Years ago I got this crazy idea in my head to roadtrip to New York.  A couple of times a few friends and I attempted to make it happen but to no avail.  It just wasn’t meant to be. Until now.

My dream trip is now in full effect and I have the privilege of sharing it with 3 loves of my life;  Jacey, my mini-me; Miss J, my foster princess; and Keliann, my soul sister.

The perfect travel crew.

Perfect timing.

Perfect provision.

God is the best travel agent EVER.

Day 1 – We headed out about 5:30-6  – Tate – aka T-Rock – drove us to pick up our rental at Hertz. Just to be off work and in the car driving AWAY was surreal.  FINALLY.   After a quick dinner pick up at Chick-fil-A and one. morrrre. quick stop at Wally World, we were off!

I’m shazamming the best songs being played on the radio to make a playlist cd for the girls later.  So far it’s the best playlist EVER.  Everything from Journey to Snoop.  I did this for Jacey when we did our California trip, too.  Music always reminds us of moments, right?  For years to come we can pop in that cd and promptly be taken back to memories of our roadtrip sing-a-longs & shenanigans. 🙂

KT & I switched off driving a few times, very few stops, ate on the way – made the trip in just around 24 hours!  We made (ok I made) 5 rules on the way:

1. TONE  – watch your tone, no whiny girls.  Ever.
2. Do what I say.  When I say it.
3. Stick with the crew / Hold hands
4. Manners, use them w/ each other & strangers
5. Have. a. BLAST.

We reviewed these rules every hour on the way here and they are working like a CHARM!  #2 is my best friend.  We’re definitely taking the 5 crew rules back to continue using at home.  Totally applicable in all situations.

My Personal Goal this trip:  Say YES as often as possible.

It’s incredible how much kids love the word YES.  And really not as hard to say it as we sometimes make it out to be.

Can I have a piece of gum?  Yes.

Can I get some beef jerky?  Yes.

Can I play with your phone?  Yes.

Can I have Sprite?  Yes.

Can you wait for me?  Yes.

Can you turn this song up more?  Yes.

Can we come back to the beach tomorrow?  Yes. Yes. All day YESSS!!!

Speaking of the beach… OH MY GAWWWWWWWWWWWWWSH!!!!!!!!

We totally did not plan to get here in time to do anything tonight so the girls were tripping out as we got closer.   “Are we there yet” wasn’t asked AT ALL the entire trip – until the last hour, during which I think Jacey asked about 15 times.  My girl was READY.  Her first beach experience was on our Cali trip just weeks before Miss J & KT came to live with us, and there Jacey and the beach met and played together for hourrrrrrs all day down to sunset like BFFs.  Needless to say, Jacey was ready to be reunited.

Arrive.  Check in. Suits on, faces washed, hair back, and GO.

Okay wait.

*Pause & cheese – because momma has to post a twitpic to share with the world. (sigh)

Okay now GO.

And the bliss began… waves, giggles, running, falling, squeeling, splashing, jumping, hugging, all out ocean loving.  Wow.  You should have seen it.

As I sat on my towel and watched through tears, I was overwhelmed with gratitude, and humbled by the ridiculous Godness of it all… & by the ocean – how big it is – and that God is so much bigger.  I sat in awe of the beauty my eyes were witnessing.  These amazing girls… so full of life and wide smiles… Who am I, that I get these three?  Who am I that I get to be here?  Just wow.  Certainly has nothing to do with me.  But still… WOW.  My mind was just flooded with visual memories already made in the many car hours, those yet to be made in the days to come, and those being made right before my eyes.  My heart filled with such thanksgiving that I thought it might burst wide open.

This is so going to rock my world.

And we’ve only just begun.

Our “plans” don’t even start until tomorrow, and yet Dayenu – this day alone would have been enough.

We were the last ones on the beach, because who would be crazy enough to still be playing in the water after sunset other than my girls?  I had to pull out the Crew rule #2 card to pull them away from the waves, but we finally say goodbye til morning and made our way to grub.  We had dinner at Angelo’s By the Sea with a view of the ocean to our right and the Thunder game playing on our left.  SCORE!!!  The staff was AWESOME for putting that on for us. The littles had chicken nuggets, KT had fettuccini alfredo & I had cheesesticks, the best shrimp cocktail of my life, & the bartender’s special orange infused margarita… Yummy.  Also they played “Ooh Baby Baby” by Linda Ronstadt which always makes me think of momma.  She would have loved that shrimp cocktail.

Okay bedtime.  And I am realllly going to TRY my hardest to run a mile everyday while on this crazy trip, and I’d realllly like to jump start that in the morning with my first ever run on a beach!!  Barefoot I guess??

Highs:

I finally got to see Virginia.  Wow. Wow. WOWWWWW.  Beautiful.

Jacey running to the beach… that first moment she laid eyes on Venice beach came flooding back to my mind’s eye.  Mmmmmm…. 🙂

Miss J – While they were standing waiting impatiently for the next big wave to roll in and jump over, she, overflowing with excitement squeals, “I can’t wait!!!” and instead ran to the wave. Awesome.  Is there anything better than a child that is so brimming with excitement that she cannot contain herself?

KT – Only about a dozen times did she run from the waves over to me, throw her arms around me with a big hug and say, “We’re here! We’re really here!! OH MY GOSH!!”  Then after a couple jumps she would run back to play in the waves with her hands lifted high, and then a few minutes come running back to hug me and squeal again.  One time she ran to me and said, “You’re probably wondering why I have to keep my hands lifted up… it’s because all I do is WIN!!”   Then she sprinted back to the ocean.

🙂

Lows:

Gas Station Restrooms

Cropping Miss J from pics/videos = Boo.

Scripture of the day:

From the Fostering Hope Devotion, Day 18:

They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:9

Lyrics of the day:

…loves babies & surprises, wears high heels when she exercises, ain’t that beautiful… meet Virginia ♥

Song of the day:

Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

We heard this twice on the road, dubbed it “our song” for the crew.. because the rest is still unwritten…

Souvenirs:

Body boards for the girls, deck of cards, snow globe, shot glass & postcards

Random:

Mavs 93 – OKC 87

The rapture did not happen as some expected today.  Bittersweet.

Surprisingly only 10 slug bugs so far.  KT is in the lead.

Oh and then there’s this little snip of roadtrip bliss…