This week we went up to Snowbird to spend some time together as a family. My friend has a timeshare up there that he couldn't use, so we rented it from him. The weather was cold, rainy and snowy, but we had a great time. We went up as a family from Sunday until Tuesday afternoon. We celebrated Jane's birthday and slept in our own beds for two nights. Wednesday Mark received his Webelo's badge and his Arrow of Light with Scouts. Thursday morning the boys and I went back up to the lodge, well rested and ready for more fun. Daniel and Jane stayed at home. That was our plan all along and it worked out marvelously!
Here is a list of things that I learned or reconfirmed this week:
Packing for a trip is exhausting work. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday preparing to leave.
Children will wait until the worst possible time to throw up. Jane projectile vomited all over while we were driving on a winding mountain road, in a pouring rainstorm that rivals a Georgia rainstorm, with no place to stop. I was feeling queasy already, so there was no way that I could turn around to clean up. I threw some tissues back to Mark and he cleaned up what he could. We cracked open some windows (not too far because of the rain) and had to wait at least 5 minutes before we got to a safe stopping place. Poor Jane was crying and upset, but I couldn't help her until we could stop the van.
Spending time together is a great thing to do
Having time alone is therapeutic for everyone. We all searched out our own corner of the hotel room to 'be alone' a few times each day.
Hotels are magical places for kids
Mark and Paul can climb 11 flights of stairs and come back down in 4 minutes. The boys actually preferred to take the stairs over the elevator because it was faster. We were on the 4th floor, but I'm not sure that being on the 10th floor would have changed their minds!
Swimming in a heated pool surrounded by an 8-10 foot wall of snow during a snowstorm is surreal. It just defies logic that you can be outside in a swimsuit and be warm. It was fun and relaxing- until you have to get out.
Sleeping in a full size bed with Daniel isn't as comfortable as a king size bed, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Our king-size Select Comfort bed has spoiled me. We took the full size bed over the queen sofa bed because the mattress was more comfortable.
Wildlife is fun to observe. I never tire of watching chipmunks running around. I don't enjoy seeing them as road kill, though.
I packed more food than we could eat because I didn't want to ration the food.
Swimming makes us hungry. We were constantly eating so I am glad that I had plenty of food (however most of it really wasn't healthy)
My children are noisy sleepers- Jane is the biggest offender.
I like being at home.
Vacations exhaust me
Being sick on vacation sucks. Sunday I had a headache that was promising to get bigger, but I was able to nap while Jane napped and it settled it down. I don't know what I ate that didn't agree with me (I'm guessing the cinnamon pop-overs that I made- I ate too many) but I bloated big time (I looked 4-5 months pregnant) and I was miserable. Then the severe gas and diarrhea set in. I had medication to help me, but it was not comfortable to say the least. After that I got really tired. I wasn't fun company to play with and I felt terrible because I didn't have the energy I wanted to play with the kids.
Sometimes I have to save a memory in my heart because I don't want to ruin the moment by pulling out the camera.
Going a few days without reading the news is refreshing. I'm going to do that more often.
Having a portable game system for the kids (a Nintendo DS) helped keep them from being too bored.
Body wash doesn't make the best hair conditioner. Just saying.
Ski resort food is expensive. Really expensive. We were going to go out for dinner to celebrate Jane's birthday, so we looked online to find menus to make sure that there was something that I could eat. The prices were outrageous! Kids meals were more than double what they were at home. A steak dinner was $35. Ouch. We decided to go home early and eat in the valley.
Having food restrictions like me is a pain. Sometimes I really hate having to plan my food out like I have to. I have the limited choices and I hate having to single myself out when I'm in a group.
Olive Garden has a gluten-free dish that is delicious. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that. Daniel was elated because we were able to go to his favorite restaurant together!
Vacationing with a baby is tough. Planning events around nap times is frustrating. Daniel and I took turns taking the boys out of the room while Jane took her naps. We spent a lot of time in the lobby playing card games, putting together puzzles and climbing the stairs. Having a happy, well rested baby was worth it!
Hotel rooms are not baby proof.
Walking into the house with all of the things still out from me packing is discouraging. I firmly believe that it would be worth hiring a crew to come in and clean the house and change the sheets while I am gone. It would be so awesome to walk into a sparkling clean house instead of random dishes, papers, clothes and toys strewn about. Of course, the bags full of dirty laundry that we bring home would ruin it right away, but still, it would be lovely.
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