Today was our first day back from our whirlwind traveling the past two weeks. It has been a little bittersweet to be back. In a lot of ways it's nice to be home, sleep in our own beds, let the kids roam around the house without following them everywhere worrying about them destroying someone else's things. It's also great to see friends and catch up with the people we haven't seen since we've been gone. But as Matthew put it today "Home is not fun." We do a lot of fun things around here, but it isn't quite the same as doing fun things somewhere else. A lot of the things we did on our trip were pretty normal, things like going to the park. Though going to a new park brings new exploration and adventure and compared to that our normal parks just don't seem as fun. We went to a wonderful indoor water park, but I had a hard time getting them excited about going swimming tomorrow. Matthew said "The rec center is not a fun pool."
So maybe we were a little spoiled and had a lot of fun on our trip. There weren't many things I can complain about. Everyone keeps commenting on how brave or crazy I was to do the cross country trip with two toddlers. But I wouldn't have changed a thing, and I must say the boys were GREAT! I couldn't have gotten better behavior out of them if I bribed them with candy :) We all had a wonderful time. And I would turn around and go again tomorrow if we could!
We're home now, and Matthew is doing his same "And then what?" questions. What are we going to do today, and then what, and then what. My answers did not impress him, even though we did have a fun morning at storytime, the park and out for lunch. Being home there are dishes to be done, laundry, cleaning... and while we somehow must have done all these things on our trip, I don't remember those parts very much ;)
The staying quiet in the morning didn't go so well this morning, but we'll find out when Matt and Sarah wake up how much we disturbed them. Matthew knew they were home, he has put together that when the cars are here they are here too, and did go in wanting Mommy to play with him. Maybe we'll have to start hiding the cars ;) Actually... one could fit in the garage now! So now I'm starting to sit down with a calendar and figure out what the next few weeks look like for us. I'm hoping to make a few shorter trips, like up to Omaha to go to the indoor waterpark and Zoo with my sister and nephew. Hopefully some Topeka and Kansas City trips with friends from around here, and who knows what all we can come up with.
Time to make being home just as fun as vacation!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
On the Road!
It really seems like this trip is flying by! We left New Strawn on Saturday and it's already Friday night! It's been almost a week, but it feels like such a short time. We've had a great time. We haven't reached our final destination (Alexandria, VA/Washington DC) yet, but should pull in sometime tomorrow evening. Tonight we are camped out in Columbus Ohio.
Since leaving New Strawn, Kansas we have driven 1539.8 miles. From Kansas, to Omaha, to Kearney and then on the road to DC! The boys have been AMAZING! I really mean that, and not just better than I expected, but great travelers period. Matthew has been quite the trooper, never complaining, always having fun and smiling. The only time he has gotten in "trouble" lately has been for being so excited he ends up screaming. Well I take that back... he did have one little bout of crying at dinner tonight because he didn't get a cheesey taco (his favorite at Amigos in Nebraska).... at Texas Roadhouse. He was convinced that had them, it was weird. He has watched movies, played with toys and games and has only asked once to stop to go to the bathroom other than our scheduled stops. Ian has been great too, he gets upset sometimes when he drops his cup or his blanket on the ground. But has improved tremendously since the beginning of the trip and no longer cries for it, but uses his words! Cup! Fuzzy! Please! even Thank you! He's added a few words to his vocabulary. Juicy, Unbuckle, Apple, and a bunch of others... we really should have written down all the things he's been saying.
What we've done so far:
Saturday - Drive to Omaha, Amanda's Pampered Chef Party, Drive to Kearney
Sunday - Church, Barbecue, Reid's Eagle Scout Ceremony, Play at home, Amigos
Monday - Go to the Mall, Yanney Park, Early Head Start
Tuesday - Ballocity, Yanney again, playing soccer and jumping on the trampoline
Wednesday - Children's museum, lunch at Hunans, playing at home and the park
Thursday - Packing, blowing bubbles, Drove to Iowa City
Friday - Parks, nature walks, Texas Roadhouse, and the drive to Columbus Ohio
And that's just the stuff I can remember quickly off the top of my head! We've done a lot, had a great time and also had time to help Melody with homework and Reid with scholarships. There is still a week ahead of us as well. I hope we have as good of a week as we've had so far. I'm already feeling sad about the trip ending. But hopefully we'll have a lot of fun trips ahead of us as well. I'm definitely ready for more after how well this one has gone! And if you don't believe me about how great the boys have been, ask Melody :) I think I expected at least some crying and whining... though we still have one more day of driving, so hopefully I am not speaking too soon.
Hopefully people have been following our pictures on facebook. I've posted a ton, and plan to post a lot more. Though I forget to take pictures of some things :( Hopefully Melody's pictures will fill in the blanks too. We have some fun videos as well, but have had some pretty slow connections at our hotels. Maybe sometime when we're bored... lol, yeah that hasn't happened yet!
Since leaving New Strawn, Kansas we have driven 1539.8 miles. From Kansas, to Omaha, to Kearney and then on the road to DC! The boys have been AMAZING! I really mean that, and not just better than I expected, but great travelers period. Matthew has been quite the trooper, never complaining, always having fun and smiling. The only time he has gotten in "trouble" lately has been for being so excited he ends up screaming. Well I take that back... he did have one little bout of crying at dinner tonight because he didn't get a cheesey taco (his favorite at Amigos in Nebraska).... at Texas Roadhouse. He was convinced that had them, it was weird. He has watched movies, played with toys and games and has only asked once to stop to go to the bathroom other than our scheduled stops. Ian has been great too, he gets upset sometimes when he drops his cup or his blanket on the ground. But has improved tremendously since the beginning of the trip and no longer cries for it, but uses his words! Cup! Fuzzy! Please! even Thank you! He's added a few words to his vocabulary. Juicy, Unbuckle, Apple, and a bunch of others... we really should have written down all the things he's been saying.
What we've done so far:
Saturday - Drive to Omaha, Amanda's Pampered Chef Party, Drive to Kearney
Sunday - Church, Barbecue, Reid's Eagle Scout Ceremony, Play at home, Amigos
Monday - Go to the Mall, Yanney Park, Early Head Start
Tuesday - Ballocity, Yanney again, playing soccer and jumping on the trampoline
Wednesday - Children's museum, lunch at Hunans, playing at home and the park
Thursday - Packing, blowing bubbles, Drove to Iowa City
Friday - Parks, nature walks, Texas Roadhouse, and the drive to Columbus Ohio
And that's just the stuff I can remember quickly off the top of my head! We've done a lot, had a great time and also had time to help Melody with homework and Reid with scholarships. There is still a week ahead of us as well. I hope we have as good of a week as we've had so far. I'm already feeling sad about the trip ending. But hopefully we'll have a lot of fun trips ahead of us as well. I'm definitely ready for more after how well this one has gone! And if you don't believe me about how great the boys have been, ask Melody :) I think I expected at least some crying and whining... though we still have one more day of driving, so hopefully I am not speaking too soon.
Hopefully people have been following our pictures on facebook. I've posted a ton, and plan to post a lot more. Though I forget to take pictures of some things :( Hopefully Melody's pictures will fill in the blanks too. We have some fun videos as well, but have had some pretty slow connections at our hotels. Maybe sometime when we're bored... lol, yeah that hasn't happened yet!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Packing Day
We're getting ready for a big trip and I'm filled with a mix of emotions. I'm very excited to get to see family for a few days, some good friends, and a lot of scenery. It also makes me a little nervous to be going on such a long trip. Though it's funny as I talk to people about going everyone thinks it's brave to be taking to kids and a teenager on a 3000 mile road trip. Honestly though, the kids have nothing to do with me being nervous. I love to travel, and the boys are so much fun. Melody will be such a help with the boys and we will all have a great time. Singing in the car, watching movies, stopping at new places, taking fun pictures... yes there will probably be some times where sitting in the car will be long... but then we'll get out. There will be times when things are boring, but we'll find something to do. All part of my plan of taking 3 days to do the big drive, plenty of flex time to have fun while going.
I am more nervous about a lot of little things, like forgetting things places... not just forgetting them at home, but forgetting them at a hotel or somewhere else. Nervous about having car trouble or the weather being bad. But when it all comes down to it I'm mostly excited. If something goes wrong we'll deal with it when we come to it. If plans get messed up we'll make new ones. If Melody has to miss a day or two of school I'm sure she won't mind ;)
Our trip will start tomorrow with a "short" trip as we head to Omaha. Short meaning a 4 hour drive... which depending on your definition can be a short trip or a long one, but compared to the driving coming later in the week... it really is a short trip. I'm hoping to keep somewhat of a log of our journey and adventures, and of course a lot of pictures! I'm packing two cameras just to be safe! And Melody will have her's too!
But for now I'm working on the task of deciding the best way to pack the van, which toys to bring and which to stay home, how to make the best use of space, and hoping that I don't forget anything too major. Despite it's bulk the double stroller is coming with us... I believe it will be a life saver as we attempt to see some of the sites of Washington DC!
I am more nervous about a lot of little things, like forgetting things places... not just forgetting them at home, but forgetting them at a hotel or somewhere else. Nervous about having car trouble or the weather being bad. But when it all comes down to it I'm mostly excited. If something goes wrong we'll deal with it when we come to it. If plans get messed up we'll make new ones. If Melody has to miss a day or two of school I'm sure she won't mind ;)
Our trip will start tomorrow with a "short" trip as we head to Omaha. Short meaning a 4 hour drive... which depending on your definition can be a short trip or a long one, but compared to the driving coming later in the week... it really is a short trip. I'm hoping to keep somewhat of a log of our journey and adventures, and of course a lot of pictures! I'm packing two cameras just to be safe! And Melody will have her's too!
But for now I'm working on the task of deciding the best way to pack the van, which toys to bring and which to stay home, how to make the best use of space, and hoping that I don't forget anything too major. Despite it's bulk the double stroller is coming with us... I believe it will be a life saver as we attempt to see some of the sites of Washington DC!