We have traveled over 1,750 miles the past week and it is good to be home.  I will share all manner of details with you about our wonderful family vacation to the Black Hills.  Now, due to it being a late Sunday night as I type this and my boot camp class will be approaching in the wee morning hours which is requiring me to get to sleep soon, I’m gonna guess that this vacation series will be a three part blog.  Because as you all know, I am a very detailed story teller.  #icannottellashortstory

Let’s start back from the beginning.  Tuesday, after Hubby got home from work, we set out for South Dakota.  With the car (well, Yukon. SUV. Whatever.) packed and a full tank of gas, we hit the road.  I feel the need to share with you that YES.  We broke out the Scotch-a-roos before we even left the drive-way.  I was keeping up with the tradition of what my family did when I was little.  (We wouldn’t be to the “S” curves south of New Sharon on our way to Florida with my mom, brother, and grandparents and that yummy pan of brownies or bars was already being dug into.) (Some things never change.)  To clarify, I was eating the Scotch-a-roos…no one else wanted any. #lightweights

With a bar in hand and a bottle of water, I was ready for this road trip.  We had our DVD player ready, books and movies checked out from the local library, and the boys had their backpacks full of the treasures we bought them for this vacation.  (I always like to buy little “vacation treats” for them.)  See the picture below:

The boys’ surprises that we bought for them to take on our vacation.

The teacher in me went a little crazy on the “educational stuff”…whiteboard maps of the United States, small blank books for them to write and draw in, pencils, and a large United States map.  And a coloring book, colored pencils, a fancy pen with six different ink colors (wow!), and of course snacks.  I also got a little ambitious and printed out four games that I found on Pinterest…a “license plate” game, I Spy checklist of things to look for, a “find the fast food restaurant game, and more.  Last year, when we took the boys to Florida, the surprises were beach things…a sand bucket, toys, etc… I just love buying little gifts for my favorite people!  🙂

Immediately, Maxim started playing his “I Spy” worksheet game and was looking for items to check off of his game sheet.  And we played the “license plate” game, too.  I think I was liking it more than the boys.  In one crazy moment, I looked at Patrick and said, “I should have printed some worksheets off for us to do, too!”  His look said it all.  No.

Maxim looking for his “I Spy” items and listening to a movie.  #multitasker

Nate jamming to some tunes 🙂

In typical vacation manner, about twenty minutes outside of CEDAR RAPIDS, the boys asked THE question…”When are we going to be there?” Oh, boy.  This was going to be a loooong 10.5 hour drive.  Hahaha 🙂

Again, about forty minutes into the drive, they asked, “Are we almost there?”

Well, with the pedal to the metal…I mean, going the speed limit (of course), we plugged along up through Iowa, to the Minnesota border.

Hello Minnesota!

And then, we kept going until we hit South Dakota.  And we kept going.  And going.  And going.

Hubby drove for most of the evening.  Then, I drove for about two hours until we got to Mitchell, South Dakota.  And I’ll tell you something.  A long family vacation where A LOT of the time is spent in the close quarters of a car will really bring a family together.  You learn so much about each other in those hours spent riding in a car.  And do you know what I learned?  That Patrick is awesome at driving, while I am awesome at being a co-pilot.  Yes.  We make a great team.

I kept track of the maps, was the groovin’ deejay who played the tunes, kept up with British-accent speaking Suri (because I’m just that fancy and prefer a Brit man to tell us which exit to take and how many more miles to proceed to the route) and our google map app on my phone, and was the gracious co-pilot who always offered Corn Nuts or Licorice Nibs for a mid-drive snack.  Or a Lipton Peach Tea if one was parched.  AND.  I kept the boys content by being the movie director, game director when playing the “I Spy” game, and the peace maker if there was a little scuffle that needed refereeing.  And Patrick kept putting the miles on our vehicle, all the while keeping us safe on the road and making good time (especially once we hit South Dakota where the speed limit is 80 mph).  Bless.

And that, my friends, was our first night.  Arriving at the Holiday Inn Express in Mitchell, South Dakota around 10:30ish at night.  Tired and ready to catch some shut eye.  And excited to be in the Black Hills the next day!

Now, because it is even later than I imagined right now, I’ll keep you all waiting on pins and needles until tomorrow, when I share about more of our family vacation to the Black Hills.

I guarantee, you’re going to love it.  And just in case you’re wondering…this is one of our most favorite family vacations ever!

To be continued…Your travel guide, Angela Banae