Homeward Bound

On the 26th of December Emily just hung around Mimi and Papa's house smiling,

bouncing on her bouncy ball thing (if it has a name I can't think of it),
playing her new board game ("Kids on Stage" - charades for kids),(which she was really good at)
and riding her bike.

She was loving the cool, crisp air and...

dog slobber.
Okay, probably not.

After dinner she could be found playing under the tables with the little boys...
before getting ready for bed and posing with Mimi, Papa, and all of the grandkids!
She didn't go anywhere on December 27th either. That was packing day!
After five weeks of being away AND Christmas, there was A LOT to pack!
Knowing that would be the case, Daddy pre-ordered a rooftop carrier.
When everything was finally packed and night had come, we went out to install it on the car and load it up...
while Emily watched the last show of the trip with Papa.
Bright and early on the 28th (8:45 AM CST) we set out from Mimi and Papa's house - homeward bound! Everett spent some time inspecting his legs...
and Emily read some books...

before our first stop. While there, I put Everett in Emily's seat to serve as a "high chair" while he ate...

and Emily got a chance to run around a little.
Once back on the road, we decided to hang a red bag in the window so Everett could sleep...
and Emily insisted that she have one too. Good thing I had my red pajama shirt handy.
It was a fully loaded car and I spent some time in the waaay back. Getting there was not easy.
As day turned to night we decided to keep on moving and Emily stayed awake as long as possible.
Eventually she passed out from sheer exhaustion but woke up whimpering every few minutes because her legs hurt and she was SOOOO uncomfortable! It was really sad but we were within 30 miles of our hotel! We pulled into our hotel in Tucson, Arizona at 12:30AM CST.

Ten hours later, 8:30AM PST, we were back in the car.
We saw a lot of desert that day...
and made a couple of stops to eat, change diapers,
and let Emily run around.
Emily also did a lot of video watching...
and learned to embrace life on the road.
Thankfully, we were back home that evening at 5:30 PM PST and the kids were able to unwind in the bathtub!
And the next day? Well, they had LOTS of unwind time and NO drive time! It made all of us happy!
In conclusion, it was a wonderful trip. It could NOT have gone ANY better - the kids were totally amazing! But, it wasn't an uber-fun road trip and we were glad to be home!