No Sleep Till Memphis

If this doesn't scream "fun" I don't know WHAT does. Only for my children...

Our first day of travel is DONE. We started about an hour late due to my inability to say "I'll do that later." When I saw that the Listen to Your Mother show videos launched this morning, I felt it was very important that I make everyone wait for me to take a screen shot of each DC video and then share all 13 on my Facebook page. I do this every year and dammit, the open road could slow its roll while I exercised my right to have questionable priorities.

Then once we got in the car, I realized we needed to get gas and an ice coffee (the latter was more of a want...but it felt like a need). So I let the kids continue to watch a video (their first viewing of Adventures in Babysitting) while I ran into Dunkin Donuts. When I returned, George said, "Mom, you looked really beautiful walking to the car." I asked, "because I was bringing you a doughnut?" He said, "no - you just looked really nice - like you were walking out of the mall." I was harried and sweating in the heat and didn't understand any of that mall stuff...but I just love that little weirdo.

Finally we were off! I kind of forgot how long of a drive it is to Knoxville. But it was uneventful. There were a couple of bathroom stops, lunch at Cracker Barrel and several rain storms. We made pretty good time all things considered. I even managed to get them out the door of Cracker Barrel without buying candy. Well, that's not entirely true. I did grab a handful of Andes Candies and we each got two. But that doesn't count. By Cracker Barrel standards, that's practically dieting.

Is it even POSSIBLE to finish with just one peg in that game? I don't believe it.

It wasn't easy...but I was able to find a healthy meal that wasn't 5,000 calories on the Cracker Barrel menu.
Then I ate a plate of complimentary buttermilk biscuits. Obviously.

It was 8:00 p.m. by the time we got to the kids' FAVORITE hotel (an Embassy Suites). This was where we stopped on our last drive to Memphis. It was a huge hit last time, and I promised we would recreate the experience. We didn't go to the pool (I explained that we will have MANY hotel pools to visit over the next five weeks), but we DID go bowling at Strike and Spare across the street again. It doesn't take much to please these kids... As a card carrying UN-fun mom, I required my own recreational stop at the hotel lounge first.

More questionable priorities.

This pretty much captures the vibe (and my children's bowling style).

"Mom! We can't leave yet. This is a sweet song." #breakitdown

Oliver won and everyone else was a good sport about it. As I returned our bowling shoes, I looked around for him, but didn't see him anywhere. Then he suddenly popped up behind the counter. As if OF COURSE he would be hanging out behind the shoe return counter. The grizzly bearded lane repair guy joked that he had to fill out an employment application before he could do that. It was definitely time to leave.

It's nearing midnight and we're ready for bed. I let them stay up late since we've only been out of the car for a few hours now. George was in tears over an upset stomach a little while ago, and I'm feeling a bit guilty for insisting that he must have to poop. Apparently had to PUKE. Which luckily happened in the bathroom. Judging by the smell - it was the nachos. We're off to a great start!

Tomorrow we arrive in Memphis where we'll see my brother and his wife (and her fabulous family). It will be one of our longer stops, so we can actually do some sightseeing (last time we were there it was for the wedding and there wasn't any time). Stay tuned for more on that... Goodnight Knoxville!