Friday, February 20, 2015
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Quick getaway to Duluth - The truth about travelling with kids
We took a very quick trip to Duluth in the middle of September. The still pictures look like we had tons of fun and the kids were sweet and hilarious and everything wonderful. But really, let's get real. Travelling with a three year old and a one year old. Here's what the pictures do not show:
- We ate every meal in the car because it was too overwhelming to actually find a restaurant that is family friendly enough and food that is fast enough to feed our overly hungry or overly tired family. And the bees prevented a picnic because there were a lot of them and I'm (stupidly) scared of them.
- We stayed in a hotel with a waterpark, which was going to be awesome for the kids. The first night Kilen would only go in one tiny portion of the park and was scared of the other areas. Much, much, much better the next morning.
- At one point, Kilen licked jelly off of the carpet floor during breakfast. Gross. Serious discussion about not eating food on the floor quickly followed.
- About 30 minutes before going to Gooseberry Falls park, I proposed that we just drive home and sleep in our own beds that night. Thankfully we forged ahead and made the best memories at the park that evening, and enjoyed the pool more the next morning.
- I don't really know who slept in what bed or between what hours. I do remember pacing the halls with Elsie for a while, and it's quite possible that 3/4 of our family was in tears at some point overnight. (We've had both good and bad experiences with the kids sleeping in hotels - and it mostly has to do with how overtired they are and how overtired we are as parents...)
This was definitely one of those trips that will be fun to look back on in a few more weeks. It's still a little too fresh at this moment. The best memories I will take away from the trip include:
- How lucky we are that our kids do great in the car.
- How much fun we had in the pool on Sunday morning. Getting the whole family in on the lazy river - even Elsie enjoyed being able to sit in her own baby tube, though she'd share her famous scowl every time we went under the sprinklers.
- How Kilen figured out the timing of the big bucket dump on the kiddie water slide play area, so he could avoid them and hit the small waterslides in between.
- How much fun we had exploring on Saturday evening at Gooseberry Falls. We were there for only a short time as the sun was setting, but we had a grand time. And no one fell in the water.
- How much Kilen liked the alpine slide at Spirit Mountain, and how much better Lynden is at rides like that than I am. :) I am officially comfortable with my spot as the camera person for all future roller coaster rides with kids!
So, we'll be sticking close to home for the next few months. :) Jury is out if I will take the kids along to a track meet this spring like we did last year to San Diego. All signs are currently pointing to "run in the exact opposite direction of an airplane trip and hotel stay"... but we'll see how adventurous we're feeling in a few months. Maybe our kids will magically mature in 5-6 months. You know, they are always changing and surprising us. :)
Toddler Olympics
Toddler Olympics - a day where dreams are won and lost. Well, mostly won since everyone gets a medal. The favorite event this year was likely a three way tie between the high jump, ball throw and measuring things with the tape measure. Yes, measuring things with a tape measure became it's own event and kept the 3-year-olds busy for over half an hour. They even figured out how to take turns with who got to run the end of the tape out to the end of the yard and who got to reel it back in.
It was a beautiful September day to get the kids outside for another round of fun!
It was a beautiful September day to get the kids outside for another round of fun!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
We went to London
We travelled by plane, bus, car, tube and ferry. We saw the city, countryside, Olympic facilities and an island. We had a great time.
Catching up...
I feel as though I'm starting to catch up again. Had a little vacation, crossed some things off the to do list, scheduled some appointments, transitioned Elsie to a new bedtime routine that no longer includes nursing, boxed up all the baby bottles and supplies, and even tackled a junk drawer that has been disregarded for well over two years. I haven't really started cooking again though... Gotta leave some room to grow, right?
And just as I was feeling on top of it, feeling "present" and "in the moment", I had a moment of shock - My babies are growing faster than I expected. They both walked out of daycare the other day. That tiny little milestone floored me. It wasn't long ago I had to carry both of them (at the same time) in and out the doors. When did they decide this new phase was ok? Suddenly I'm not feeling caught up enough to keep up with these little revelations.
Because Elsie doesn't say very much yet, I forget that she is actually a toddler. A 27 lb 3 oz, 16 month toddler that can walk (and race), pick out her own cracker at daycare, fake cry, navigate obstacles to get what she wants and copy what she has seen her brother do over the last year. And now Kilen is maturing in new ways too, with improved listening ears, some new reasoning skills, storytelling and a hilarious (to me) sense of humor.
So here they are, walking out of school together. And then here is Elsie at the park going down the slide by herself.
Oh, and I think Elsie said Kilen's name tonight... She looked at a picture of Kilen, pointed to him and said "eye-en". It was adorable. So we are up to about five words that we can decipher. Mama, dada, eye-en, baa (ball), and buh-buh (bubbles).
And just as I was feeling on top of it, feeling "present" and "in the moment", I had a moment of shock - My babies are growing faster than I expected. They both walked out of daycare the other day. That tiny little milestone floored me. It wasn't long ago I had to carry both of them (at the same time) in and out the doors. When did they decide this new phase was ok? Suddenly I'm not feeling caught up enough to keep up with these little revelations.
Because Elsie doesn't say very much yet, I forget that she is actually a toddler. A 27 lb 3 oz, 16 month toddler that can walk (and race), pick out her own cracker at daycare, fake cry, navigate obstacles to get what she wants and copy what she has seen her brother do over the last year. And now Kilen is maturing in new ways too, with improved listening ears, some new reasoning skills, storytelling and a hilarious (to me) sense of humor.
So here they are, walking out of school together. And then here is Elsie at the park going down the slide by herself.
Oh, and I think Elsie said Kilen's name tonight... She looked at a picture of Kilen, pointed to him and said "eye-en". It was adorable. So we are up to about five words that we can decipher. Mama, dada, eye-en, baa (ball), and buh-buh (bubbles).
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