Spring Break Adventure!

We decided two years ago to camp every Spring Break. And, this year we broke that plan. :) Instead, we took a Road Trip Adventure with the girls. Mark had a business dinner in Atlanta, so we decided to tag along, and make it fun for the family.

We didn't tell the girls we were doing anything for Spring Break, and decided to totally surprise them with this trip.

I secretly packed their bags, and we loaded the car after they were asleep. The next morning, we woke them up bright and early to begin our adventure.

Through their sleepy eyes, Kendyll read this poem to begin the day:

The bags are packed, the plans are done.

Let's jump in the car, and have some FUN!

It's a Spring Break Road Trip!

That's where we'll be--

Planned all along for you sisters three.

Where will we go? You want to know!

Mom & Dad won't tell, until we're on the go!

All we'll say now, is that we really love you,

And you'll have to wait for Clue # 2!!

They were immediately energized, rushed to get dressed, and we hit the road. They immediately began guessing where we were going, which included everything from Oklahoma to Great Wolf Lodge to New York City to Florida...and all were wrong, of course. Here they are at breakfast, checking out their new atlas and map to get some clues.

Little did they know that their clues were MUCH further down the road than Mesquite. :)

Now, half the fun to me of planning a road trip is making the CAR part fun. I packed a crate full of activities and crafts, and the girls received "Car Mail"{like Tree Mail for you Survivor fans} every 30 minutes. When the timer went off, they gave me one ticket, and received their mail. This helped the time pass quickly, and made it more "understandable" for their little minds. They new that our next stop was "two tickets away". The mailbox would contain either a new activity, or a fun snack each time. Here's Carlie with her first ticket...She definitely loved this part the most.

They also received these little butterfly boxes in their first "Car Mail", that had $5 and all of their road trip tickets inside. The $5 was theirs to spend how they wanted that day...whether it be on souvenirs or junk at the gas station. It was AMAZING to watch how they guarded it so carefully and wouldn't spend it until they really found the right thing. I had no idea that it would really work, but I was glad to not be asked all day "Can I have gum? Can I have a drink?"

By the way, alot of these ideas came from this website, and I highly recommend it if you're traveling a while in the car. They had some genius ideas. (Amy M, I thought of you the whole time. You were the original minivan mom. :)

So, half of our road trip was spent in a car together. And, although that may sound tiring, it was actually really fun. (although I'll be happy if I never use a convenience store bathroom for the rest of my life...)

We did everything from tissue paper art, foil creations, Bendaroos, games, car decorating with paper chains and window crayons, and a whole bunch of other crafty things. Any time we traveled in the dark, THEN movies and I-phones were allowed. :)

And, of course, they received new clues in the mailbox as we would approach a new state. {This was my sneaky way of having them learn new things without them noticing!}

Clue #2: LOUISIANA

The girls received their first poem for Louisiana, and I'm sad to say we've lost our literary masterpieces, so I can't share them. :( But, after Kendyll read the clue, they would each look at the map and in their atlas for the state that matched the clues, and then color the state we were headed into on their car map. We all learned new things about every single state, and had fun finding the things that were mentioned in the poems. A very fun way to learn--for all of us!

Louisiana was a bit of "drive through" state. Nothing much to report from this land, except that we learned a little bit of French...

Clue #3: MISSISSIPPI

Visiting the river, as we crossed the border...

In Mississippi, we spent the afternoon in Vicksburg, learning about the Civil War and the Siege of Vicksburg. This was a wonderful day, with perfect weather, and we explored the battle grounds and the memorials around the city, which were SO well done.

Here is my tough little soldier, firing her cannon:

And, here's the whole gang climbing all over it:

Later in the week, on our way back home, we spent time in Jackson, and enjoyed seeing "Old Town Mississippi", dating back to the early 1800's. This museum was set up like an old farm town, and we learned more about the history of Mississippi.

There was the printing press, the doctor's office, the old farmhouse, a school, a church, a blacksmith, a cotton gin, along with a cute general store where we bought old fashioned cokes. SUCH a fun place!! And, again, we all learned so many new things!

Abby Kate stirs a pot of something yummy...

A cotton gin, still in working condition!

The School House:

The beautiful old church, still available for weddings...

And, our family picture in the world's largest rocking chair:

Clue #4: ALABAMA

On our way to Atlanta, we decided to stay the night in Birmingham, which would be the first of three hotels we would visit on this trip. What is it about a hotel that is just SO fun for kids? We could have stopped here and they would have been satisified. They had a blast exploring and pretending in the hotel room.

And, it's even more exciting when the hotel has breakfast! (This was Kendyll's favorite part!)

We took some time to explore Birmingham, the childhood home of Uncle Austin, and we decided we could move there in a heartbeat. It was a very cute town with lots of cute shops, and beautiful neighborhoods. Here are the girls using their butterfly box money at the candy shop. A VERY cute shop.

Our other favorite thing to do on road trips is eat. And eat, and eat. We had some delicious meals on this trip, including the best catfish I've ever had in Vicksburg, and some great Greek food in Birmingham. Nabeel's was a favorite of Aunt Cassie's when she lived here a few years ago, and we were glad we tried it too!

Clue #5: GEORGIA!

Now, we were finally ready for our final destination! Atlanta was so much fun, and we fit alot in to two days! The girls were so surprised to be visiting FIVE states on this trip, and it was so fun to surprise them with each part.

The first night, Mark had a business dinner, so the girls and I enjoyed dinner out, and a movie and trail mix in the hotel. Here they are creating their own mixes:

I had actually planned that as an activity for a rest stop along the road, but was very glad that we hadn't used it yet!

The next day, we hit the ground running. One of our favorite stops was of course the Coca Cola Museum!

We were all VERY excited to see a gigantic bottle of coke from Africa as soon as we walked in!

Along with lots of African drinks too!

It was amazing to see how Coke has made such an impact over the years. They are marketing geniuses, that's for sure.

Really, we rushed through the museum part, because they were SO ready to sample all the goods!

I've never seen three girls ingest so much liquid in such a short time. Their tummies were so bloated, and if you know my girls, you know this happens easily. :)

But, oh the joy that is found in the freedom to drink as MUCH as you want without having to stop. Especially when this includes the usually off-limits caffeine drinks!

The favorites of the day were: A watermelon flavor from China (AK). Sparberry from Zimbabwe (Kendyll), and Carlie loved them all. Ha. Actually, her very favorite was a pineapple blend from Japan, although there were quite a few on her favorites list. Mark found a new root beer love, called Birch Beer, and I still preferred the classics in cherry and vanilla. (Although I did try lots of others...my favorite international drink was probably Fanta Exotic from Uganda.)

We went straight from there to wash down our coke with a little burger. :) The Varsity was another great tourist spot we had to try, and it did not disappoint. To add to our already bloated feeling, we added lots of cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes. Wow.

We also spent the afternoon at Stone Mountain, hiking and exploring the great big granite rock.

Here's my favorite three year old tourist, chillin' in her stroller. She was SUCH a great road-tripper, especially since she didn't get a full nap the entire week!

We rode the Sky Ride (which the girls thought was THE biggest adventure in the world!) and had popcorn at the top of the mountain.

My parents actually took us on this exact same road trip when I was little, so it was fun to share these same things with my girls. I think I have a picture of my sisters and me on this same rock...along with many of these other stops along our way!

While we were up there, we checked out Atlanta from afar...

Looked at the clouds...

And, ran around...until Carlie face planted on the granite. Then, the running ceased. :)

The next day, was St. Patrick's, so we all wore our festive green. However, no one else in Atlanta did. Seriously...who doesn't wear green on St. Patty's?? But, don't you worry. Our whole family matched in our green stripes. :)

After another morning of sightseeing, we started the trek back toward Dallas, stopping for a day in Jackson, and a two day pitstop at Gammy and Papa Ron's ranch. :) I never charged my camera, so I have no cute pictures from those days, but they rolled in the hay, played with the animals and cousins, and spent time relaxing. (And, I did lots of laundry!) We also got to see our sweet little Mia Maulsby for ice cream on her FIFTH birthday! What a treat that was!!

We arrived back home yesterday, thanking God for a very safe...and very fun family trip.

I know this was a long post for anyone who is not family, but we love having the details documented to go back and read later. In fact, as I started this post, I went back and read the last few spring break reports (here and here and here). Mark and I feel so blessed to be able to make these memories with our family. I pray there are many, many more to come.