We Made It...

24 hours of driving and we made it to Utah in the small car.  We left the van at home because I'm flying home with the kids in three weeks and Dr. J will be out west here doing 5 more weeks of rotations.  The idea of driving two cars out here and then driving one home all alone with the kids well that sounded like a nightmare.  Instead we traveled 1500 miles with our kids all within striking distance.

-We started at noon.  No ideal time but Dr. J had taken his second set of boards the night before and just didn't have the juice to pack.  We spent the morning packing.  Returned library books and then we were off.
-Our first real stop McDonads in Des Moines Iowa.  It had a play area and we were there for an hour.
-At Omaha, Nebraska Dr. J said he had no more juice.  I made us push on to Lincoln because the idea of the 16 hour day of driving we'd have in the morning sounded horrible.
-At Lincoln we paid 85 dollars (ick) to stay in Best Western.  The kids were happy to be in bed, all but Peach.  She wanted to play after a day of sleeping in the car.
-At 2:30 Dr. J woke up.  He stayed in bed for an hour and then had to get up.  It woke me up and by four we were totally packed up and on the road again.  He told me later he got out of bed because he finally decided he was just going to study if he couldn't sleep.  Meanwhile when I saw he couldn't sleep I started getting this frantic feeling we had to get moving.  I didn't feel better until we were on the road.
-5 AM I reach down and realize the DIAMOND OUT OF MY ENGAGEMENT RING IS MISSING!  I'm not going to lie I cried a little.  Dr. J said, "Hey baby we'll replace it next year after we don't have to spend a small fortune on interviews."  We called the hotel but they couldn't find and I frantically searched the whole car.  It is gone :(  Why does it make me sad: 1)  There went 1500 dollars.  Shesh.  For a cheapo like me it was sad moment.  2) I had it since before we got married.  It represents so much to me.  My first gift from my finance, our young love, or eight plus years of marriage, the beginning of our family.  I never take that ring off and the fact that I won't be wearing it anymore, well it was just sad.
-We don't stop for anything.  We eat cheese curds, sausage, crackers, grapes, apples, chocolate milk, and licorice in the car.  At 1 we finally stop in Wyoming at the worst rest stop ever.  The kids have a blast though as Jason takes them on a hike on and hill and they find dear poop and cool rocks.  I buy my kids silence with rings pops and tootsie roll pops.
-3 o'clock we stop at Rock Springs, Wyoming.  We drive around town until we find the McDonalds with a play place.  This time I eat a salad.  I hope it will make me feel better after all the junk I've eaten.  It doesn't.
-6:30 we pull into my moms drive way.  WE MADE IT!  Captain E says, "I don't want to go home.  All that driving will make me cry."  He was suffering car sickness the last three hours of the trip.  When I tell him we are flying home he is HAPPY!