Planning....

So....here we are. We are leaving for TMOART:12 in about 10 days.

For those of you who are scratching your heads saying "what in the ____ is TMOART:12?" it is officially defined as "The Mother of All Road Trips: 2012 Edition".

This all started 3 summers ago when the kids and I decided to head back to Pennsylvania. I loaded up all 5 kids and we drove. And drove. And drove. And we had a great time. When I got back to Kansas and started uploading the pictures to facebook, I called the photo albums "The Mother of All Road Trips". Then last year, we decided to do it again, and that trip became TMOART:11.

Hence, this year is TMOART:12. Nifty, huh?

Each year we end up going somewhere else. Last year involved a stop at a friend's house in Kentucky, a weekend with friends in Virginia, a day in Washington, DC, the mandated stops in Pennsylvania, and then stops in Indianapolis and St. Louis on the way back.

This year is going to be even more of an adventure. We have stops scheduled in Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and of course Pennsylvania. The final leg of the trip is actually the main reason for going - my family reunion.

Oh, and don't ask about the order of the stops. We know it doesn't make much sense from looking at the map, but considering that we have to work around other peoples' schedules and some things that we kind of have to do (like the family reunion), it actually makes a lot of sense.

The biggest difference this year is that I don't have to do all of the driving myself. The Dude is going along with us and will share in the driving (well, as much as I'll let him). So he'll get to meet a bunch of my crazy friends, I'll get to meet at least one of his, AND he'll get to meet my family - I figure if he sticks around after this trip, he's definitely a keeper!

Considering that I had a dream nightmare last night that involved us being on the road before I realized that we hadn't packed any clothes, the list-making starts tonight in full force. And I'm quite sure that the next 10 days will be spent writing and re-writing more lists and going on a massive cleaning spree in the house like I did last year. I haven't completely hit "basketcase stage" yet, but I'm getting close, because this whole trip has kind of snuck up on me rather quickly...

Crap. That reminds me. I have to call tomorrow and schedule the appointment to get the new tires on the van. And make our reservation at the campground in PA.

Where's my list.....?