Epic Road Trip in 'Party Truck' ...

We have just had two fabulous weeks and 2,500 miles driving in our 'Party Truck' with these two amazing travel companions! They have been awesome ... this is the first time they have been away from their parents for this amount of time. I was a little nervous about how we would all get on and if they would last the distance. I was expecting lots of tears and separation anxiety ... particularly from Roxcy who loves, loves, loves her Mum ... but they were great! No tears ... only when they couldn't get their own way or were hungry and tired.

We have got to know them quite well over the last two weeks and I am so glad that we did it. Lars is a really kind, thoughtful, interested, gentle boy. Such good qualities for a man to have in his adult years. He is interested in everything and is keen to try lots of things. He is very kind to Roxcy and really looks after her. We loved Lars' interest and enthusiasm around learning about new things. He reminded us of Mike ... a real thirst for learning.  

Roxcy is wonderfully passionate and creative. She is very determined and playful, she has a wonderful laugh, is the best kisser and very loving, she has a great imagination, is fiercely passionate about what she does or does not want, is kind until she is angry and then she turns, she has such an expressive face. She will debate something she does not agree with ... just like her Dad! She loves Lars ... they are both really good at advocating for the other. They play really,really well together. 

They were both really interested in everything we took them to and would get totally engrossed. They have lots of energy and interest in the world around them. They did not complain too much ... I think technology had a lot to do with that. When we took our children across the States in '96 we had a portable CD/Radio that we hung by stretchy cords between the two front seats and listened to a British animated version of The Lord of the Rings on CD, a lot  ... we also listened to The Eagles, Joan Osborne, What if God was One of Us CD and of course Michael Jackson. Lars and Roxcy had movies ... I think Roxcy must have watched Despicable Me 2 about 10xs. Lars watched the entire episodes of Star Wars 1-7 and then there was a TV program ... Fireman Sam who was perfect and Norman, one of the characters, who was a pain ... Pete said he has mental health issues ... we think his character was oppositional defiant.

Food ... those of you who have children know that little tummies need to be fed constantly ...  drip feed. Well Roxcy was always hungry ... she has a 'hunger monster' living inside her and if she is not fed she falls apart ... literally. Lars gets so absorbed in what ever he is doing that he doesn't even know he is hungry until asked.

These last two weeks have been such a treat for us ... we have loved every moment with these two incredible little people. Here are some photos ...

I bought quite a few stickers before we left to stick on our RV ... this photo is for you Carly. We wanted fellow travellers to be in no doubt that we were from NZ ... the best country in the world!!

There comes a time in a lot of relationships when an emergency intervention is needed ... this GPS was ours. In '96 when we drove across the States I was the navigator for a while and I was not very good at it. There were some rather heated arguments between Pete and I ... we resolved these by switching ... I drove and Pete navigated, problem solved. This time we used a GPS ... no arguments ... a wonderful invention that prevented a lot of conflict. I don't know how we would have done the trip without it. 

Our fridge full of Jason's baking ... muffins ... cupboard full of cookies and leftovers from one of Jason's awesome meals. We are set and ready to go. 

We had the best room in the RV ... this is the best it looked on the whole trip. It is very hard to make a bed that is butted up against the wall and no way of moving it. I can be quite OCD about bed making ... I had to learn to let go ... 

The best place to watch an iPad ... under the table ... 

Our first adventure of the trip ... we were a little concerned that the bridge might be too low and would rip our air con of the top. I got out to guide Pete through and a man just happened to pull up with a tape measure on him and I measured the car which is just on 11feet or there abouts ... we got through no problem!

This might bring back some memories for our children ... we lived of ham and cheese sandwiches in '96 ... lucy never ate a sandwich again ... I think I make better ones now than back then ... this one has hummus, avocado, mayo ... all sorts of goodies. The condiments really make a sandwich ... not the filling!

After a few hours on the road things began to fall apart ... chaos reigned most of the time inside our RV ... Lars and Roxcy brought along so many activities including 2 rather large/medium bouncy balls which ended up in the drivers cab on the odd occasion. Warning to all of you who are thinking of doing something like this ... leave balls behind!

The RV world is a whole new world!! Our RV was always one of the smallest at the RV parks and oldest. There are things that you really need to know ... the difference between 'black' water and 'grey' water. Now some of you may have already known this but we didn't. Black water is toilet water ... grey water is everything else ... but not drinking water. This hose is our black water hose. When we arrived at our 'first' RV park the manager figured out pretty quickly that we were new to the RV world and he gave us some suggestions ... like replacing this pipe because it looked a little old and if any 'black' stuff came out we were turn it of immediately!! So we bought another hose off the RV park ... there was a funny moment when I saw Pete standing over the pipe looking at it ... I have seen lots of moments with Rob and Pete where they were working on something and they were both standing over whatever it was looking at it and in deep conversation ... the Subaru stuck on top of a rather large tree stump in Temple View comes to mind.

This is probably the most important piece of RV equipment you will need beside a fully functioning black water pipe ... this stops the toilet and 'whole' RV from smelling ... took us a little while to work this one out ... but we got there after a day or two of uncomfortable driving ... Roxcy refusing to go to the toilet because it smelt and when she did she would hold her nose. 

This is another really important piece of equipment ... a cordless vacuum ... $59.00 from Target. We did not discover this until late in our trip and it made such a difference to our living space which was starting to look very embarrassing.

We stayed at KOA campgrounds mostly or Walmart carparks which has free camping ... thank you Walmart. We preferred KOA ... they have swimming pools and lots of play things for children and families to enjoy. Lars and Roxcy loved KOA camping!

Our first KOA campground ... Lars in action jumping into the pool ... we were so hot and so grateful for some cooling down. 

Lars and Pete playing on the go karts ... they had fun ... Lars was so excited to try one of these out and beat Pete.

Rest time ... Roxcy loved to sleep under the table with her treasures. She would hoard all her precious things under here .. 

Part of our road trip was visiting LDS historic sites. We visited Palmyra, Kirtland Temple, Johnson Farm and Nauvoo ... ending up at Niagara just for a visit. This photo is taken in the Johnson Family home ... Chris' Mothers family are direct descendants of the Johnson family through Luke Johnson one of the sons. The Johnson family owned a beautiful house and farm about 45 minutes by car outside of Kirtland. They produced butter and milk primarily and some agriculture. The house had a summer and winter kitchen ... a room for their children or their son's wives to give birth ... The Johnson seniors had built a home for all of their children and no expense was spared. Eventually the Johnson's sold their beautiful home and farm to fund the building of the Kirtland Temple. This photo was taken in one of the bedrooms ... note the color of the tiles on the floor ... the color in this house is beautiful!

These shoes were beside the bed ... beautiful!

The church has restored the Johnson family home as close to its original condition as they could. I love these colors ... 

Beautiful ... Sister Johnson senior had very good taste!

One of the great things about a road trip is knitting for me ... I love knitting as many of you know. Lars took the camera and started taking random photos and this is one of them. This blanket is now finished! Blanky power as Roxcy calls it! Where ever you see Roxcy you will see her old blanket not far behind her. Hopefully she will love her new one just as much.

Just because I think these 2 look so cute together ... Pete is a wonderful Granddad. He has endless patience and just loves hanging out with Lars and Roxcy. It seems so much easier being a Grandparent than a parent. I really wish we had been as chill and attentive to our children as we are to Lars and Roxcy ... there always seemed so much to do.

I am sure I have posted a picture like this before ... I think these wind turbines are elegant.

Staying at Normal in Illinois with Aunt Joy, Uncle Hafe and counsins ... playing a game on the computer .. freedom! I am not sure why the name Normal??

I love this photo of Lars and Pete ... Lars had hung out for a while waiting for a double tube ... when ever he wanted Pete to do something I would hear 'Pete, Pete'.

Roxcy losing it ... I tried hard to get a photo of her in full swing ... this was the best I could do ... Roxcy really is 4 going on 14 ... some Roxy lines ... 'I told yooooooou ...', 'Yoooooou know ...' There is no reasoning with Roxcy when she gets into this place ... all we could do was hope to placate!

Here we are in Nauvoo. For some of you who have been to our home you will recognise this Sunstone ... these are all around the Nauvoo Temple. The Nauvoo Temple is the most beautiful Temple I have been in.

Pete attempting stilt walking.

Members of the church used these hand carts to trek across the plains ... Lars and Pete getting a taste of what it might have been like. 

I think I can ... I think I can ... nope I can't.

Lars in action making rope ... 

 This is what a hard day of play and exploring looks like.

I think of Ite ... a beautiful type of Hibiscus ... Fiji ...

Lars doing the most important job of the day ... helping Pete to reverse the RV with out hitting anything ... he would stand there and say 'keep going' ... he loved to be a part of the RV and Pete.

End of Part One ...