Starting MileageBefore I went to bed on Thursday, I made a list of everything I needed to do before we could leave town. It was a long list!

When I woke up in the morning, I rotated the laundry before I headed outside to cut the grass. The temperature was already starting to climb, but our yard was in desperate need of attention.  After I finished cutting our grass, I got sucked into working on my neighbor’s yard. It’s really a mess. I quickly realized that I couldn't invest too much time on this task because it would take all day.

Next on my list: cleaning the high gutter. A few weeks earlier, my oldest son had cleaned some of my gutters, but this one was neglected in the process. I wedged a ladder between the shrubs and our house. There were so many spiders and other creepy crawlers. By the time I was done, I was covered in crud.

I don’t normally go straight to the shower after yard work. I like to give myself a little time to cool down, but I didn't have that luxury today. AND I felt like I had bugs in my hair. So, I got right in the shower. 

Afterward, I folded laundry and started another load. I cleaned up the kitchen and left the house to run my errands. Target, bank, CVS, gas, and a final stop at the grocery store to grab some beer for Josh.

By the time I got back to the house, the clothes were dry. I tossed the clothes from the washer into the dryer and folded the dry load. It was already after 12. I finished packing our bags and moved everything to the dining room. I cleaned out the cat boxes, brought the trash can around back, and washed up so I could make lunch. 

I was a combination of excited and stressed out. I’d been running from one thing to the next all morning. I was looking forward to wrapping things up and getting out of the house. Matt got home right before 12:30 and helped me finish making lunch.

While we were eating, we talked about what was left to do and about which car to take. Matt’s car only has 80,000 miles on it and my van has over 250,000. If we took his car, we’d save money on gas, but my car is more comfortable. In the end, we decided to take my van.

Matt was responsible for loading the car and double checking to make sure we had everything we needed. I cleaned up the lunch mess and started the dishwasher, made sure the cats had fresh water, hung up the clothes from the dryer, and packed the toiletries bag.

On my way BitmojWhen I was working on the laundry, Matt came in to ask me if he should take the Barbies out of the van. I told him to just leave them - they don't take up much space.

Just before we left, I threw together a bag of odds in ends to take with us. I grabbed some shoes and came out to get in the car. When I got outside, I did a quick inventory of the car. Pillows! We needed to have a couple of those and a blanket. Matt went back in the house and grabbed a few.

It was just after 1 when we got on the road.