Hi there from our maze of boxes. Actually it isn't that bad anymore. We have located most of the needed items. Well, except that printer cable...

The new house is great and not so great. It has lots of typical "foreclosure" issues. Which is why we were able to afford it! In other news, I got a different van. after spending weeks and lots of money, we and our mechanics had to concede that Ben's white van was not going to ever have air conditioning without the purchase of a brand new compressor, etc. that would cost more than the car! So, as summer dragged on, we hunted for a replacement. At long last, we made a convoluted deal with a friend an bought a jump seat online so my Honda Odyssey would seat eight. You KNOW this is a Chastain blog, so the seat was shipped to our address on base, but we did not find out about it until too late. Who knows what happened to the seat. hopefully we can try to track it down this week. in the meantime I am road tripping to see relatives.

Just in case you are wondering about my strange typing, I have just realized someone hit the insert button and I can't figure out how to shut it off. It is so frustrating that I am signing off now. Hope to have pix when I return.

Let me know if you need the new address. Our phone numbers have stayed the same.

Ok, so Melinda linked me to some kind of Super sized family list. Today's post is on Road trips.

I NEVER drive through the night. I have a game plan for ime, but I am not a slave to the clock or mileage. If kids have to go to the bathroom or just stretch, that is ok with me. We do not own DVD players or game boys. On the reverse, we also do not sing rounds or join in hand slapping games. We DO bring alaptop that we hook up to the sound sysytem and strap to a stool so the whole car can see. We only watch a movie after everyone seems REALLY bored, and then usually only one. For a 10-12 hour trip, we MIGHT watch two. I carry snacks and drinks, but we stop to eat, so we can get out and stretch. Everyone gets to bring their own bags of stuff to do. We try to get where we are going by supper time. By then, I am done. We like to play mad-libs and some times "are we there yet" games. The kids like to be assigned a certain color car to look for, and jeep/punchbuggy spotting is popular. Though no punching is allowed. Ben has an ipod, but Savannah puts hers on the car stereo. I guess that's it.