More on Our Little Vacation

These days I start vacations with mixed feelings. Part of me would rather just stay in the normal routine and schedule because it is a lot easier and the other part of me is excited to do something new and exciting. And there are always key moments when I think "I will never do this again" and other times when I think how fun it is to watch the children doing and discovering new things.

My first "I will never do this again" thought comes when I'm packing....and packing....and packing...and trying not to forget anything essential. The trunk was packed full: pack n play, stroller, 3 suitcases, sleeping bag, cooler with lunch and breakfast foods, laptop, camera equipment, golf clubs (!?) and I forgot the booster seat for Josiah.

So we start with an easy 3.5 hour drive to our destination of Williamsburg, VA. Aliza is super excited so she didn't take a nap and resorts to squealing to express her excitement which leads to Josiah squealing with her. Aliza eventually falls asleep. About that time I start thinking we should make a plan for supper. Then Josiah falls asleep. I figure we should just keep driving.... When Josiah wakes up we have hit traffic and lots of it. We were in bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic for at least an hour. It is after 6:00 by this time (this is where schedules come back to bite you!) and Josiah starts to fuss. Jeremy's trusty iphone leads us to a Chick-Fil-A at 6:45. Josiah is screaming by this time! Jeremy is tired from driving in the traffic and I am stressed out listening to Josiah cry. Not that great of a combination. This is another moment that I am promising myself that we will not do this again for a long time!

We arrive safely and Grandma and Grandpa are happy to see us. The children explore their lovely surroundings. They sleep great together in our living space. Aliza is excited that she can come straight to Mommy and Daddy's room so she woke up during the night to use the potty. That was fine because she was dry in the morning! Hotel rooms are great because they usually have dark, heavy window treatments. The children slept until after 8:00am every morning, I think, because the room was so dark.

So the first morning we head to the pool. Neither one of them have really been in a pool before and I really wasn't sure how it would go. Josiah loved it right away. He giggled and took off right away walking on his own in the water. The water came up to his chest and if he lost his balance he had no way of standing up by himself. That morning before we went to the pool Jeremy told me about a newspaper article he had just read about a drowning. He and I were on high alert. Other parents probably thought we were crazy, we were practically on top of our kids the whole time!

Aliza sortof hung out on the step. She liked jumping in while I held her hands. I think she went to the big pool with her Daddy one time. When we left she couldn't wait to go back though.


When Josiah got tired of the pool. He wandered around on the deck. Waved to every one he saw and tried very hard to climb through the fence.

After Jeremy and I took a couple hours alone in colonial Williamsburg, we had our next new experience. Mini golf. Aliza had fun. She worked hard to get that ball in the hole! And she kept at it for 18 holes. Josiah carried his own ball and borrowed Jeremy's golf club at times. =)

The next day was more of the same pool and mini golf! That night we put Aliza to bed before Josiah had fallen asleep. Our reward was listening to them giggle, squeal and carry on for an hour and a half. They needed some happy brother/sister bonding! Our other reward was that Josiah was way too tired by 10pm and had to cry himself to sleep.

Yup, that was our vacation. Pool and mini golf! And the trip home was much quicker and quieter. Josiah took a super long nap when we got home. I think 3 nights away was about the limit for these tykes and their Mommy.