Day 1- Beginnings

About this time last year Justin and I decided to take a family vacation to Yellowstone which turned into a vacation with the entire family.. which is awesome. We are a very tight close knit family and it's been several years since we've been anywhere "together" in our entirety. We finally embarked onto this wondrous journey today in a 15 passenger van with 11 people 5 of which are children ages 9 and under... did I mention it's going to be awesome? We got up this morning running trying to pack our family of 4 into 2 suitcases for a total of 10 days away from home, got a prescription filled, went to Southaven to get the rental van which was a task of it's own with all the headaches that renting a vehicle entails, Justin, myself, and the kids ran to Hernando to see my mom and hug her bye before we lost our sanity, just kidding, home in a mad dash to drop off our dog Houdini at the kennel to be boarded away while we're gone and, proceeded to pack ALL 11 people's luggage into a 15 passenger van... FUN~ If you've never rented or ridden in a 15 passenger van then you know space is limited for luggage, but we've managed nicely. We also have in tow a nice dusty, dirt dobber ridden, cob web covered step ladder for some of our *ahem* older passengers. We are a sight to see from Mississippi getting on the road today! bahaha We finally got going around 3 p.m. which honestly started off pretty uneventful, 3 boys in the VERY back self consumed in their own worlds either with electronics,talking, or my personal favorite Eli sleeping almost all the way to Sikeston, MO (what a good baby he is), 2 girls on next row laying on pillows giggling and laughing, Jess and I on the next row her passed smooth out.. I failed to mention Bruce and Jessica just returned home on Sunday from a week long mission trip in Indianapolis so they are just a little exhausted anyway, Mrs. Teresa and Justin on the next row playing Candy Crush for 3 hours hehe then Bruce and Mr. Gary  in the front away from it all. So, we make it to Sikeston, MO... who knows what's in Sikeston?! ....................................... LAMBERTS! Yes! Glorious Lamberts, it was about 6 p.m. and we all fell out of the van to go get overstuffed on all kinds of wonderful food, buttered THROWED rolls with apple butter jelly and sorghum molasses, fried potatoes, black eyed peas, chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie, and anything else southern you probably could imagine. If you live in this portion of the U.S. then you know what this place is, if you don't then you should. We got back in the van after being totally stuffed and the funniest thing ever I mean literally haven't even gotten buckled back in yet and Isaac the 5 year old says, "Can I have laffy taffy's?" "I'm hungry!" We all laughed and when his daddy told him he could have it in an hour, he then asked every minute to 5 minutes for a while if it was an hour yet because he REALLY wanted some laffy taffy's. The younguns' finally got their laffy taffy's and took turns telling their jokes to all of us who pretended they are the funniest jokes ever... *yawn* As the sun goes down we are trying to get past St. Louis for our first stopping destination for the night before we begin traveling again. Justin is driving and the sounds of kids laughing mixed with a Duck Dynasty book on CD are playing in the van while I reflect on just how many memories we will truly make this week. We arrive in O'Fallon, MO to bunker down in a Super 8  around 10:30 p.m. that smells like rotten tuna and cigarette smoke but hey we got a 3 queen room for 100 bucks! Yay! So, Justin, me, Hunter, Alli, Mr. Gary, and Mrs. Teresa are all hanging out in a 200 degree smelly room together while Bruce and Jessica have some friends that live here so they are opting to go that route... party poopers. Jessica and I had a good laugh though about how insane we must all look with our step ladder and wild and crazy kids all falling out of the van from Mississippi. I will leave you with some wise words from the beautiful 8 year old Katherine Lynn Crockett, "I'm excited about going horseback riding once we get to Wyoming, because it'll be the first time I get to horseback ride by myself." and the history buff Hunter Wade 9, "My least favorite part will be seeing the presidents' heads in the side of the mountain, they aren't moving or anything. I mean it'll be alright but all you can do is take pictures." Until tomorrow...
Melissa