren't too messy. (I was sitting with him in the back to watch the DumDum so it didn't get messy). Joanna had Saltine Crackers for Piercey Boy... and I carried a LOT of Juice boxes and crystal light packets to pour into his sippy cup.

3. MagnaDoodle - Jenn Russ suggested a magnadoodle because her boys love it. This worked pretty well in the car. B. didn't always use it 'properly' but it did work to keep him occupied for a longer period of time.

4. Bucket Of Toys - I read online to get a rubbermaid container and pack it with toys and take a few out at a time to rotate them. Well, it didn't take B. long to figure out where the bucket was and he'd keep pointing and whining until he saw all of his options. :) We were prepared with all sorts of toys - books, musical toys, banging toys, rattles, etc. It was pretty hilarious. Joanna and I couldn't move by the end of the trip because we were drowning in blocks, cars, books, etc.

5. Stickers - Jenn also suggested stickers and I have to say that this was the BEST solution for B. I think we spent a full hour with the stickers. I got a big package in the dollar aisle at Target and then a little marker pad to put them on that was just his size. He would point to a sticker, I'd take it off and put it on his hand, his foot or his leg - he'd try to get it off and then he'd put it on his paper. This worked like magic, and he loved it! Best part - EASY clean up!! Another thing I tried along with this was the color wonder markers... he liked those pretty good too.

So how was the drive? you ask. Well, my answer to that is - It could have been worse. It definitely wasn't the nightmare that I thought it would be. We drove through the night on the way there, and it did take B. two and a half hours to go to sleep, but after he was asleep, he was out. We had a few fussy periods after stopping for gas with both Pierce and Brady, but nothing we couldn't handle. The drive back was what we were dreading and it really wasn't terrible. We ended up with an hour and a half nap in the morning and about 30 minutes in the afternoon. Joanna and I had given up making them happy the last hour of the trip... they were both tired and ready to get out of their car seats and there was only so much we could do. We put on Wee Sing Bible Songs and just went with it.

As far as the actual trip went - it definitely wasn't near as hard as I thought it would have been. The Hubbs was a huge help, of course, and we just took turns doing nap duty... so we'd each get some Beach Time each day. (Unfortunately Joanna and I ended up with Rainy Beach Time one day and we tried to wait it out in the bottom of the parking garage only to end up with another storm rolling through and getting our books wet!)

B. was pretty low maintenance when we'd get out to the pool or the beach, it was just lugging all of their stuff out there for just an hour or so of playtime that was hard. Justin and Joanna brought a baby pool that we took out to the beach with us, filled up with ocean water and sat in front of our umbrella - and the boys loved it! B. even figured out how to get in and out by himself. We had a 'neat sheet' - which was totally worth the $7 we spent on it.... I'd totally recommend it for anyone going to the beach. Lots of $1 sand/water toys and sunscreen. No terrible sunburns this time... everyone (except the little boys) just had a few 'pink' spots at some point during the trip.

P.S. The Spray-On Baby Sunscreen is the BEST invention ever!

For a trip that Brady won't ever remember, the Hubbs and I would debate vacationing with kiddos until they are old enough to truly enjoy it... because we now definitely need a vacation!

Brady and Jeff picking out a lobster...