Road Trip
Seavey Family: Daniel + Annabelle
Garrett “Beck” Beckham: 6 yrs
Ava Claire: 4 yrs
Rosemary “Rosie” Anne: 2 yrs
Levi Christian: 6 mo.
Blake Elizabeth: 6 mo.
Illeigh (pronounced EYE-leigh) Nicole: 6 mo.
Marais Family: Jonah + Cara
Joseph Robert: 7 yrs
Evan Charles: 6 yrs
Florence “Flo” Leigh: 4 yrs
Nadine Elizabeth: 2 yrs
James Taylor: 8 mo.
Annabelle
“You’re still packing?” My husband asked, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.
“Yep,” I replied, studying the suitcases and items covering our living room floor. Our suitcases were the kind that could be divided in half so we only had to bring 3 with us. Daniel, Beckham, and Levi shared one, Ava Claire and Rosie shared another, and I shared with Blake and Illeigh. It didn’t make much of a difference though as I packed everything and would pick outfits for each day.
He approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist as he spoke. “Ok, well, AC and Rosie refuse to lay down until you go kiss them goodnight,” He informed me. I sighed at the stubbornness of our two daughters.
“Let’s go put these kids to bed,” I replied. He nodded and gave me a kiss on the cheek before we went to do so.
As I walked down the hallway, I heard toddler giggles coming from the girls' room. I leaned on the doorframe as I watched them. Rosie and Ava Claire were sitting on Ava Claire’s toddler bed and the two were flying their lovies around like superheroes. I couldn’t help but smile at the two girls in matching onesies as the giggled and played together. Daniel admired the sight from the doorway with me before heading on to say goodnight to Beck.
“Alright, girlies. If you want a story, you better pick one out,” I warned them, finally entering their room. The two girls scrambled to pick a story and sit back down on Ava Claire’s bed, cuddling their stuffed animals close. I smiled, turning on the sound machine on my way to sit on the ground by Ava’s bed.
“Beauty and the Beast!” Ava Claire cheered, handing me the same book we read every night. I agreed and we waited a few minutes for Daniel to come back.
“Dada!” Rosie cheered as he entered the room. He smiled and kissed her head as he sat down next to me.
“Beauty and the Beast,” He read the title of the book. He gave me a look that made me laugh a little before we started reading to them.
When we finished the book, I put Rosie in her crib and tucked Ava Claire in before going to say goodnight to Beck. He was in his bed reading a small book when I walked in.
“Hey, buddy. It’s time to go to sleep,” I told him, sitting next to him on his bed.
“Ok, Mommy,” He replied, closing the book. We said our goodnights before I headed into the living room where Daniel was helping with packing. We didn’t get very much time to do so as the triplets started crying, wanting to be fed.
Cara
“Where are they?” Jonah asked for what seemed like the fifth time. I sighed and finally looked up from my phone.
“I’ll go get them, ok?” I offered as I started to climb out of the van. For the road trip, we had to rent a five-row, 16 passenger van, not including the front two seats.
It was 4 am so it was still dark outside. I entered my best friend’s house to find the alarm system was still on, suitcases open wide in the living room, and silence.
I crept toward the master bedroom but stopped when I glanced into the nursery. I snuck over to the couple holding babies on the bed and lightly tapped Annabelle’s leg. She snapped awake but I tried to keep her and the baby still.
“Hey. We gotta go,” I whispered. Her eyes widened and she handed Blake to me. Then, she took Illeigh from Daniel before waking him up. He woke up a little more smoothly but picked up his pace when he realized what time it was. He got up and put Levi in his carrier while Annabelle and I did the same with the girls. Daniel and Jonah went to put suitcases in the van under the babies and smaller kids’ feet. Annabelle and I put the babies in the van while the boys got the older three kids. Daniel came out of the house with two tiny, pink backpacks to match the two tiny, blonde girls in pink onesies in each arm.
Soon, we were all in the van. The boys were in the driver and passenger seats with the snack bucket between them and drink cooler by Daniel’s feet. Annabelle was sitting in the first row in between Blake and Illeigh with the diaper bag at her feet. I was sitting directly behind her in between James and Levi with pillows and blankets at my feet. In the third row was the curly-haired two-year-olds with their backpacks in between them. In the fourth row was the four-year-olds. Finally, the fourth row had the three boys and their backpacks in the extra seat between Beckham and Evan. Thankfully, all ten kids were still asleep. Annabelle and I took advantage of this as we slept for the first hour. When the sun started coming up, the kids started waking up.
