We are finally taking our long awaited vacation! (Insert eye roll here. Yes, I know we travel all the time!)

What I mean, is we finally have all 5 of our kiddos with us and they are ALL coming!

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve travelled all together, and between relationships blossoming, and next year kids university bound or missions starting (in the LDS church, kids have the opportunity to serve a 2 year mission and Zach wants to do that, leaving next summer), this is likely our last chance to be just the 7, and our last chance for several years to be together at all! I can’t talk much about this though because I will cry. These kids growing and leaving are making it difficult for me to breathe.

Anyhow.

Instead of our usual Outerbanks (I kind of feel like I’m cheating on my beloved Outerbanks – but we will be back!!) we decided to explore some of our own country. Shame on us for not having done it sooner! So, we planned out a road trip out east hitting up Halifax, PEI and a stopover in the Bay of Fundy (Hopewell Rocks).

Josh had an afternoon soccer game (which turned out ok because both Zach and Zandra had the world’s longest double date going – complete with helping clean our house!!! (More on that later:))

Needless to say, we had a late start. Lots of catch up sleep time for some (teens go to bed waaayyy too late).

We headed to Montreal where we got a late evening poutine (of course – you can’t set foot into Quebec without having a poutine. I think it’s even one of those weird Quebec laws?! Haha).

We then had a quick visit with my Mom and sister and invaded her home to sleep!

We were up early and hit the road by 6. I love getting an early start! We had 12 hours drive time to kill, so everyone slept for a while. Rob is such a trooper. Never complains that’s he’s awake driving. Occasionally he wakes me to point out some beauty. I love that he takes it all in and appreciates nature.

Like every long road trip we take, I try to have a variety of things to keep us all entertained. Music and movies are obvious, but for years I’ve also done “Family Vacation Trivia” and this year they even reminded me to make sure I’m ready for it (start the traditions early!!) I go through my travel journal and find questions I can ask (where did we stay, what did we do, who did what, what funny thing happened etc). There’s a candy in it for the right answer. It’s a great way to keep our memories alive!!

This year I decided I’d read them a book too. A couple of weeks ago, Gabe’s girlfriend, Shannon sent me a text and suggested a book that she LOVED, called “Model Mormon” by Rosemary Card. Trusting her recommendation, I bought it.

I absolutely loved it.

I know many of you aren’t Mormon who read this blog, but the second half of the title says it all for me : “Fighting for Self-Worth on the Runway and As An Independent Woman.”

I decided it was a must read for Zandra too and then we’d discuss it together (and Shannon too!). But as I was thinking about it, and sharing everything with Rob about it, I thought “why is this a must read for only girls?”

I want to raise men who understand the challenges women face: their mothers, (their step mothers!), their sisters, their wives, their daughters, their female friends etc. It is my responsibility as their Mom (and Stepmom) to try to teach them as much as I can about being a good man, an equal partner, an advocate for all.

I want to make sure I’m not raising jerks.

I am raising my boys as LDS too, and I know over the years Mormons have had a bad rap about women and equality issues (some things misunderstood, some misconstrued, but some are sadly true – similar to the challenges we see in greater society too); but not in my home (nor the home in which I was raised). My boys can be part of the generation that changes that perception and lives the reality that they have seen modeled in our home of equal partnership and respect.

I knew reading any book was going to be a big ask. I decided to make it a bit fun. I downloaded a little amplification app, plugged my phone into the car stereo system and voila! I had a little microphone to read into! Serious business this reading. They thought it was hilarious that I could now make announcements in the car! And it helps save my voice….

I can’t say the boys were overly thrilled with the reading choice, but as we read it together, it spurred on so many conversations, questions, perspectives, and discussions. It was awesome!!!! I can’t wait to continue reading it (we got more than 1/2 way on this first leg of our trip). It truly is a must read for boys too and I’m glad that we have this book to spark conversations that all humans should be having!

We stopped for lunch at this cute little French fry hut:

The kids watched a movie, snoozed some more, and we finally made it into Halifax, Nova Scotia.

We checked into our apartment, argued about who is sleeping where, ordered some pizza and chilled, ready to explore Halifax!

Love the start to this adventure!