We’re back from our whirlwind visit to relatives! During the past two weeks, we saw my sister get married (no pictures, we decided looking after three kids was enough to worry about), visited all four of my grandparents, saw my parents, Mike’s mom and sister, Mike’s grandma, several of my siblings, and cousins, aunts, and uncles from both sides of the family. We also saw two different friends – a teacher from our undergraduate years who had since moved to Utah and an American family we knew in Edinburgh. The kids tolerated sleeping in four different houses in three states, long car rides, and meeting countless people and pets. My grandma’s kitten, Rascal, was a huge hit with all three kids, but Lily never did warm up to Mike’s mom and sister’s dogs (Emma and Johnny loved them). Emma and Lily did well on the flights; Johnny fell apart on them. I’m not sure what to do about that, but we don’t plan to fly anywhere anytime soon, so hopefully he’ll outgrow it. Johnny brought a green bear counter from home that he carried everywhere, washing it every time he washed his hands and refusing to let go of it even in sleep. We took time out to visit this dinosaur museum and this Children’s museum, and spent nights on our own in Cedar City on our way to Salt Lake and back to Vegas to break up the drive and give the kids a chance to recharge from staying with relatives. We had some surprising weather (two inches of snow, in Cedar City of all places!), and I LOVED having the kids spread out in my MIL’s minivan (which she graciously lent us for the trip) instead of squished into the back seat of our car. We slept very little, but had some really nice visits with relatives.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
This picture is so, so sweet! I wish mine would fall asleep in a bed like that! Mine won’t sleep in beds until there almost three!! Really, they will only sleep in their cribs, won’t fall asleep in the car no matter what time it is either!
I am glad to hear you had a good, safe trip. I love Tgiving Point and that dinosaur museum too!
Sleeping photos are so priceless, and all three together at once, love it!!
Now I’ll be asking YOU for travel tips!
Go easy on yourselves and enjoy catching up on that missing sleep! :)
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I just admire your easy going nature and ability to travel with three kids. What an adorable picture! I am glad that you are back home and settling back to normal.
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I’m such a sucker for sleeping pictures. Those really are the best.
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What sweet sleeping pictures! Glad you had a nice trip.
That picture is way too cute!! And I’m exhausted just thinking about your trip. WOW!! We upgraded to a van a couple of months ago and it has been wonderful! The 2 kids prefer being in the back seat and I like it a lot to. We just feel like we have so much more room that way. Although Leila gets really excited when the other kids sit in the middle row with her so she has company.
Oh wow, what a trip! I’m glad you all made it home safely and that it went pretty well. I bet you are really wanting a van now! LOL! I have one child and wish I had a van sometimes!
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awww LOVE that picture! Glad you guys had a good time!
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