Gettin' The Heck Outta Dodge!
The van is packed and ready to go. All the headphones, Ipods, and cell phones are charged. The refrigerator is bare. Dogs have their designated homes to visit. The mail has been put on halt. The hotel rooms are calling our name!

Yes, I did say roomS, plural. Ya see, I refuse to get a 2 or 3 bedroom suite. Reason being is that it turns out when you have a kitchen and a washer and dryer, it no longer feels like a vacation to me. Even when I am booking the hotel rooms and their is the little disclaimer saying that their is no guarantee the rooms will be adjoining, I secretly hope they are on opposite ends of the building! Now THAT would be a vacation. Just think, I'd have 3...maybe 4 kids to handle? Piece. Of. Cake. Although my luck would be that Josh would hide out alone and I'd be hanging out with all seven kids anyway.

Their is the exception to my "NO SUITE" rule and that is when we take our annual Fall trip to Disney World. We typically stay at Saratoga Springs resort and go for 2 weeks. In that case, I like to have the 2 bedroom roomy suite to leisurely cook breakfast in. I know the day ahead will be packed with non-stop fun!

This trip, however, is going to be nothing but leisure and the thought of having to cook, clean and have a washer and dryer calling my name just makes the whole word "leisure" lose it's umph! We are road-tripping it for the first time (actually the kids keep reminding me that we did drive to South Dakota. Does that really count though? It's only a five hour drive!) We are really looking forward to the whole experience and are going out of our way to make this not just any "road trip".

First stop is about five hours away from home. We will be stopping at Arches National forest for a small mile and a half hike. I am sure by the time we get there the kids will be more than eager to get out and move. Not to mention my ADHD hubby! Once we finish that little adventure we will be driving another eight hours and staying the night near Zion National Forest....in a hotel...do not panic, we are not crazy enough to camp out on our already psychotic "vacation". Early the next morning we will be hiking the narrows, basically a really narrow canyon that you hike through in mostly water. It is supposedly beautiful! It is about a six and a half mile hike so it will take us a few hours to get through, but hearing our friend talk about it, I know it is going to be worth it! Once that feat is accomplished we are heading to Corona Del Mar for some beach fun (about another nine hours)! OK, OK I will confess we are doing a couple days of Disney while there, but it is not the focus of this particular trip!

We are so eager for this fun-filled family memory building experience. My parents are flying out and spending 7 days with us and flying back home. Big wimps, couldn't handle the thought of a road trip with seven kids. Actually they could've probably handled the kids easier than they could handle Josh and I and all our quirkiness! (who knows we may end up in a whole different sate by the time it's all said and done) Oh well, all in all Saturday morning can not come soon enough for this brood!