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This post is sponsored by Phillips 66®, all opinions are my own. #Phillips66 #LiveToTheFull
Packed my vintage Phillips 66 keychain from my dad’s old station!
We were lucky enough to get away for one last road trip this summer for a few days right before BTR and Jude started school. We headed north up the old Route 66 (aka Interstate 55) to Chicago. A city where we lived right after college and where we got engaged!
I have so many fun things to share about our trip and things you must do if you visit with kids so stay tuned! We fell in love with Chicago all over again, and hopefully planted some seeds for the boys to love it as well!
Showing the boys our old building!
This was our third big road trip of the summer, and let me tell you something you probably already know, traveling as a family can hard and things don’t always go as planned!
I have so many memories of me and BTR hanging out on the lake!
From being stuck in the car for way too long, difficulty falling asleep in a hotel (and sharing a bed with a toddler who kicks), lots (and lots) of walking, sometimes a vacation with kids isn’t the most relaxing.
But in truth, our trip did go great and we had so much fun as a family! The morning of our aquarium visit I was buying our tickets (because I failed to plan to purchase them earlier) and I accidentally purchased the more expensive tickets because the valet brought our van around and I wasn’t paying attention. But it turned around because we were able to get an amazing parking spot on the street next to the aquarium and it was only a few bucks!
Jude thought this mural was the coolest thing ever and I’ve never seen him so happy!
It was a long road home, but of course, BTR (the best trip planner ever) picked the perfect time to come out of the city to avoid rush hour to head home! But then we hit a huge unexpected detour when we were about 45 minutes from home because the highway was completely closed for construction!. We were all a little stressed and tired of being in the car so we decided to hit some back roads home to avoid all the crazy detours.
Luckily, we found a Phillips 66 station right off the interstate so we let the boys pick some of their favorite snacks (and yes that may have also been their dinner) and we decided to make the best of our situation. Filled with gas, food, and a potty break, we were fueled for the adventure home!
Never say never, I love my minivan! ;)
Sure enough, we started out on some country roads just as the sun was setting over all the cornfields and it was beautiful! We pulled off the country road and sat next to a pasture and watched the sun setting over our summer, both literally and figuratively.
Fueling up with gas and snacks!
Although parts of our trip were stressful as most trips are, we realized we won’t remember any of those parts later on. We will remember the boys sitting and watching the waves on Lake Michigan for the first time, showing them the building we used to live in and walking through our old neighborhood, and all the fun memories exploring one of our favorite cities.
The most beautiful sunset on the back roads on our way home!
We will have those memories forever as our last trip before Jude started school and they were both still “little.” Thanks again to Phillips 66 for fueling our last summer adventure and helping us #LiveToTheFull this year!
