The Greatest Dad Ever!

Instead of flying home from Salt Lake our family decided to drive. We knew this could be tough with the kids and my big belly, but we figured it was only 2 days and we could do it. During the two days I realized that Spencer is the greatest dad ever. Here are a few examples why:

1-The Tunnel of Dome! In order to keep the kids happy and my bladder empty we stopped at a McDonalds playland every 150-200 miles. I wouldn't recommend the one in Grand Junction. Spencer always plays with the children in the play structures. He started his way through the tunnel entrance with both kids not knowing what he was getting into. As I came in to check on them I starting looking around the room to see where it ended. The tunnel ended at the very top and fed into a 2 story slide. Spencer had to climb up this small tunnel with both kids all the way to the top--there was no other way out! I called out for them to see where they were--I asked if he knew where this ended and he said he had no idea, but that it smelled weird in there. That slide was a one time experience!

2-Clean-up on I-70--Thank you so much to our wonderful friends Julia and Andy who saved us on the way through Denver. They had a warm house, toys for the kids, dinner, and a bathtub for the kids to bathe in, waiting for us when we drove through. What a nice stop to see friends and get the kids ready for bed. This must have been all too good to be true---about 20 minutes outside of Denver both kids were sleeping happily in the back until it happened. Jackson started vomiting. A road trip just isn't a road trip without someone getting sick. I was on Jackson duty and Spencer was on car seat duty.  So there we were on the side of the road in freezing cold Denver, Spencer trying to clean out Jackson's car seat with wet wipes and a water bottle. We got some strange looks!

3-In it for the long haul--We couldn't have made the trip without Spencer's determination. He was determined to get as far as he could while the kids and I slept. He had his sunflower seeds and books on tape--nothing could stop him. (Except maybe his pregnant wife.) At 3:00 in the morning he finally gave into us and pulled over to spend the night at a hotel. What a trooper.

4-Put the diaper on first--Getting settled into the hotel woke the kids up completely. They went from groggy and sleepy to wide awake and wanting to play. Spencer gave them a bath hoping to calm them down and clean off Jackson's "leftover odors." When they finished he let them run around the room for a bit---until we found it. The mysterious brown pile of something on the bathroom floor. It didn't take long to identify what it was and who it came from and who earned an extra bath. The good news--everyone went right to sleep after this incident was all cleaned up.

We Made It!! All 1300 miles of the trip. Thanks Spencer for driving, navigating, stopping at 11 McDonalds, singing funny songs to the kids, stopping every 100 miles, buying us treats, and making it fun (yes, actually pretty darn fun) to drive the whole way home!