On the Road

 

 

You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything since Monday - then again, you may be so busy like I am that you really hadn't noticed. Either way, I haven't posted because we finally are on a family vacation. This is our first in three years. We won't be home until next Tuesday and it feels so good.

 

I wrote about being burned out with homeschooling and needing all summer to recharge. I think part of it had to do with not being able to go away as a family for a long time. Our seventh baby up until about six months ago couldn't go much longer than fifteen minutes in the car without crying. As you can imagine that made life challenging. He also had a hard time with any changes in his life. So we put off a family vacation and made do with very short day trips. It was fine, but let me tell you, I was ready to get away. We were supposed to go away in August but a car accident put a stop to those plans which was so disappointing at the time. But now we are really enjoying this October vacation - so much that we might do it this way again on purpose. We've gone hiking and visited a science centre, laughed a lot, and still plan on going to a silver mine.

 

So what has made this vacation easier...

• top of the list - breastfeeding - I'm so glad I didn't have to pack bottles. One less thing for my tired brain to deal with.
• mini-frig in our motel room. This means we can eat more of the good foods we like and can spend less on eating out.
• having some children who are old enough to pack for themselves. However, that being said there was a child - no names here - who may or may not be a son, who is a teenager, who practically lives in a leather jacket which was not packed. Grrrr. But that leads me to my next point.
• Salvation Army thrift stores. We were able to buy a nice jacket for $5.
• my Kindle - no really, Jennifer? You took your Kindle? We can't believe it. Well, you know me by now. I love my Kindle. How easy is it to throw one little Kindle device in the diaper bag instead of agonizing over which books to pack? I still think my Kindle is one of the best gifts my husband ever gave me.
• two amazing daughters who have kept the baby (for the most part) happy on the long car rides.
• my sling and mai tei carrier. When you have a twenty-five pound baby, you need all the help you can get holding him.

 

We're making memories and having fun. What are your favourite family vacation memories? I'll be back sometime next week.