"A journey of 1,000 miles...

(Or 1,700 roundtrip miles including our multiple stops up and down the state of Indiana) begins with a single step" and one Toyota 4-Runner packed with such precision that I question whether or not I should be working for Target or a freight company.

Well, the much anticipated "Jarrett Family Roadshow" that took us back home to Indiana for 10 days is officially complete. I joke that the 4 of us spent A LOT of quality time in a 5x5 ft area together. Thank goodness we went with the Toyota 4-Runner instead of the Camry or else we would have ended up with a U-Haul to get us there and back. It seriously seemed like I packed the entire house before we left!

Yes, it was a lot of work. Yes, there were times when Kurt and I both wanted to stick our heads out the window and scream at the top of our lungs. Yes, it's difficult to maintain a sleep schedule for your children when you are hopping from hotel to hotel every other night. But most importantly, YES, it was absolutely wonderful to introduce our newest son to all of his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. And it was so fun to see Blake interacting with his cousins and getting to spend some one on one time with his grandparents.

You may wonder where our beloved little Molly was during this trip...safe in the care of two of my good friends - Alicia and Wendy. We cannot thank them enough for taking care of Molly while we made our trek. There was no way we could have done it with her though we did miss her a lot by the end of our trip. I'm sure she enjoyed 10 days away from the boys though!

Before I go through the play by play, here are the top 5 things we learned from this trip:

5. It's a lot more fun to watch your toddler eat a powdered donut when you're in a hotel room that you don't have to clean up!

4. You can never pack enough diapers, formula or fruit snacks.
3. Road construction can be a good thing if the 2 year old in yor backseat can be distracted from a tantrum by spotting a digger.

2. Rolling the window up and down can be a lifesaver for a collicky infant who craves loud, white noise.

1. Hearing your toddler sing "Skidamarinkadinkidink I LOVE YOU" from the backseat about 50 times in a row NEVER gets old.

Here we go...