I was reading back through some of my earlier posts and noticed that my tone is always pretty upbeat on this blog. I'm sure that's a good thing as I would not want to come across like a 'Debbie Downer' here (LOL) or leave a negative record of our lives for future reflection. However, I want this to be real, and as such, I must acknowledge that we do have challenging times. Let's take last week, for example...
Jason and I planned a vacation to Colorado to stay at my family's house in Cascade. We both knew going in that we would have to pack "lots of patience and a really long fuse" (Jason's words) for the trip. So we loaded up my little hybrid SUV, complete with luggage rack topper, two dogs, two kids, and two *crazy* parents, for the drive westward.
By the time we reached our destination in Colorado and prepared to set the circus down, everyone was tired. J and I both had a (pipe) dream of margaritas at a fave restaurant and then good long afternoon naps. Nothing could be farther from the reality that was to come.
Upon arrival, Olive went directly into overdrive, exploring the house, grabbing at everything in sight, including pieces of my mom's kachina art collection, antique pottery, lamp cords, you name it. After Olive would lay claim to one of these items, prying it from her strong grip resulted in wails of disapproval and anger. Complete with two long wooden staircases, antique books and other decor, we had arrived at possibly the least kid-proof place on the planet.
To add injury to insult, Olivia also kept tripping and falling over the thresholds between some of the rooms. Since she's not yet a confident walker, minor elevation changes and slippage of her socked feet on the wood floor were problematic. After doing about 10 face plants, with wails and cries building in intensity each time, she finally got some better negotiating skills (she started doing a "crab walk" over the thresholds which was actually really cute).
Something about the mountain air must have kicked Quinn into a huge growth spurt as after we arrived in CO, and for the next several days, he would nurse about 30 minute out of every hour or two during the day. His fussiness was also in high gear for most of the first few days. Neither of the kids slept well for the first 4 nights or so. Of course that means that mom and dad aren't sleeping either. After the first 3 nights, I could honestly say that I was unable to string more than 2 hours of sleep together at one time. Not exactly a vacation!
After we got past the "hump" (literally Wednesday), everyone calmed down a lot and our (mostly) sweet children returned to us. The best part of the day was the evening when everyone got into pj's, listening to music and playing legos or other puzzles by the fireplace.
I talked with my sis about this and asked what is the secret to traveling with kiddos. She described it as a cost/benefit analysis. When they are this young, vacations are not going to be as traditionally "fun" or relaxing as you are accustomed to so just accept that fact. She recounted a story of a family trip to AZ when their youngest was 6 weeks old that turned into a fiasco where everyone probably wished they were home instead of wrangling their children 2,000 miles from the comforts of home.
I know Jason and I both want to travel with our little ones and explore things with them, however we need to be practical about what is fun for their ages and what is just plain too hard to pull off and/or not worth the time, money or effort. We are definitely up for more Colorado trips, though. And here's to hoping that we will get to enjoy those maragaritas someday after all!
I'll leave you with some pics of our brood from the trip. Wow, I can't believe how fast they are both growing.
Quinn on the yoga wall and after some tummy time on the bolster. The big boy started rolling over on this trip!
Olive and Daddy at 11 Mile Canyon. She became a much more confident walker on this trip! Getting lots of practice on different terrain.
Love, claire and family
