Christmas in California {Part 1}

We're finally back to somewhat of a normal routine around here. Somewhat. Is there ever really a routine when you have children?

Anyway, now that things are back to normal, I figured I'd share our Christmas adventure with you. After all, I did promise.

My brother, who lives in California with his Beautiful wife, had never met my little guy Kainen. Since he's 18 months already (woah, really?!) I decided it was time we rectified that problem. We packed our car and headed for the open road. From Illinois. That's 36 hours in the car. One. Way.

We started off at night to knock out a good portion of the trip while the kids were sleeping. With travel pillows in place, they were sure to be comfy for the long ride.

Ok, so this photo was really taken during the day, for those of you who caught me!

We drove, and drove and drove. Then we stopped to take some pictures just to prove that we'd been there.

It's seems the photographer may have a problem with her equilibrium. :)

 After 24 hours of driving, it was time to turn in for the night. So we got a hotel. In New Mexico.

The next morning, we drove some more...

The sights were stunning, and the kids were in good spirits. It was a good trip. After only (ha!) 12 more hours of driving, we finally arrived and were greeted by this handsome fellow.

This is Max. Seriously the sweetest dog you'll ever meet.

I'll pick up next time with details of all of the fun thing we did in California.

Hope you're having a great week!