4th of July Roadtrippin'

1,000+ miles in the car. Add a 10 month old and a three-year-old and things get real interesting. That was our reality last weekend when we decided to road trip to Missouri for the 4th of July. 

It's been over a year since we've ventured to the Show Me State to visit my side of the family. Many people hadn't met Emmett, so I was excited to spend the long weekend in my old hometown introducing him to the Missouri folk. With the 9ish hour drive ahead of us, we loaded up the car and hit the road early Thursday morning. We had a bag of tricks packed for each kiddo, the TV ready for movies, our YETI can koozies loaded with Diet Cokes and a couple 5-hour energy 's for emergencies.  

The first 8 hours of our trip were flawless. The kids were incredible and managed to sneak in a few naps. We stopped for bathroom breaks and ran through the drive thru for breakfast and lunch. (I'm going to need a fast food detox, btw) We were making great time as we entered into St. Louis, but expected to hit rush-hour traffic. Our consistent 70mph came to a screeching halt and everyone's patience was wearing thin. Watching our ETA to the hotel increase by the minute was frustrating. Less than 15 miles to our hotel and according to the GPS we were more than an hour from our final destination. Yikes! After a little searching we found a back road option, we decide to go for it and took the next exit. At this point in our drive Emmett was screaming, Harper was requesting to watch a movie and Mitch is mumbling under his breath. We decided it was best to pitstop at a gas station to regroup for our own sanity. Once we stretched out our legs our backroad adventure continued. 

Storms had come through the night before and left many areas flooded. As we weaved through the back roads the severity was evident with flood waters close to the road. We were within 7 miles of our hotel when we saw a big sign saying, "ROAD CLOSED AHEAD." Hoping this closed road wouldn't affect us, we continued to drive. Our trip was delayed again when we realized the bridge we needed to cross was completely flooded. The water-logged streets meant we had to turn around and backtrack to the highway we had just left. Our anticipated 10 hour drive ended up being 12 when all was said and done. We arrived to our hotel 2 hours later than we originally expected, but we were there safe and sound.

After a low key Thursday night, we woke up Friday more refreshed and ready for a family filled day. We headed to DeSoto to my Grandpa's house to meet everyone and plan our our day. Harper couldn't wait to get out of the car and run around outside since the kids had their fair share of carseat time the day before. As soon as we pulled into the gravel driveway, Harper kicked off her shoes and took off running. 

She immediately took a liking to my Grandpa's garden. She was in awe of all the tasty treats she could pick with her very own hands. We picked strawberries, green beans, cucumbers and blackberries. Harper's muddy toes jumped around as we collected the fresh produce. 

In that moment I wanted to freeze time. 26 years ago, I remember being Harper's age running around that very same yard picking blackberries from the same exact bush. It was one of my favorite things to do in the summer with my Grandma and Grandpa. We would fill buckets and buckets and Grandma would make blackberry cobbler with all our berry findings. To share such a small memory with Harper made me so happy and seemed so special. 

Friday night we went to my Aunt Margie Schumer's for a backyard BBQ. Emmett was introduced to everyone and Harper got to play with her cousins Collin and Gibson. The kids didn't stop running the entire night. They played soccer, chased each other with water guns, rolled down hills and took turns popping bubbles. The humidity got the best of Harper's hair and the girl was a giant sweat bomb. Our BBQ night ended with smores and lightening bugs. Harper loved the lightening bugs and we spent a lot of time trying to catch a few. It was such a fun night hanging out with the Schumer's!

 

We had a jammed packed 4th of July planned. It all started with the DeSoto parade. This is an annual tradition and still one of my favorite events. We sit on the same corner we have for years and run into Express Mart gas station for pre-parade drinks. Aunt Nita and Kenny even drove down from Illinois to celebrate with us! We waved to all the parade participants and left with a giant bag of candy. (Honestly, no kid needs that much candy!) Even Emmett enjoyed watching the parade pass by. 

 

After the parade we headed to Aunt Joan's house for their annual 4th of July beach party. Both kids were all smiles when they got into the water. Emmett loved splashing and tried to sneak handfuls of sand into his mouth if you weren't watching. Harper spent the ENTIRE day in the water. She swam with everyone who was willing to join her. She even got to play in the sand with her cousin Piper. At 5pm we had to drag her out of the lake. She was exhausted, but would never admit it. It was such a fun day at the lake with family. 

Since Harper was napless and Emmett was off his regular schedule we decided to head back to the hotel after our long beach day. Once the kids were washed off and free of sand we walked over to Steak n' Shake which was right next door to our hotel. It only seemed fitting to end our holiday with a greasy burger, fries and an ice cream treat. It totally hit the spot, but by 9 o'clock the kids were overdue on bedtime. 

All four of us staying in one hotel room was a bit challenging. In order for both kids to fall asleep we had to turn off all the lights and the TV. With the TV on, it was too distracting and they were keeping themselves awake. By 9:30, I was the only one left with my eyes open. I could hear the fireworks outside our window, but I quickly joined the sleepy ones. I think we were all sleeping before 10pm. I'm not sure if that makes us lame, or if that just means we had one heck of a day!

 

Sunday was our final day in town and we wanted to make sure we saw everyone to say our goodbyes before heading back to Minnesota. 

We stopped by Aunt Margie Schumer's one last time to say "see ya later" to her and Maggie. Harper kept us entertained with her creative imagination and she and Aunt Margie played a few games. It's always great catching up with Aunt Margie. Plus she always sends homemade treats home with us. This time it was homemade strawberry and blackberry jam which is absolutely delish!

Later in the afternoon we headed to my Grandpa's for one last farewell. Harper ran around the yard and snuck in one last gardening session. We even managed to do a few fireworks of our own. Do poppers, snakes, sparklers and smoke bombs count as actual fireworks? Either way, we had fun doing them. Aunt Joan and Betty were there for dinner and we even had cake to celebrate Grandma's birthday (gosh we miss that lady!). As the sun went down, we gave our final hugs and kisses. 

 

Monday morning we were on the road by 6am headed home. I'm happy to report the drive home was better than the drive down. It only took us 9.5 hours and the kids were great once again. We survived our very first road trip as a family of 4. It was fun and we'd even do it again! 

Seeing my family, introducing them to Emmett and sharing some of my favorite childhood memories with my own family made for one amazing vacation. It's definitely a 4th I'll always remember. 

Until next time…

The Helleens