Having talked/texted/facetimed with Shawna all day, though, it was reassuring to me that we are attacking this situation head on and doing it the best way we feel we can. She's in good hands with Janet and I'm convinced their time together in Philly will only bring them closer together. Shoot, they already started crocheting today and knowing them, they'll find plenty to do and will survive just fine without John and I over the next few months. Hearing that they were able to spend some time sitting outside today and enjoying some sunshine while still hosting a healthy baby will put me to bed much easier tonight (or will it be the 5am start to our day with having to be "on" being the driver or the waiter for the two rugrats in the back seat for 11 hours).
So, seeing that I am blogging tonight should tell you John and I survived. I was thinking a 12 hour van ride with the boys and John would have given me plenty of great blogging material but it was a very uneventful day. Here's how it went:
5am - Wake up call/shake by John....the dude is amazing. He never sets an alarm, just wakes up when he knows he has to be up. Shawna woke up to say goodbye to her boys for a week, but as I peeked in the conjoining room to get a few last minutes items, I noticed that Janet was still sound asleep (I know she loves John with all of her heart but now I can see that after 25+ years of marriage, not seeing your spouse for a week may not be quite as big a deal as it was for Shawna and me).
5:05am - Van is loaded up with boys still in their PJ's (didn't get out of them until dinner at Papa Bob and Grandma Sue's house around 5pm...life with Dad!). I needed a coffee so we quickly stopped at Dunkin' Donuts. I got my coffee, a Diet Coke for John, and a sprinkled, chocolate donut for each of the boys. There were two young ladies ahead of me in line at DD so I thought I'd strike up some conversation. They had been up until 3am at the music festival in Philadelphia and were headed back to St. Louis. They both looked like they were just hit by a Mac Truck and considering the journey that was ahead of them and the one that waited for me....I felt pretty good about standing in my shoes.
5:06am - Yes, not one minute into Daddy time and the boys were covered in chocolate frosting from their donuts. I can guarantee this won't be the last time this happens but it took us a total of 6 minutes to create our first mess. The last mess came just 6 minutes before they went to bed...photo to come at the end of the blog!!
5:15am - I quickly realized that I may have been driving by myself. It being so early in the morning the traffic was non-existent but I was still very focused while navigating my way through some of the quick turns and twists of downtown Philly. When I finally was able to relax, I peeked to my right and in the rear-view mirror and found 3 sleepers. Not surprised as the previous few days were spent on the go, mainly in the pool at the hotel, swimming with the boys and John just being John. I was glad he was shutting his eyes (and possibly waking up anyone that lived within 50 yards of the highway with his snoring) and sleeping as I knew he'd be driving some later on in the day.
6:45am - Just finishing up the second time through the new Brad Paisley CD, there started to be some life in the van. The boys all awoke and were in great moods. If you've ever driven with two children in the back seat, the jobs of the adults, at least in the Carlson van, are very well defined: the driver focuses on driving and the passenger is at the mercy of the requests of the boys in the back so it's crucial that the passenger either be very savvy at finding distractions for the boys that keep them occupied for long periods of time or be physically flexible and willing to turn around in very awkward positions to reach toys, fix dvd players, serve snacks, etc. Well, not sure that John or I am great at either. Fortunately for me, the boys were much more needy during my time behind the wheel!! John impressed me with his flexibility...I think he's a closet YOGA enthusiast. In fact, I bet right now he's in the living room at 7670 Bliss Rd. in his yoga pants and tank top doing some serious yoga exercises (great mental pic!!).
8:00am - We held off on DVDs for as long as possible as our boys don't like wearing headphones too much so all of the passengers are at the mercy of listening to the DVD that has been chosen by the boys. They chose Shark Tale first, which isn't too bad and actually makes me chuckle. No one seemed to be getting hungry and Peyton must have the bladder of an oil tanker because he only peed a little bit and it was at our ONLY stop on the whole trip. I was able to drive until we needed gas just outside of Youngstown, Ohio. I really didn't want to stop near that place and buy anything as some of the tax dollars probably goes to Youngstown St. where they had the audacity/ignorance/whatever you want to call it to hire Jim Tressel as the president of the university. Yes, the former Ohio St. football coach who got the boot for his players following NO rules and various recruiting violations. A man of integrity, for sure...and they hire him to be the PRESIDENT of the school.
10:30am - John took over the driving responsibilities and the rest of us sank back into our seats with some snacks from the gas station (Peyton - Gatorade and cheese stick/Myles - juice box and circle crackers/John - Diet Coke and popcorn/Me - Bai fruit drink and turkey, egg, cheese breakfast sandwich...not going to lie here, but the boys only had a little snack from the gas station as we'd been feeding them an assortment of candy and treats to keep them happy all morning...I had a quick Dad-fail by leaving the bad with all of the junk food in it in plain view of them so denying we had any was a lost cause). We figured we'd be stopping again a few times as the first chunk of driving is usually the longest and the easiest but little did we know that the two boys were prepped and ready to make John and my lives easy. I had just put in Paw Patrol...little did I know we'd still be watching it 4.5 hours later when pulling into John and Janet's driveway in Lake Odessa! Yep, only one stop the whole trip with NO complaining from the boys. They were incredible travelers! Both took short naps (see photos below).
Great Quotes from the trip:
Myles - "Papa, what's those in your ears?"
John - "Those are my hearing aids."
Myles - "What?"
Peyton (about 20 miles into Michigan) - "Where are we going?"
Jeff - "To Papa and Grandma's house."
Peyton - "I think Papa should walk home."
Jeff (11:30am) - "Is anyone hungry for some lunch?"
Peyton - "Yeah."
Jeff - "What would you like?"
Peyton - "I think I should have some cream for lunch!"
Surprisingly I did not give in and appease him!!
So, we actually made it back home to Zeeland in just over 11 hours. I figured it would be AT LEAST a 13 hour trip. I need to thank John for all of his help with the boys and taking the whole second shift driving.
We were able to make it to my parents for dinner and celebrate Chad's birthday with his family. Not only did we get home with enough time for that, we were able to get home, unpack, and take some much needed baths. Back to my mention of the last mess that occurred just 6 minutes before going to bed....see the photo below. Here's the quote that goes with it:
"Daddy, look what I just did!"
CHOOSING JOY (from Zeeland)
-Jeff
Back to school tomorrow!!
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