Number 5 is alive

We have been back in Virginia for a couple weeks now and our lives are mellowing out so hopefully I will have many posts to come of our entire summer.  Although it was still unpleasant, number five was probably our best cross country trip yet.  Our Tahoe was acting up again (the same problem we had when we bought it in Laramie and tried to finish the trip to Virginia) and we just couldn't risk doing another trip in that car.  So to recap: we bought the Explorer our first year out to Virginia.  The next year we drove to Utah for the summer and on our way back the engine blew stranding us in Laramie WY.  We bought the Tahoe there and continued our trip but ended up having problems the whole way there.  We eventually made it, got it fixed and drove back to Utah the following summer.  Once we got there the Tahoe started having problems again.  We got it fixed a few times and then gave up.  So, we bought a brand new Subaru Outback.  Three years, three cars.  Let's just say we are out of money at this point.  We ended up choosing the Subaru because we got a great deal on it, it was brand new and has an awesome warranty (finally), it's practical and is AWD.  It will get us through the year, become Logan's car for work and we'll get something larger for the family.  Back to the trip, because we were downsizing vehicles, we had to leave a few things behind.  Kind of a bummer but we made it work.  We stuffed the car full and left Monday morning.  We hit the hotel that night and started again the next day.  At this point, we realized how tired of this trip we have become so Logan and I formulated a crazy plan.  We had about 14 hours left and we decided we were just going to go for it.  Just drive and drive through the night until we were there.  As crazy as it was, we tried.  We hit about 12 a.m. and we just couldn't do it.  Jack was great and sleeping away but Charlotte kept waking up and wouldn't settle down.  The crying, oh the crying.  We grabbed a hotel and got some rest.  We made it to Cville late the next night.  Which means we did it in three days instead of our usual 4 or 5 so it was still a success!  We arrived at our apartment at midnight and couldn't wait to crash but instead we found mold everywhere.  Mold on our bedding, couch, walls, everywhere.  It was weird because our friends had been checking on our apartment for us so we aren't sure what happened.  They had been away for about three weeks and it must have happened then.  Logan and I managed to make beds for the kids with some clean bedding we found and then we cleaned and did laundry until about 2 a.m.  Home sweet home right?

And so it begins.

Snoozing.

A snack at the hotel.

Taking a break at a park.  Throwing rocks in the water.

Playing with a calculator.  Thanks dollar store.

Elmo, lots and lots of Elmo.

Heading in to the hotel.  Char insisted on carrying in her own suit case every time.

You can tell we are getting close by the trees.

Elmo and fruit snacks.  She is in the zone.

At this point we were all worn out.  We caved and let the kids pick out a toy at Wal-Mart to get us through those last hours.  A remote control loader for Jack and a puppy for Charlotte. 

Glow sticks for nighttime fun.