The Daley Grind: EXTREME Road Trip!

Forgive us for not updating the site in many weeks -- we've been resting after a very long drive to Minnesota. 18+ hours in a car with a 2-year-old, a 3-month-old and a dog? Are we crazy? Yes, yes we are. But it would be nearly as insane to try to take them on an airplane. At least in a car, when there's screaming, we're the only ones bothered by it. And actually, it wasn't so bad! I had extremely low expectations, assuming that it would be one of the most tortuous days of my life, so when there was just a little bit of crying, some toll booth issues (no cash), and a massive case of sleep deprivation, I was pleasantly surprised. We will definitely do it again.

We left on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm and the kids slept for nearly three hours before we stopped to eat and walk around somewhere in West Virginia. Then, we drove through the night, reaching Chicago around sunrise. I'm pretty sure that when we put Nate in the car and told him we were driving to Grandma and Grandpa's, he assumed that it would be about 20 minutes. But he was so excited -- every time we stopped and he woke up and started crying, I'd say, "Nate, we're almost there!" and he would say, "Grrrrma and Bampa" and smile and go right back to sleep. The last five hours were a little rough -- Chuck couldn't stay awake, the kids were cranky, and I had to drive through the beautiful-but-boring farmland of Wisconsin. When we arrived at my parents' house, we handed off the kids and took a little nap. Nate and Theo slept like champs the whole trip, so they were plenty rested to play with Grandma and Grandpa. Cousin Brody came over to play too, which Nate loved. And Wylie enjoyed her first vacation in Minnesota!