A Colorado Thanksgiving

Well, a few months ago my family decided they wanted to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado.  We had all gone last year and most of us has a great time, me on the other hand I was tied p with morning sickness and eventually had to announce the news to everyone that I was pregnant with Cooper.  This year we were just tied up with three kids ages 2 and under. :)  Did you know that as of 2 years old you have to pay for an airplane ticket?  Last year the boys were under two and so we flew.  This year, since we are extremely frugal and maybe a tad bit crazy, all five of us drove the 12 hour drive to Colorado.  We left at 6:30 pm so we could drive over night and so we could have sleeping kids most the way.  Our seating arrangements are very precise. Clint drives, he can get extremely carsick, Carter has to sit in the front section of our back seats because he too get carsick, we found out the hard way we can't watch movies, go on curvy roads, or stick him to the very back of our van.  Hutch get to sit up next to Carter, luckily there is a space between them, otherwise there would be a ton of picking going on. Cooper is placed in the very back of the van, and I sit back there with him because he HATES, I mean hates with a passion the car.  If he wakes up and sees no one is there next him he screams.  So we got our seating arrangements down, and another thing we have down is our packing. We have night time diapers, and potty chair, change of clothes in case Carter does get sick, snacks, juice, formula, warm water in a canister for bottles, trash sacks, the boys favorite Christmas CD... Sandy Patti, and of course Buzz and Woody.  I must say the drive to Colorado was for the most part enjoyable.  The boys made there Buzz and Woody talk to the moon, we sang Sandy Patty songs, we ate our snacks, we quoted Pixars movies, and we quacked like ducks for about five minutes.  The boys slept and the woke up and then slept some more and woke up again. It was when we passed Denver and got to the icy roads that Clint got car sick. So a very unusual turn of events happened, I drove. Now Clint is in the back of the van making sounds that make you sick, I am driving on icy roads at about 5 in the morning having had no sleep in about 22 hours, Cooper is crying because it is time for him to eat, Carter is crying because he couldn't see his dad, and Hutch is calling every semi we pass Mack and every tow truck pass Mater(refer to Pixar's Cars).  Our life was crazy at that moment, but we made it there none the less.

I don't think the word vacation is fitting for parents with a baby or toddlers, or both.  There is less rest and relaxation on a "Vacation" than when at home.  You worry about your surroundings and how your kids are treating things, they don't sleep as well, their schedules are off, there is some cabin fever going on at an unfamiliar place and so are they bugging everyone else around them.  All that said, the boys got to play in the snow.  Carter, our picky one, was OK until he decided it was too cold and to hard to walk in it.  Hutch rolled around in it, stuck his face straight in it, threw snow balls at everyone, Hutch had a blast and is still talking about it!

I got a lot of pictures and some video, and some memories were made, but it always feels good to be back home. Am I right?