A wedding latte: Part 1, the road trip

A wedding is a wonderful thing. My baby brother got married last weekend, and it was a truly fantastic event that took place in Houston, TX, 800 miles from here. We drove there. 4 adults, 3 children, 2 laptop DVD players, and 1 top carrier on the rented Tahoe.

My husband loves a good road trip. I tolerate it. My kids don't know the difference, although Mason did notice that everyone else did seem to get there much quicker by flying. I will admit that the Tahoe made it a much easier trip so did having my in-laws along for the ride. Geographically, Louisiana is an interesting state to drive through so the scenery on the way was new and different. As soon as we arrived at our destination, after 14 hours and only 2 stops on Thursday evening, I realized that Sunday morning was going to come way too soon. The drive home was not so smooth. 15 hours and too many stops to count. I think that Mason logged upwards of 10 hours on Super Mario that day, and we wore out the car charger for the laptops.

The mood is always less festive when returning home from a trip. The flower girls and ring bearer lasted until almost 11 at the wedding reception on Saturday night after being ready for pictures by 4 in the afternoon. Everyone was tired, cranky, and impatient. When I say everyone, I really mean me and Mason. But we made it. A stop at a Target with a Starbucks helped a little. I got a soy mocha, the kids picked a toy from the $1 section. At each of the many stops the kids and I all did 10 jumping jacks before getting back into the car.

My latte is this, sometimes happier memories come from thinking of the destination - a great family and fun filled weekend - and not the journey.