Lessons from the Road

So yes, Jeremy and the girls have been back for close to 4 weeks now, and I'm just posting about their road trip from Anchorage to Topeka. Jeremy has told his many funny (now) stories numerous times, so I think I can manage to do a quick recap for you.
With two bodies absent from the mini mini-van, Jeremy could see out the back window, which is always a bonus!
A breakfast of champions - sugary cereal (which they seriously NEVER eat!) and soda. Nice. Jeremy frequently wondered why the girls were so rambunctious in the car. Hmmm...apparently, it wasn't only breakfast that was of this caliber. We haven't eaten out since we reunited - they all needed a good detoxing!

Laird Hot Springs. Jeremy is always willing to stop and smell the roses along the way. They enjoyed their dip in the unchlorinated (but not stagnant) pools one hot afternoon. Their skin conditions even cleared up before they arrived home! Also, never leave your towels (which contain undergarments, swim suits and clothes) on the back of the vehicle and drive away. Although, if this does happen, Canadians are very nice and will let you know that your "stuff" (or some other word to describe your things) is flying away.

Lunch at Watson Lake's sign forest. Or maybe it's breakfast? I can't tell by looking at how the girls are dressed. And oh yeah, when you do laundry, be sure not to fold your car keys in the clean clothes before packing them up. It may mean that you'll search for 2 hours all the while cursing the little girl who just played with your little girl and drove off in her RV to who-knows-where Canada, thinking that she stole your keys. Or maybe you should make sure you have the spare set of keys before you drop your wife off at the airport and she doesn't realize that she has them until her purse gets searched after it goes through the X-Ray machine. Visions of being stuck in Canada for weeks until Fed-Ex delivered said spare keys danced through Jeremy's head ...sorry...

Plan on roads like this in Canada. Also, plan on having tires that look like someone took a belt sander to them and then having to replace ALL of them and getting an alignment done when you reach your destination. The car is 9 months old and now has close to 25,000 miles on it!

Also, one more lesson - if you are the only parent taking children across a country's border, be sure you have a notarized statement from the other parent saying that you're not kidnapping them. If you didn't realize that this was necessary, be sure your kids can melt the heart of the border guard to get you across.