The car

More for my memory (and future reference) than anything else, I'm typing up a few notes about the car rides that seem to work well for us.  This drive is 15 hours each way (that includes the stops for gas, lunch, etc) and we like to rip the band-aid off and get it all done in one day (each way).

I feel like things are a little different every year, but with planning and some prep work beforehand, it really helps us have a great time.  Things that worked for us this year:

1.  Leaving E.A.R.L.Y.  Seriously huge.  We pulled out at 3:00 one way and 4:00 the other way.   Funny enough, this is one of Max's favorite parts (his words: "I love when you come in the middle of the night and wake us up for vacation.  It's so fun getting to go in our jammies and sleep in the car more!").   

2.  Plastic cups for snacks are super handy.  And ice cold water bottles in all the cup holders.  What snacks worked well?  Beef jerky (or if you ask our kids it is beef chicken), frozen grapes, teddy grahams, apples, carrots, string cheese, nuts, fruit snacks, and licorice.

3.  I took some ideas from pinterest this year.  Found one about a picture of a car attached to string that was attached across the width of the car.  You could then slide the car from the start to the end.  THIS WAS FANTASTIC.  ENORMOUSLY helpful for our kiddos and the "are we there yet?"  Gave them a great visual of how far we'd gone, and what was left.  This is a keeper!

4.  I love that the kids like to do their own thing, but I'd also found that handing them their own backpack seemed to get things really unorganized really fast.  Like things all over the car floor in a matter of minutes, and them only using a couple of the things in there because they couldn't find the other stuff.  And while we totally let them use electronics in the car (ipad, leapster and movies), we are still adamant that they spend PLENTY of time screen free.  Rather than deal with the continual "mom, can I have the ipad again?" I tried a new system to help with the overall mess and with managing screen free time.

This year we did everything in separate zip locks.  It all fit in one plastic tote that we kept between the girls.  And, to keep things fresh, I thought labeling everything onto popsicle sticks would be fun.  THEY LOVED THIS.  Especially Alexis.  The surprise of what to do next was more fun than anything.  And really, I think we could even scale down the options a bit next year.  Kept things in a rotation and turns for everyone all around.

5.  We made this before the trip.  Super fun for lego building in the car.  Again, a modified version from what we found on pinterest!

6.  We traveled without kermit this year.  I seem to have a never ending love/hate relationship with my dog.  Let's just say leaving him in great hands while we went on vacation was what we both needed.  It was awful on the day before we left.  I'd just taken Tayler to the doctor, only to find that the packing/cleaning had Kermit's anxiety and nerves through the roof.  He threw up and had diarrhea all over his crate.  Our whole main floor smelled disgusting!  On top of the packing, I was in our backyard hosing him and the crate down.  Yuck.  Leaving him at the boarding place (or doggie spa as it is called), was stressful for me since I didn't know how he'd be.  But it ended up great.  Absence made the heart grow fonder.  He couldn't wait to be my cuddle buddy on the couch every night as soon as the kids were down (and I was super excited to sit with him).  Yet, he wouldn't even look at Mike for about 2 weeks.  Every time Mike entered the room, he'd growl, leave or hide behind me.  Clearly he faulted Mike for the decision.

7.  Stopping for lunch was great this year.  And easy to do since we did #6.  Alexis loves trains so I snapped a pic of this one.

                                               

8.  Tayler loved #4.  And not for the activities, but for the actual popsicle sticks.  She played with those constantly.  And coloring.  And putting the crayons in and out of the container.

9.  Using the 1/4 cookie sheet was fantastic for laps.  The lip is so handy for holding pencils/crayons/etc.

10.  The kids looked out the windows and just listened to music WAY MORE than I thought they would.  I forget this when planning things for them to do in the car.  And they like to just talk or enjoy goofy games.  I really like the story cubes for story games in the car.

11.  One of my favorite parts are the workouts we do whenever we stop the car.  Running, jumping, lunges, squats, jumping jacks, push ups and stretches.  I wish we'd taken pictures.  We must look like such goofs.  But, Tayler loved joining in with the other two, and even had her own version of squats and lunges.  Too cute!

12.  This is also so successful because Mike ROCKS at driving long distances.  I don't know how he does it.

Until next time!!

Expectation vs. Reality

As a mom, I tend to create an expectation about something that is about to happen.  Knowing that something fun is upcoming, I'll imagine it in my head.  Kids happily hunting for Easter eggs, smiling faces looking at fireworks, kids loving a squirt gun fight.

As a mom, I've also learned to recognize that these imaginative expectations rarely seem to pan out the way they had been anticipated.  Someone comes down with the flu, someone is actually terrified of fireworks, or the water is just too cold (and, according to Alexis, why would you actually squirt someone with a squirt gun when you can just water the plants?  A little less thrilling, especially for her older brother who'd love to engage in a complete knock down drag out squirt gun battle in the back yard, complete with multiple stations to reload).

And, I really think that is what the joy of parenting is about.  Learning to enjoy the reality and not the expectation.  Learning to recognize how awesome the present is, and not some imagined future that doesn't exist.  Molding and jumping into the moment that seems to always be full of surprises.

Our trip to Utah was one of those times where I'd just pictured things going a little differently.

Back in January, Mike and I looked at our budget for the upcoming year and decided we'd fly to Utah to see family.  We thought it was great timing - Tayler would be 1 (still free), and it'd be less painful to get there quicker.  Plus, we thought the kids would love flying!

Excited to tell the kids about our new plan, our dinner conversation went like this:

Mike:  "Hey guys, you know how we go to Utah every year to visit family?"

Max & Alexis:  "Yep!  It's so fun!"

Mike:  "Well, we think it would be really fun to fly on an airplane this year!  So, instead of driving in the car for a whole day, we can get there quicker, and you'll get to be in an airplane!"

(Here's where anyone would anticipate kids cheering.  Or eyes big with excitement.  Or even smiling.)

Instead, we heard this:

Max:  "What?!?  Why would we fly to Utah when we can drive?"

Mike (looking at me with the same surprised face that I must have):  "Well, we'd get there quicker!  And you'll get to go to the airport."

Max:  "No.  Nope.  Not a good idea.  Driving is so much better.  We get to eat snacks, bring all of the games we like, you wake us up super early, we get to stop at gas stations..."

Alexis (totally jumps on the Max bandwagon):  "Uh, no airplane dad."  (with two thumbs down)

Me:  "But airplanes are cool.  And we'll get there quicker. (Clearly Mike and I had no rebuttal prepared for this.  Falling back to the main reason why people fly, what else would you say as a selling point?)

Max:  "No way.  We can't pack hardly anything.  And you have to sit at the airport for a loooong* time. And I wanted to see Wyoming** again."

(*True.  The one time Max flew, he and Alexis did sit at the airport for a looong time.  We were flying to Minnesota - the first time - when our plane had a mechanical problem, and we had to turn back around. We then spent the whole day trying to book another flight outta there.)

((**Really?!?  Anyone who's driven it will agree with me on this.))

Me:  I changed the subject.

Mike and I thought Max would change his mind once the new idea settled in.  But, he was relentless.  For a solid TWO WEEKS, he managed to point out all the reasons why driving was so much better.  And Alexis stuck with it too.  Every time she heard the conversation of the airplane, she immediately motioned two thumbs down, and then giggled.  His reasons were so clear, he could have presented them in a power point presentation.

Our expectation had turned into reality.  Instead of happy faces ready to fly, we had kiddos who liked the journey.  Listening to them, I realized that while vacation for Mike and I started at the destination, their vacation started the minute we pulled out of the driveway.  And those little stops we made, the games we played, the stuff they got to bring, was part of it.

Go figure.

Trip to Minnesota

In June, we took a family vacation up to Minnesota.  It's a great vacation place for us - we can catch up with old friends, check out places we used to go see, and it's an easy drive from where we live now.  I missed taking photos of some things completely, but managed to get pics in other things (I guess that is the way it goes on vacation!).

One of the first stops was to this bike shop.  It's on the music video site of one of our kids favorite songs, and they were pumped to see it in person.  Max loves the video and relating to all of the spots in Minneapolis.  And, it's pretty funny to hear the kids singing the song while they are on their own bike rides.  They were first introduced to the group by this song.  Up to hearing the song, they'd never had either hot cheetos or takis before.  They were on the try list this summer (turns out hot cheetos were not a hit, takis, on the other hand proved a bit difficult to find, but made the list of likes for Max, a no go for Alexis).  

But back to vacation!

The drive is 6 hours with stops, and we opted to put Max between the girls for this trip.  I never seem to catch much of what goes on in the car, but here are some still shots of these two.  Max was on a roll, and Alexis found everything he said absolutely hilarious.  Tayler on the other hand, was completely out (how she can sleep with all the noise baffles me!).  Fun times.

The timing of our trip worked out well for us to catch the annual bike race.  Lorena, I always think of you - it is so awesome and amazing that this was your gig!  Walking one of the lakes before the race.

 The race was a criterium, so lots of fast bikes for the kids to watch.  Super entertaining, and fun to be downtown. We walked around the course to catch different angles for the crit, and to see the booths they had out too.

 After the race, everyone was ready for a snack and we fell upon this darling frozen yogurt place.  Since Alexis is a no go for ice cream (she's lactose intolerant, but is just fine with yogurt), we're always looking for the alternative to "let's go out for ice cream."  Thank goodness frozen yogurt is so mainstream!

 The next day the kids and I met up with some friends from our old neighborhood.  The kids were so excited to see some old friends and kept guessing to see if they'd look different or the same (and while we didn't get to meet up with all of the old friends from the neighborhood, I'm sure we'll be back to visit again sometime!).  We checked out a park that I'd actually never been to before, and the kids had a blast.  It was HUGE, but gladly was fenced in, so while you couldn't see your kids at all times, you at least knew they were (somewhat) contained!

 Later that day we caught back up with our bike riding hubby and headed to the classic tourist place in Minnesota - the Mall of America, where they fit in a log ride.

 Hanging out at the science museum.  The germ exhibit that Max was fixated on when he was 4.  He was glad to see it was still there (like we'd really been gone that long!).

 At some point of the vacation, we also went to the water park of America.  Alexis LOVED all of the smaller slides, and I was surprised that Tayler was daring to go on all of the little kid slides too.  Mike and Max were off doing the big ones, and of course I took no pictures (all time there was spent keeping the one year old alive!).

We also spent some great time with friends - of course, I took NO pictures!  Except as we were leaving, I made Mike pull over while I snapped this shot.  Just a small pond mixed in the suburb, but a reminder to me of the beauty, and how it is mixed in between everything else.

 On our last day, we headed to a favorite small town that borders Wisconsin.  The kids played at a park they loved there, and we caught the beginning of another race.  From then, it was heading back to the car for the drive home - and back to reality!

 How to entertain a 1 year old in the car - stickers!

 The trip was a success!  Super grateful we were able to create these memories as a family.  Found Alexis the next day catching up on some missed sleep!

The Drive

Well, I thought I'd recap the drive experience. More than anything, so I have something to look back on. I'll warn you now, it's long and I probably rambled too much.

The first morning we left around 7am. We'd planned to leave earlier, but didn't make it out. We learned quickly how nice it would be to have those extra couple of hours, and left every other morning around 5am - giving us a couple hours to just drive. In silence.

Back to the first day. I think we were all excited to get out on the road, and the kids were super excited about having a tv in the car. Yes, we bought the strap-on-the-back-of-the-headrest tvs per recommendations from pretty much everyone I talked to. I was pretty proud of myself for catching them on sale and with a coupon, so they were cheaper than what I could find used. Since tv viewing is extremely limited at our house - without going into a lot of detail - tv viewing is brief. My kids just do better with other things (and I do too), and to be honest, hearing the noise of the tv just stresses me out most of the time, so we don't watch it. Unless I'm cooking dinner. Then it's fantastic. Or if someone is sick. Then it's a great place for them to lay and hang out. I could probably think of a bazillion other times when we love it, but for the most part, we just fill our time differently. Anyway, I went with recommendations and thought the tvs will be such a novelty and they will just be so excited to watch movies!

20 minutes into the first movie my kids were B.O.R.E.D. Alexis was already asking for a book and Max had dug into his backpack he'd packed. Oh great. This is going to be a very long trip if they won't even watch something to keep them occupied!!

We made it to our first rest stop which had a great grassy area for dogs. So, we ran the dog (and the kids) when snap! Kermit's entire collar completely broke. He kept running (I'm sure shouting "freedom!" the entire time), while I stood there holding a leash. Thankfully, the next thought that came to his mind was "food!" and he stopped with ease and made his way back. Not wanting to stop and spend time looking for a replacement, we jimmied the leash and pretty much used that the rest of the trip.

Pre-planned things that were a success? Snacks in plastic cups. Big hit. Story time in the car. Mental note: Do not let Max pack 3 Spiderman books. I cringe every time I see them. Color wonder markers. Stickers. Magnetic boards. Pipe cleaners. And of course, Max's transformer.

No gos? Any other writing thing I brought. For some reason, they just wanted the color wonder markers. Puzzles. Packed a couple of those, and even though they were small enough, didn't really seem to be of interest.

Where did the tv's end up for the rest of the trip? We actually tried a couple of different shows and found that the short shows were what caught their interest instead of a long movie. Probably because that's what they are used to watching anyway. Probably because we didn't pick up a new movie for them to be excited about. And, by the time we were driving back, Max was totally content watching a movie while Alexis slept. So, I still put them under a success, and for long trips, I do think they help.

Unplanned successes? The amount of time they were content just looking out the window. We even had this fun spaceship/different planet/alien story going for a good part of Wyoming - both times. The kids loved the pretend stories we could make in the car. Music. We had a big selection - and had thought Mike and I would really benefit from it initially, but there were plenty of times the kids loved just listening to tunes. The different maps we picked up along the way. And some of the games we just made up on the spot - both in the car and at rest stops. Seeing sights along the way - random places to check out. Laughing at each other. Fun times.

Unplanned failures? Number one for me, definitely the impact of the nausea and the car trip, especially on the way home. I didn't think we'd ever get out of the car, and the thought of a long trip still makes me a bit green. And the challenges of traveling with a dog. Well, maybe not any dog, but definitely our dog. While I love Kermit to death, it is a lot of extra work to manage him at gas stations and try to figure out where to eat since you can't relax in a nice air conditioned restaurant. Which on our first stop in Council Bluffs, NE, we went to the nearest park. Next to railroad tracks, a viaduct, and extremely low income housing. Surrounded by who-knows-what is going on crowd and who-knows-what is actually in the grass so we had better not sit down. Quickest picnic lunch we ever had. And one of the only times I wouldn't let the kids play in the park. So gross.

Back to the dog, where you have to make sure you have enough bags to pick up the poop, etc. I was pretty grouchy about it by the end (again, I blame all grouchiness on my nausea, but who knows, healthy Sara might have been just as bugged). I had some definite Marley & Me moments, and was ready to give him away by the time we made it back to Minnesota. Then it took a week or so for me to really snap out of it, and decide that I really do love the dang guy. Actually, it just took me really watching how much the kids love him, and then I decided I liked him. Or maybe it was when Mike told Max that I wanted to give the dog away and Max started crying. Real tears. She can't! Where would he go? He cried. Or maybe when I remembered what a companion he really is for me - right by my side every night, and the closest thing around when I'm sick. Probably a mixture of them all brought me back to reality that yes, we have a dog, yes I love him, and yes, he's part of our family.

Sure, there were moments that Alexis just cried. And times when they needed something every two seconds. And sure, we were exhausted from the actual driving. But, overall I really do say the pros for us outweighed the chaotic moments. I really was a pretty dang fun way to build some memories.

Didn't take many pics, but snapped a few in Wyoming.