Traveling with Kids, Part I
It was a fun and exciting weekend! Here's a post I started as we headed out of town Friday:
I have long hoped to write about travel with children, not that I am an expert or even have much experience. But it is definitely a circumstance we face several times a year, and there are always unique challenges that come with every trip. So today, as we head out on another road trip, albeit (thank goodness,) just an hour and a half, I decided to keep myself busy with a post dedicated to travel.
This weekend the occasion for our travel is my brother's wedding. And though I am happy to be part of his big day, and to welcome his bride, a good and respectable young woman, to our family, I dream that we are not headed to Salina, Kansas, but rather to a Caribbean beach, a mountain adventure, or a trek through Europe. But let's just take it one step at a time... after our last road trip to Texas and Oklahoma in November, I vowed never again to hit the road with my five little blessings. But now we have a new mode of transportation... well, at least a little roomier mode than last year. And Zachary is facing forward in his carseat, which believe it or not, does wonders for his traveling mood. So we decided to try out the new Toyota and see how she fares (and how the kids tolerate) a short trip up north.
Several weeks ago I got together with a good friend Sarah for a much-deserved girl's night out. (Coincidentally, Sarah happens to be a very talented vocal artist and you can check out her music here.) The two of us met just a couple years ago and soon realized we had quite a bit in common, as she is the mother of four beautiful young boys! As we munched our chips and salsa, we thought ahead to summer and the topic of family vacation came up. "Oh, it was just sooo hard," she said of last year's four-hour trip to visit the kids' grandma. I had to laugh to myself. Afterall, shortly after we were married and living in Texas, Steve and I had a rule about family visits: NEVER call them "vacations." Road trip, yes. Weekend getaway, fine. But vacation, no. Because trips to visit family are just that. And if we started calling them "vacations" we would never take a real one. But almost eleven years and five boys later, that visit to the in-laws on their North Dakota farm is starting to sound pretty good. It's starting to sound like vacation.
So Sarah continued to relate the long drive with four tired and bored little boys, the youngest of whom was but a toddler. And of the cramped hotel room, the lack of normal routine, and the toll that a new and unfamiliar place takes on little travelers (and their parents!) I just nodded my head in agreement, secretly smiling to myself that it's not just our family that can't seem to figure this out. And though Sarah and I didn't arrive at a solution for our vacation dilemma, I got the feeling that the challenges we face are only temporary, and that it matters not how far or fancy we travel with our family, but only that we make new discoveries and create memories together.
Update: Our short trip was wildly successful, and the wedding, a scene from heaven. Check back soon for pictures and details of our little getaway! Here's a preview:
I have long hoped to write about travel with children, not that I am an expert or even have much experience. But it is definitely a circumstance we face several times a year, and there are always unique challenges that come with every trip. So today, as we head out on another road trip, albeit (thank goodness,) just an hour and a half, I decided to keep myself busy with a post dedicated to travel.
This weekend the occasion for our travel is my brother's wedding. And though I am happy to be part of his big day, and to welcome his bride, a good and respectable young woman, to our family, I dream that we are not headed to Salina, Kansas, but rather to a Caribbean beach, a mountain adventure, or a trek through Europe. But let's just take it one step at a time... after our last road trip to Texas and Oklahoma in November, I vowed never again to hit the road with my five little blessings. But now we have a new mode of transportation... well, at least a little roomier mode than last year. And Zachary is facing forward in his carseat, which believe it or not, does wonders for his traveling mood. So we decided to try out the new Toyota and see how she fares (and how the kids tolerate) a short trip up north.
Several weeks ago I got together with a good friend Sarah for a much-deserved girl's night out. (Coincidentally, Sarah happens to be a very talented vocal artist and you can check out her music here.) The two of us met just a couple years ago and soon realized we had quite a bit in common, as she is the mother of four beautiful young boys! As we munched our chips and salsa, we thought ahead to summer and the topic of family vacation came up. "Oh, it was just sooo hard," she said of last year's four-hour trip to visit the kids' grandma. I had to laugh to myself. Afterall, shortly after we were married and living in Texas, Steve and I had a rule about family visits: NEVER call them "vacations." Road trip, yes. Weekend getaway, fine. But vacation, no. Because trips to visit family are just that. And if we started calling them "vacations" we would never take a real one. But almost eleven years and five boys later, that visit to the in-laws on their North Dakota farm is starting to sound pretty good. It's starting to sound like vacation.
So Sarah continued to relate the long drive with four tired and bored little boys, the youngest of whom was but a toddler. And of the cramped hotel room, the lack of normal routine, and the toll that a new and unfamiliar place takes on little travelers (and their parents!) I just nodded my head in agreement, secretly smiling to myself that it's not just our family that can't seem to figure this out. And though Sarah and I didn't arrive at a solution for our vacation dilemma, I got the feeling that the challenges we face are only temporary, and that it matters not how far or fancy we travel with our family, but only that we make new discoveries and create memories together.
Update: Our short trip was wildly successful, and the wedding, a scene from heaven. Check back soon for pictures and details of our little getaway! Here's a preview:
Awwww.....they all look SOOO handsome!!! You survived!!!! Woo-hoo!!! Thanks so much for your sweet words about our music! You know...I definitely remember that conversation we had! I thought of it just recently as I was thinking how summer is quickly approaching, which means we'll be taking another "vacation" up to Grandma's again!!! Heaven help me!!! :P I am impressed, however...that you even had time to "blog" on your trip! Usually I'm handing out snacks and breaking up fights! It takes quite the acrobat to maneuver around in a mini-van while it's moving! :P Anyway....I'm glad you had a good time and made it home safely! If you're like me...you need another vacation to recover from your "vacation," so....how about another "girl's" night!?!? :)
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