Rules of the road

This Thanksgiving brought our first long-haul car trip. A whopping 9 hours of driving (2.5 hours of stopping/eating/playing). To say we were nervous as we pushed off is an understatement. Here is what we learned this weekend:

1. Leaving at 4 am just means the children will wake up earlier. And want to color in the dark.
2. If you fail to bring a roll of paper towels and a plastic bag, one of the children will throw up.
3. Old magazines are the best toy - especially if you're cool with the ripping and folding that will ensue.
4. Upstate New York has no place decent to eat. No - it doesn't.
5. You will go hoarse after the 78th round of Jingle Bells.
6. You will not tire of your daughter taking pretend pictures of all the Christmas decorations (and she will take quite a few).
7. And in the end, you will have a grand Thanksgiving, complete will all the trimmings. You will also learn just how hard it is to photograph 8 children.