Our alarms went off at 4 a.m., and we popped out of bed. We were surprisingly well rested, since we had gotten to bed at a good time. Mike and Laura woke up very quickly surprising Michael and me. Luke only needed one wake-up call and he was up and getting ready. Amelia was one of the last ones to be woken up, but she was wide awake and talking loudly in short order.

I went into Isaac’s room two or three times trying to get him to wake up, but he was very groggy. I guess 4 a.m. was a little early for him. Judah was the last one up, and came crying down the stairs to find me.

I filled Michael in on the GameBoy DS situation, and he started helping Luke look for it. Meanwhile I helped kids get shoes and socks on, I packed the cooler, and the last bags started heading out to the van.

Even though we were moving fairly efficiently, somehow the time flew by. We got all loaded up, checked my list one last time, grabbed a few more things we’d forgotten, and then headed off to fill our water jugs at Walmart. By the time we got to Walmart, kids had to go potty (already!), so while Michael went in to get the water, I helped kids get situated and get into Walmart to the potty. One beautiful thing about Walmart at 5:30 a.m. is that it’s so quiet!

We were finally all done, situated, re-loaded into the van, and ready to head on our way. I asked the children if they’d like to pray before we started driving, and they said yes. Amelia started the prayer time, Laura prayed next, Miguel offered his prayer, and then I closed in prayer.
I looked at the clock as we were entering the highway and it said 5:40 a.m. Almost two hours had passed since we got out of bed, but it was a good two hours. No one got frustrated, and we were still starting out in good time.

Everyone was pretty quiet during the first few hours. But soon they were hungry, so I sliced and buttered the Great Harvest Cinnamon Crunch bread I had brought along for our breakfast. That was a great hit! Judah slept through all of that, but I saved a few small pieces for him.

Michael and I had decided to buy another GameBoy for Luke to use. Yes, I know, it’s completely unnecessary! And it’s a big expense just for the sake of games. And it doesn’t really make any sense. But we had decided to do it anyway. So when Michael went into Walmart he headed back to electronics, only to discover that Walmart has NO GameBoys in stock. Unbelievable! They’ve had them there every time we’ve been back there recently! Oh well.
Time slipped by and the miles were conquered. Everyone was hungry again before too long, so I sliced and buttered the Great Harvest Dakota bread and cut some slices of cheese to make chunky sandwiches for everyone. That was a hit too!

We made it a point to stop midday at a Meijer store so that we could get a GameBoy there, but again, they had none in stock! We couldn’t believe it! We had a lunch there in the café before heading back out on the road. The food wasn’t really so good, but we enjoyed the break from traveling.

Later in the day, after another coffee and potty stop, Michael ran into a Super K-Mart, sure that THEY would have a GameBoy. You guessed it. None.

Finally, at 9:30 pm eastern time, we arrived in Front Royal, Virginia. The kids were so tired. They could hardly see straight after being up since very early this morning. Miguel & Judah slept in the car, but no one else did.

Laura, Luke and Amelia were taken to Grammy’s house to spend the night. While Michael took them over, I worked on getting our motel room organized and getting my three boys here into bed. Isaac helped me do a few things before getting into bed.

Now I’m enjoying a moment to catch up on my e-mail and post this blog. I’m pretty tired. I am sure that tomorrow will bring a fresh perspective. I’m just glad that this longest travel day is finally over.