Today was another, welcomed, low-key day. We hung around Grandma GG's house. We played outside some and it was a gorgeous day. It's nice, for me, to finally see Michigan in the summer. I have only been here during the snow/winter months and the greenery here is beautiful!
After we had dinner, we had a belated birthday celebration for Jr. After dinner, some more family members arrived in preparation for tomorrow.

Today was a much needed, low key kinda day. We hung out at Grandma GG's house and just plain relaxed. We played some cards, ate lunch and visited. It was nice to catch up and enjoy some family time.
Jason and Jr took a drive to see the school where Jason attended when he was a little boy. They also drove around "the old neighborhood" where Jason grew up.
More family members arrive tomorrow and it will be nice to catch up with them as well.

Today we finished the last portion of the driving. We have arrived in Michigan! After we got settled, we were hungry and wanted real food. We have been "dash board dining" it too much and were in desperate need for a change.
Next to the hotel was an asian buffet so we thought we would give it a shot. It ended up not being too bad. After dinner Grandma GG stopped by the hotel for a quick visit. It was so nice to see her since it had been a year since our last visit.
Tomorrow we will get to see more family members and we cannot wait!

Today was the longest day of driving , so far. We drove from Amarillo to Lebanon, MO. We had so much driving planned for the day that we didn't make any stops other than for potty/stretch breaks and gas or food.
When it came time to find the hotel we had a little bit of confusion and took a wrong turn. Thank goodness for GPS but we did drive thru a backwoods neighborhood. We stumbled upon "old town" and drove by some shops and family stores.
Then we found the hotel we dropped off our things and ventured out to find dinner. So we didn't have a repeat of last night, LOL, we looked on Yelp for suggestions. We made a decision to go to Steak n Shake and OMG was it good! We sooooooooo need one of them back home!
Now as I sit here, writing this blog, I am watching the Kings hockey game. It's no Angels baseball but it will have to do. I am seriously going through some major baseball withdrawals.
Tomorrow is another long driving day but we will be in Michigan by night!!

Today we finished off Arizona, drove all thru New Mexico and ended up in Amarillo, TX. In New Mexico, we stopped at some random Indian outpost. We walked around and found a couple of souvenirs. 
We got back on the road and drove, and drove, and drove! The freeway was pretty much 2 lanes until we hit Albuquerque but it didn't last long.
Once we got to Amarillo, we checked into our hotel . We showered and got changed and headed to dinner. We stopped at The Big Texan, a restaurant that we had seen on various food channel shows including Man Vs. Food. I am sad to report it was quite a let down.
We waited a few minutes for our table, which was to be expected. Once our order was taken it took probably about 20  minutes to get our food and with 2 kids that have been stuck in a car all day it felt like an eternity. Once our food arrived Jason's steak was way overcooked, to the point that it wasn't edible. You guys know how easy going we are and more times than not we would have just eaten it anyways. Well this time we had to send it back. After we waited another 15-20 minutes another steak was prepared and now this one was undercooked!! By this time we all had had enough, and he ate what he could. We paid the bill and left.
Sorry but I just needed to vent that! Rant over. LOL
After we got back to the room, we changed into our swimsuits and went swimming. It was good for the kids to get some energy out.
Tomorrow we will continue on and end up in Missouri. Good nite for now.

Today, was day 1. We left home at about 2:00 this after noon and we arrived  to Holbrook, AZ just before 10pm. The day went a lot smoother than I anticipated. The kids did pretty well. Naomi asked, several times, if we were "Going to Michigan" and "Are we going on our trip, now"
We made a few stops along the way. We stopped for gas in Needles, CA but the gas was $4.89/gallon. So needless to say, we used the restroom and bought gas down the road in Kingman, AZ.
We saw some beautiful mountains and desert scenery. Tomorrow we will be driving through New Mexico and staying the night in Amarillo, TX.

Things are really starting to fall into place. 6 days from now we are going be on the road. All reservations are made, snacks are bought. Laundry to be started today and packing towards the end of the week. It's hard to believe that we are going to be leaving in just a matter of days!