But driving to Utah. What an experience! Good and bad, as expected.
Aubrey was FANTASTIC! She had her DVD player playing Sofia the First videos I checked out from the library. I had books by her. Plenty of snacks and drinks. Hannah was the one having a rough time. She did NOT appreciate being stuck in a carseat all day! It felt like every time she was awake, she was screaming!
We left Saturday afternoon. Jared drove during the day and I took over during the night. We stopped every couple hours so I could nurse Hannah and Aubrey could run around, get some energy out.
Nightime was rough. Aubrey couldn't get comfortable. Hannah was still upset from being in the carseat. But eventually, both girls slept and I made good progress. Jared was able to rest a little bit. But I hit my driving wall at about 4am. I hadn't slept well the night before and I was running out of juice!
Luckily, Jared was great and was able to take over until the morning. I could rest my eyes a little bit and we took turns driving the rest of the way.
Nebraska is such a LONG state to drive through. And for miles and miles, there were no stops! Nothing for gas or food, except a Pizza Hut. But it was breakfast time and we wanted food! Aubrey was ready to get out and we all needed a break. Nothing for miles!
Finally, we found an exit with something!!
We stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds. Aubrey has a weirdness about foods. So we brought her own bowl, cereal and milk. She loved it and Jared and I had a quick breakfast too.
We ran into a rough part just outside Park City. Oh my goodness. It was STRESSFUL!!
Our poor car isn't used to driving in the mountains and we made the mistake of trying to drive the speed limit. We stopped at a McDonalds for a quick lunch. Holy cow, it was hot! I was in the backseat, trying to keep Hannah happy the last hour of driving. I had Jared blast the air conditioning at the lowest temperature to help me cool off in the back.
Big mistake!
We overworked our car! And of course it happened on a construction strip of the road. So here we are, an hour away from our destination, Hannah is ready to get out, Aubrey is getting antsy and our car stalls out! Cars are lining up behind us because there wasn't much room to pass! Luckily I could pull the car over to the side and people passed. We tried the car again and it stalled out again.
Jared called his Mom and told her what happened. I tried to call roadside assistance. But Hannah was crying and my reception was bad in the mountains. Jared's brother, Brandon, was ready to be the hero and come pick the girls up while Jared stayed behind with the car.
But I didn't want to sit around in the heat. I tried the car one more time and just took things really slow. I waited til most of the cars were passed and we said lots of prayers. Jared's family was praying. We were praying. Even had Aubrey say a prayer, because I believe kids' prayers have special power.
We were blessed and finally made it to grandma's house. Got there in time for dinner. Aubrey loved seeing everyone. Hannah LOVED being out of the carseat.
I got some really cute pictures though!
Breakfast at McDonalds
Selfie in the backseat!
A rare happy Hannah moment.
The trip back was so much better.
We left in the morning when Hannah was struggling to stay awake. Aubrey was set up with more movies and snacks. Jared drove first because I was planning on driving through the night again.
Hannah was so much better. I think she had finally gotten used to the idea of being in the car. We drove alot all over Utah to different things, so it just became a part of life for her.
We'd stop for food and gas. But we could do longer stretches at a time because Hannah would actually sleep! When she'd wake up, Jared or I (whoever wasn't driving) would hop back and play with her. When she got fussy/hungry then we'd look for an exit.
Aubrey was still great. Nighttime wasn't easy again, but it was much better. Aubrey found a good way to sleep. Hannah put up a big fight, but once she was asleep, she was out.
I had plenty of Dr Pepper and my Les Miserables CD playing to keep me awake. I made it til the sky's color started lightening up. I don't remember what time. Maybe 5. But I had been driving since 9, so I was ready to stop and take a break. Jared took over and let me rest for a little bit before breakfast.
No car problems this time!! We made it home in the early afternoon. Both girls were exhuasted and took long naps. I even took a nap too!
We are NEVER doing another roadtrip like this! Unless all kids are old enough to watch movies or entertain themselves! Trips to Ohio are still good. But anything over 6 hours is out of the question!!
But we survived and still came out a happy, loving family.
Two more pictures of Hannah!
She was a much happier baby for the drive home!
Got a little fussy, so we had her chew on some licorice!
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