Sometimes things are interesting but you have to make them just a little more interesting. We were couch surfing still and Seth had a pre planned 7 day vacation/Running Cascade Crest 100 so he headed off and I began scratching my head. What do you do with 5 kids in Phoenix that long? Well clearly not stay in phoenix…
Friday I picked up the kids from school at 2 and off we headed to Silverton, CO. I basically love this place and the kids as well were super excited to see there friends and be back in the mountains. Its a 8-9 hour drive so I planned a car dinner for them and then for them to all pass out while I continued to drive.
It all worked perfectly and we ended up in Silverton after midnight and I parked in our old go to spot from earlier in the summer and got some sleep before we were all up for the morning. We spent the day playing and helping out at the Silverton Alpine Marathon & 50K. The kids loved helping at the race and were excited to see some of their friends they hadn’t seen since we left Silverton. They found worms, slugs, and made a new dog friend. It’s so nice to be able to let your children run free, to not have to keep them in sight all the time, to just let them play! They had an awesome day even with some rain. We spent the night a little up the road on a pull off with an amazing view to wake up to.
The next day Tea got some miles in on the Silverton course and I attempted to keep up! We played and hung out eventually grabbing dinner at Avalanche and then starting our return trip. That’s right, we arrived in Silverton in the wee hours of Saturday morning and left at 5:30 on Sunday night. The kids had school on Monday and I had a parents coffee, we had to get back. The amazing thing about driving at night is the silence! The kids all pass out pretty much right away and I get to listen to whatever music I want.
A few potty breaks for myself, lots of caffeine, and I made it to just about an hour outside of Phoenix. I rested for a couple hours at a rest stop then drove in to phoenix, grabbed some fruit for breakfast, and headed off to school! It was a crazy quick trip but so worth it! The kids and I had a blast and I felt pretty amazing for doing it all on my own!
I took 5 children on a crazy turn around trip 9 hours away all by myself, what’s your excuse?
Seven Wild And Free 