Her Name Is Lola...

In just a few short days, the three younger kids and I are driving to Atlanta to watch my oldest daughter compete in a Scripture memory tournament. From there, we will move on to a family vacation. I can't seem to wrap my brain around how to prepare for a road trip of this magnitude. Two boys and an infant. A stroller, car seat, playpen, and diaper bag. Luggage for seven people. My Mom will be with us on the front end of the trip, and Hubby will join us for the latter end. Over the course of our vacation, we will be in four hotels, a friends' house, and a cabin in the mountains. How to pack? What to pack? When to get the packing done???

Yesterday I took a few hours to organize, make lists, and shop. I'm rather satisfied with my big purchase of the day. Emma is now the proud owner of her very own pink polka-dotted suitcase. I'm not sure we needed another suitcase, because I'm not convinced the ones we already own will fit into the minivan, but I do know that just as soon as I get around to buying the 768 things I actually need to purchase for our trip, I will have a very adorable place to put them.

Meanwhile, helpful Hubby was out making an equally productive use of his time. He came home with a proud smile on his face and announced he had a surprise, which turned out to be a Garmin Nuvi GPS system. Her name is Lola. (She is a showgirl. She wears a feather in her hair, and if we ever want to go to the Copa Cabana, she can tell us how to get there.)

In my mind, the "surprise" wasn't the fact that hubs would purchase a map gadget. He's into both maps and gadgets. The "surprise" was that it was (supposedly) for me. He's concerned about me being on the road with the kids, and given my (lack of) sense of direction and propensity for "shortcuts" perhaps that is all with good reason. But my co-pilot on this journey, the one in charge of communicating with Lola and keeping her on cue, is my Mother. Mom, who is still scouring Walmarts looking for a VHS recorder to tape her favorite TV shows because she just can't get comfortable with these new fangled DVD thingies.

"I can order a trip kit from Triple A!" she offers, as Hubs pulls Lola from the box.

"No need!" he exclaims as he begins to prattle on about rest stops and gas stations and restaurants at the touch of a button. There he was, waving Lola around, her cords dangling and LCD panel glowing. A hopeless look settled over Mom's face, and as she fixed her scowl firmly on me I knew exactly what she was thinking.....Rand McNally Road Atlas.

So, this morning I was running painfully late. Hannah needed to be at church on time to participate in a special part of the service. I was having a hard time locating two matching sandals and herding everyone out the door. I plopped in the passenger seat, make-up bag and hairbrush in tow, just in time to hear a woman with an Australian accent give clipped instructions on how to navigate out of our neighborhood. The Garmin Nuvi comes with voices. Great. On our way home from church Hubby kept making wrong turns on purpose, trying to throw Lola off her game. I don't really get the GPS humor, but apparently Lola is here to stay. She makes her home in a little bean bag on my dashboard, just waiting to become my Mother's brand new very best friend.

It's a big job, getting ready for a family trip. But, I have the talking map and the dotted bag, so clearly, preparations are well under way.