Traveling to Las Vegas

We decided to make the drive to Las Vegas over the course of four days. So we got up Monday morning and drove to Jackson, Mississippi. Then on the second day we drove to Abilene, Texas. The third day we drove to Deming, New Mexico. Finally on Thursday we drove into Las Vegas. We had a moving truck so Mike started off driving that and I was in the car with Daniel. Thankfully we also had Mike's parents with us to help with the drive. Each day was about 8-9 hours long of just driving but we added about 2-3 hours of travel time with the stops we made.

Daniel was pretty happy on Monday and that day was the worst for weather and traffic. We knew we wouldn't be allowed to leave the South without experiencing rain one more time. So we got to leave in the rain and drive through Atlanta in the rain. We made one stop in Birmingham to see part of J's mission. It was a nice break from the car. Daniel was a trooper and played really well in the back seat with his toys and we also had some good breaks. That night we stayed in a suite so he actually got to sleep in his own room for the night.

On Tuesday morning we woke up and started the day with a big breakfast. The second day was a little tougher. Daniel was still a great little traveler, all things considered. He would just get a little sad when we had to get back in the car after making a stop but really I couldn't blame him. He never screamed and cried or threw a fit though. That night Mike and I shared a room with Daniel. This worked pretty well since he was so tired by the evening that he would have slept no matter what (maybe) but we would put him down and then sit in the dark hotel room and watch stuff on the computer while we ate. Then we would go into the bathroom and brush teeth in the dark. We didn't want to turn lights on so basically from 8:30 til we went to the sleep, the hotel room was dark.  Fun stuff!

Wednesday we decided to change up the driving a bit. So Kate and J rode with Daniel in the car and I rode in the truck with Mike. This was also when Daniel's mood started to change and he was sick of being alone in the back seat. So we tried to always have someone back there with him to play with him. That helped a lot and he was happier. Wednesday we stopped at New Mexico state and checked out the school and also went out to Applebees for dinner. While we were at the restaurant Daniel really was tired from the time change and he just wanted to run and play whenever he was out of the car. So since Mike was having to walk him around the restaurant to keep him happy, one of the waitresses when to the back and made Daniel a balloon and shaped it like an apple. He LOVED it!! It was his favorite thing and also kept him happy the whole next day in the car.

Thursday was the last and longest day. We had to do the last 625 miles to take us into Las Vegas. Daniel was so tired by this day that he was a bit crankier but since he was so tired he actually napped better on Thursday than he had all week. That let us just drive. One thing we were told to keep him occupied in the car was to have movies. This kid could have cared less about movies. He screamed when I tried to put one on for him. The only videos he would watch were home videos of himself and he also really liked when grandma and I sang Christmas songs and primary songs. All things considered, I think Daniel actually handled the trip better than I did. He was a little trooper and the only problems he had were the ones that we expected. He was also cutting 2 teeth while we were traveling so he was awesome!

Coming into Nevada

We are very happy that we are done with the drive to Las Vegas. It was wonderful to come over the hill and see the lights of the city. Texas was the worst state to drive through, it felt like it was never going to end but we met some nice people along the way. Its nice to be able to enjoy Christmas now though and just focus on getting settled here in Las Vegas. We miss our friends and family back on the East Coast but hopefully once we adjust to the changes here, we (by we I mean me cause Mike and Dan seem to be adjusting better than me...I blame the pregnancy) should be doing awesome!