Impromptu Road Trip...with 9 kids!!

One day we were over at our friend's (JK) house swimming and hanging out.  They have 5 kids, the youngest being 12 weeks old.  We love playing with them because each of the kids has a buddy.  They are a fun family because they take road trips all the time and they aren't afraid of spontaneity.  While we were over, they mentioned that they were going to drive to the panhandle of Florida to go to the beach.  I had just talked to B about how I wanted to take the kids up there!  I casually told my friend, "We should go with you guys!"  Then a few days later she texted me to tell me they were really going and that they had 5 seats available in their Ford Transit van.  How perfect!  So we agreed to go...2 moms, a grandma (JK's sweet mom--a retired teacher), and 9 kids (one being 14 weeks old)!!  I figured it was the best way to do our first long road trip because each kid would have a buddy!  Even better!

We left at 11:30pm on the 4th of July.  It was B and my 14th anniversary...we had watched fireworks, then I said "Happy Anniversary!" and the kids and I drove away with JK and her crew, leaving B at home.  Ain't it romantic?

We drove straight through the night.  JK and I took turns driving every 2-3 hours.  It was great driving through the night because the kids slept through most of it.  I had an earbud in, listening to my audiobook...it was quite nice.  The drive was supposed to take 11 hours and it took us 14...each stop we made averaged about 45 minutes.  Once one kid wanted to go to the restroom, then lots of other kids wanted to go, too.  Plus, each stop woke the baby and JK had to nurse.  I didn't really mind either way because I wasn't in a rush or anything.  We were just all having fun!

We finally got there and the kids were itching to go to a beach.  So we went to Perdido Key National Seashore.  When we finally got to the water, it was a bit underwhelming.  It wasn't quite as blue-green as I had remembered.  I spoke to the lifeguard and he told me there had been some weather so it made everything look muddier.  He told us the farther east we went, the greener the water would be.

So the next day we drove 45 minutes east to Navarre Beach and, man, was it worth it all!  The kids could not believe how beautiful the water was...and how soft the sand was...and all the pretty shells everywhere.  We found all kinds of sand dollars...augers...scallops...lettered olives...cockles...and clam shells.  It was amazing!!  We spent 7 hours there that day....swimming, jumping waves, looking for shells, building sandcastles.  It was perfect.

The next day we started heading back to Texas, but we stopped in New Orleans for a night.  We rode the street cars and saw lots of beautiful old homes.  We also went to the French Quarter and got in a long line to eat beignets at Cafe du Monde.  So yummy!

Then we started our drive back home.  It seemed longer on the way back because we drove during the day.  But the kids all played things together and kept each other company so it wasn't bad.  There were definitely more restroom stops during the daytime though.

We made it back at 11pm that night.  It was a long drive for a short period of time, but totally worth it.  So fun to see beautiful beaches and make memories with good friends!

Now I'm totally planning a bunch of road trips for us!  After that drive, things don't seem as far to us anymore.  Now when I tell the kids we're going to Austin (an hour away) or to Dallas (5 hours away), they say, "That's nothing!"  Can't wait to see where we go next!