Trip to MO

One of our happy moments on our trip, the only one we caught on camera. We stopped and got fresh peaches, watermelon and fresh boiled peanuts...yum!

Our journey begins with leaving GA to head back to MO on a Monday. With our car packed tightly we said our goodbyes and set off. The first part of the morning went well. At lunch however we stopped in the middle of nowhere GA at a gas station that had some tables with shade and thinking it would be a good spot to eat, go potty and stretch our legs.

When we stepped out of the car we were hit with hot 98 degrees, I got Jamen out of the car and practically ran for the bathroom (we both had to go really bad). I get inside and ask the man where the bathrooms are, to which he replied "we don't have any!" Needless to say I took Jamen outside and let him pee in the grass (I had to hold it, all part of being a grownup I guess). I also had to change his clothes cause he had gotten them wet during the car ride from spilled water. I let the clothes hang in the sun while we ate.

Jamen in his clean clothes proceeded to get PB&J everywhere cause the gnats were so bad and kept flying in his eyes and face! He kept crying and saying "no bee!" We couldn't wait to get out of there! Without running water we managed to get Jamen cleaned up and back in the car. Jade had a hard time too cause it was so hot she didn't want to eat and the gnats were in her eyes as well. Once back in the car we rolled the windows down cause the air conditioner in the car only works when its cool (long story). We drove for a little while with the hot air cooling us down when Jon asked if I grabbed Jamens clothes, which I didn't. So now, day one we were short underwear and shorts!

So to make matters worse, we get to our campsite hot and tired only to find the park is empty! We couldn't find a single person! We couldn't just set up camp, we were stuck. We also didn't have any cell phone reception or GPS service. It was dinner time, it was still hot and the kids were getting cranky.

We finally found a place a few miles down the road and made camp the first night. The kids didn't want to go sleep, it was hot and didn't get dark until 9:30. We all had taken cool showers to help with the heat but it was a rough night. We had all gotten a little dehydrated and the fact that it was still hot all night didn't help. The above picture was the next morning cooking breakfast.

Day two we didn't get any pictures. We drove 5 hours to our next stop, all our stops went much smoother. No clothes were left behind, there were bathroom and we made sure we were all staying hydrated. We could tell it was hot but didn't find out till we got to our campsite that it was 102 but felt like 118! We got the tent up in time for a big thunderstorm to roll in, it didn't last long and it didn't help the heat.

The whole day I had been praying for a cool breeze, I knew it was going to be horrible sleeping again and I wasn't ready. God answered my prayer in a way I didn't expect. The couple in the campsite next to us gave us a fan to use for the night, it was AMAZING! We all slept soundly, it was still hot but it was much better than being without a fan. I've never been in that kind of heat all day, it was rough on everyone (remember we had no AC past 10:00am, so we were out in the heat all day)!

By day three we were feeling a little worn out but still ready to move on. We got to our new campsite at 11:00am thinking we could enjoy the area and relax a little. However once there we found out it was already 101! With Jamen crying and Jade wet with sweat, we decided it was too much. Its one thing as an adult to stay cool and know when you need to drink and it another thing for a 2 year old and a 7 month old. We went and found a hotel for the night. Above is Jade with her windblown hair and the biggest smile cause it was cool and she was out of the car! We found out later the area we were going to camp had reached 104 that day. We all got cool baths that night, the kids heat rashes went away and we all got re-hydrated! Once cooled off we all realized how tired we were, Jamen could barely finish his PB&J.

It was a cute town that we staid in that night, we walked downtown to the candy shop to get a "special snack" later that evening. Jamen was so cute, he'd never been in a candy store before (wal-mart doesn't count). Jamen picked out some gummy bears:-)

The next morning we took our time packing, enjoying the cool before going out into the heat again. We only had 3 hours to go on the fourth day and when we arrived in MO it was so cool! I had forgotten what it was like! Overall it was a good trip, it had its hard times but we made it. God provided every step of the way and that was cool to see, from the lady with the fan, to the refund on our nonrefundable campsite, money for food and a hotel!