Day 1: Ohhhhhhhh-klahoma

… where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain!  And yes, it certainly does.

Last night, the Hubs and I said goodbye to our now-empty house, walking through it together room by room, crying and talking about the memories we created there, most of which revolve around the girls.  It didn’t really hit me until we were standing there that we won’t ever be coming back to that house. Ever.  It was a crushing realization after days and even weeks of numbness while working through the preparation, packing and final loading process.  It’s all finally starting to sink in.  New and exciting adventures ahead, but still hard to leave certain things behind.

This morning – new day, new adventure.  After a lovely breakfast with my in-laws and my parents and a nice little game of how-the-heck-do-we-fit-all-of-this-in-and-on-top-of-the-car, we began our trek west for a five-day journey that will bring us to our new home in SoCal.  It didn’t take long (i.e., less than an hour) before M and C were out cold.

Poor C has a cold and was snoring, drooling and sleeping like Grandma (with her mouth open – ha!)  We stopped for a nice picnic lunch and some playtime in Lebanon, Missouri, enjoying the bizzaro 74-degree weather.  Yep, still February last time I checked.  We christened the new dual-screen DVD player with Alice in Wonderland and some Curious George, both of which were a big hit.  We don’t do a lot of TV at home, but I’m now convinced that those little 9-inch screens can be a life-saver on long road trips, particularly when you have a child with a very short attention span.

Our route took us through Joplin, Missouri, the site of the EF5 tornado that devastated the city last May.  From the interstate you can still see patches of trees that bore the brunt of mother nature and damaged buildings in the distance as well.  I still remember watching this YouTube video taken while a group of people hunkered down for cover in the refrigerated storage area of a gas station as the storm hit directly.  Sobering indeed, and clearly an event that many will never forget.

We’re in Tulsa for the night, first-time hotel stay for both the chickadees and J-dog.  Hotel stays with children inevitably lead to earlier bedtimes for adults – what else is there to do when you can’t get up and around without waking them.  Having rarely been in bed before midnight for at least a month, I’m really looking forward to a long night of rest and hitting the road again tomorrow.