After our drive thru the Garden of the Gods, we headed south to Texas.

The drive thru Colorado a mixture of beauty and just okay.  Then we hit New Mexico.  Holy Cow!!!  What beautiful country.

The girls and I were excited to see something other than deer crossing signs.  Like bear crossings.  Elk crossings.  I think we even saw Moose crossing signs.

Of course seeing the signs was exciting.  Not quite sure how I would have felt actually seeing any of these animals in front of my vehicle.

Then we hit Texas.

Ummm!!!!  The drive across the border to Amarillo was not exciting.  There is nothingness there.  Some homes scattered about.  A few hills.  Some farms.  But mostly nothingness.  Miles and miles and miles of nowhere to stop.  That’s really not fun when a bathroom is needed.

We finally hit Amarillo and checked into our hotel.  A short time later my stomach began feeling rough.  Hubby took the 3 oldest to the pool and I stayed in the room, at times doubled over with severe stomach upset.  Was it something I ate?  Had I managed to contract the flu?  I didn’t know and really didn’t care.  I just wanted to feel better.

By morning I was feeling better and we were on the road again.  Destination – the Dallas area.

We spent 2 1/2 days with hubby’s sister, her husband and their granddaughter.  She has two kids in the area and her youngest son flew in from New York to spend the holiday weekend with family.  It was a wonderful time.

The day after Thanksgiving we avoided all shopping and headed to the Dallas Zoo.  After all the times we’ve spent in Dallas, this was our first visit to the zoo.  Hubby and our brother-in-law stayed home while the rest of us spent a few hours in the sunshine taking in the sights and sounds of the zoo.

When taking 7 kids, ages 7 and younger to the zoo, there is bound to be fun, tears, laughter, and a meltdown.  Mostly, it was fun and a nice day out.

Then it was time to head home.  We had an overnight stop in Springfield, MO where we met up with some dear friends for dinner and visit.  Then our 10 days of travel were over and we were home.

Our trip was met with some challenges.  Traveling with 4 kids isn’t necessarily easy, but mostly we came home with good memories and are glad we hit the road for a few days.