Florida Trip....Travel Day 1

1. 8:05 AM: We are almost 1 hour into our trip and I am blogging in the car about it. That is due entirely to the fact that we bought a car that fits all of us (I don't have to drive the whole way!) and that Mark knows how to connect to internet under almost any circumstances. I'm starting to suspect that he may actually emit a wi-fi signal.

2. Let's see.  Here are the things I packed to facilitate a smooth day in the car:

Water bottles for everyone, to be refilled at gas stations
Cooler with lunch meats and a bottle of jam and miracle whip, 2 lbs of grapes
Three grocery bags of crackers, cereals, bread, snacks, fruit
Band-aids, Neosporin and glucose gel (for an MCADD emergency)
Coloring books and twist up coloring pencils (crayons melt in a hot car)
Everly's favorite book, "Whose Baby Am I?" ...already saved us from 1 meltdown
Every digital device we own, being passed around the older kids in 30 minute intervals
A healthy portion of our DVD library
Beach towels doubling as blankets for those sitting directly under AC vents and for picnics
Paper towels and wipees
Jordan almonds...the candy of the Celestial Kingdom
Ziploc sandwich baggies...THE KEY to effective and quick distribution of car snacks

3. 8:46 AM: We just finished "Spirit" (the first, because the last half is too scratched up to watch) and now we are having a rousing "Frozen" sing along.

4. We stopped at a gas station and found a grassy spot to have a picnic lunch. it was hot and a bit muggy but my frugal self was having a party in my brain. I was having flashbacks of family trips when my mom would have a bread bag full of sandwiches and we would have lunch on the road.

5. 9:40 PM: We are finally in Mississippi at the hotel for the night. I am tired and I feel a sore throat coming on. Everly seems to be coming down with something as well. So.....yeah. On the plus side, I convinced the girls that they wouldn't want to go swimming in the hotel pool. We took a look at it and it was...murky. Very murky.