Road Trips & Stories

 

 

 

I love road trips.  I am definitely one of a few dinosaurs left who enjoys spending hours in the car with my family.  Yes, it’s never perfect as I’ve envision a long drive to be but the best part of the ride is the memories & stories that we would share with one another.  I know with a blink of an eye, time passes by so quickly.  Encouraging my family to embrace this “family tradition” is pretty tiresome…a teenager and a grumpy old man.  Thank goodness that Ethan has my adventurous spirit & is welling to try anything with a smile.  Ethan is a child after my own heart.  My husband and my daughter ~ they are one in the same…that’s why I always have to push them to the brink by giving them hugs & kisses. 

Marisa is really lucky for being born many years past.  She’s had plenty of opportunities for many road trips…with us, her cousins, her grandmothers, her uncles, her aunts and her friends.  Imagine the stories that she will be able to pass on to future generations or maybe to her baby brother!  I hate to sound like a broken record; however, I’ve told my children that having this opportunity to retell stories of our family’s past will be of great value to them.

 

Ethan is really lucky for being born later because he is so spoiled!  Ethan is spoiled in a good way because he has our attention, devotion, admiration, encouragement, love, and time.  I love watching Ethan interacts with Marisa & with daddy.  I hope that he will learn to appreciate our family’s tradition in story telling, especially when daddy reflects on his own upbringing & experiences.  My husband always figure out ways to make us laugh…his story about us missing the Grand Canyon on our drive from Provo, Utah to Las Vegas, Nevada…implication…the canyon is so big & famous so therefore we were crazy to have missed it.  To date, my husband still has not made it to see the Grand Canyon!  Another funny story about being robbed by someone who he knew from his high school when he was managing the family owned store in Alexandria, Virginia.  How about going fishing with his step dad in Thailand?  He said that his dad would toss a grenade into the water & within minutes, he would see fish floating up to the top & he would dive in to gather them.  Just like something that you would see in the movies!  Oh, he has a lifetime of stories…I need to collect them all so that my children will always have something to help bring a smile to their faces cause I know that my husband’s stories have always brought tears to mine from laughing so hard!

 As we embark on our travels this past Sunday, the 10^th of July…I was so excited to have these moments with my family.  Summer is really bad for my husband to spend quality time with us since work is seasonal…having to limit our income to only one, we’ve been living without excessive stuff.  It’s difficult but it’s a sacrifice that we all have taken to ensure that our children come first.  The benefits outweigh the struggles…especially when I get to spend my days with my children. 

 

We woke up & got ready to leave the house at around seven-thirty; however, by the time we hit the road, it was about nine.  I was a happy camper since everyone was in perfect spirit, even for the “sleepy member” in our household.  One thing to remember for the next road trip, don’t let someone drive who doesn’t like to receive directions nor allow someone to sit at the passenger sit who doesn’t like to give directions.  Hey, one more story to retell, right?  Another thing to remember is to not follow the GPS directions “literally” without looking at the whole picture first ~ this will cause your blood pressure to spike!  In all, it was memorable to watch the blind leading the blind while Ethan & I smiled our way to our destinations.  On our return, my husband said that we should take a road trip to Florida before our children starts school…I’m ready in a heartbeat!