Vans, Turtles and Family Vacation Plans

BREAKING NEWS!!!
I am no longer a Mom driving a van.  I totally forgot to tell you this exciting bit of news!
As you know, I was never a fan of the Van driving Mom status.
So after 10 years of driving one, I am not anymore.
 
I will tell you that I did feel oddly guilty and sad, leaving the car lot and my Van who kept my family safe for so many years and drove us on many adventures.  This is the not the first time an inanimate object has "spoken" to me.  I had a hard time sleeping that night.  It was weird.....

Unfortunately, our timing is just a little bit off.  We got the new car about a month ago and have decided to drive to Florida in July to see family. I'm already having anxiety about how dirty the new car is going to get (I have kept my new shiny black car IMMACULATE since the day I got it - even if that means vacuuming the interior 2x per day) Hello, my name is Kristen and yes, I DO have OCD.

Our son, the oldest of three we know will be riding in the passenger seat.  There is NO way he will sit THAT close to his little sisters for 24 hours amicably  (on both sides.)  Guess who is riding in the back seat?  Yeah, me.
I am kind of already dreading this part.  I am not very patient when it comes to wiggling, and any type of body noises. (Blame my father!)
We had a discussion about this in the car yesterday while I was sitting in the back seat next to only ONE of the wiggle worms.  The hubby announced he might look into renting a BIG car.  This was said while I was wiping a fingerprint off the ceiling.

I think that is THE BEST IDEA I have heard in a long time! Talk about being able to relax!
I have a feeling that idea is on the "Keep Dreaming" side of the list, but the thought will keep me calm until we leave, in my new shiny black car with me sandwiched in between two wiggle worms, one who thinks farting is still funny and the other who has a tiny little "whistling" noise in her nose.
REMEMBER TO PACK:
                         Headphones
                         Blinders
                         Personal Barricade Wall

Thankfully we won't need a lot of clothes for a trip to FLORIDA in JULY (it's the only time we could get a vacation together - Alaska sounds so much more appealing, but our family chose to live in Florida  -darn it)

The only problem is that our normal "red-neck luggage" consisting of 4 laundry baskets, probably will not fit in the trunk.

 I'm thinking even more red-neck than ever - How about, NO Luggage at all -just fill the trunk up to the top and use that as our family dresser. I'm sure the nice neighborhood we will be visiting won't mind a bit if the hubby and kids change out on the driveway....
 It will be like Cousin Eddy and family coming to town!  (said family does read this blog, so don't be surprised when I blog how my family vacation was cancelled )

of Course, it would be a good excuse to get more of my fave vintage peices....(so much easier to pack!)

We spent some intimate time in the new car last night.  Time that I have a feeling will be the first of many similar events.....  Dropping a pre-teen off at the movie theater, then killing 3 hours driving around town. (where we live the closest theater is 30 minutes away, so you are kind of forced to stay in town hiding from said pre-teen and their friends.)

 Yesterday, unbeknownst to me must have been - Save a Snapping Turtle Day and the hubby took home the Grand Prize trophy for saving the most.  4 in one day!

The last save was while we were "killing time".  This one was a little bit unhappy about his inevitable suicide save, so he had to be rescued by a toe -I took a picture, but I cannot get it to download. Needless to say, the hubby ran across a 4 lane highway, carrying a snappy snapping turtle by his tail to a tall patch of grass on the other side.

I hope you are enjoying your long weekend.  Today is going to be a HOT one here, so I'm dragging out all the card and board games to keep us entertained with....