Hit the Road Jack and Glad to be Back

Wow!  I did it.  I am done blogging about Phoenix.  So what happens next?  We, my mom, me and Tal, drive home to Milwaukee.  Cody had to work Friday in PHX and then on Monday in Milwaukee.  Seeing as it is a 30 hour drive, I didn't want him to be exhausted Monday, so I bought him a plane ticket and told him to relax before he had to go back to work (aren't I the best wife ever? :).  My mom flew to Phoenix and I picked her up at the airport and we headed mostly North and a little East.  We took the trip in 3 days and two nights (we had to be back to pick up Cody from the airport Saturday too), staying at hotels in Aluquerque, NM and Topeka, KS.  I wanted a look at some of the places that Cody and I applied for Residency.  Albuquerque, Kansas City and Wichita being a few that we drove through.  The car was loaded as you can see and Tal managed to get a black eye again right before the trip.

A few hours away from our first hotel we stopped at this Indian Center and my mother bought me some earrings.

Talmage was happy to get out.  I planned the trip so that our first day on the road wasn't too long...you know, just to ease us into it.

We had a good time laughing, talking, singing, watching movies, eating, swimming at the hotels and drinking hot chocolate every morning before we hit the road.  Talmage even did really well.  The only time he freaked out about being in the car, was the last 30 minutes of our second day (the LONG day, 12 hours). 

Thanks to Tals other grandma, Steph, we had these alphabet flip charts paired with songs, that he absolutely loved.  We sang them over and over and over again.  My mom was so excited that he was learning his letter SOUNDS so early in life.  At one point a FED EX truck passed us and Tal starts repeating over and over again, ex ex ex ex ex.  We didn't realize he was reading an X until I saw the truck. 

Alas! We eventually made it back, and for those who care (me).... I wanted to log how many miles and hours (using Travel Math Calculator) I spent in the car for August and September. 

Milwaukee to DC________790 Miles, 13.5 Hours

DC to Milwaukee________790 Miles, 13.5 Hours

Bountiful to Spokane_______679 Miles, 10 Hours

Spokane to Bountiful_______679 Miles, 10 Hours

Bountiful to Powell__________328 Miles, 6 Hours

Powell to Monticello__________90 Miles, 2 Hours

Monticello to Phoenix________414 Miles, 7 Hours

Phoenix to St. George________405 Miles, 7 Hours

St. George to Phoenix________405 Miles, 7 Hours

Phoenix to Albuquerque______419 Miles, 7 Hours

Albuquerque to Topeka______732 Miles , 12 Hours

Topeka to Milwaukee_______630 Miles, 10 Hours

Total Miles: 6,361

I figured it out...that would be the same as driving from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida and BACK again!

Total Hours: 105 Hours

If I were to drive non stop that many hours: 4 days 9 hours straight

This doesn't include all the day to day trips around town and such, but can you see why I never want to get in the car again?

Once we were back in Milwaukee....

My mom was so proud of Tal reading the X on the truck, that when we got home, she pulled out my magnet letters and started practicing the O with him.

I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard when I saw this!

Talmage was loving it!

She stayed with us a few more days, and in the mean time, helped me make my craft for our upcoming RS Super Saturday.  I am very proud of my letter. Talmage also knows his P's very well now.

I must say...it is so nice being back, in my own bed, my own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom... everything!  I had a great 2 months, but words can not express how extremely happy I am to be back!