Thursday, February 4, 2010

Planning to travel when you have small kids and dogs...

Kevin and I are firm believers in introducing our children to traveling and staying in different places at a young age. Before the age of one, Mairead had been on a plane about 15 times (maybe more). She has been to Mexico twice, Florida multiple times, and many other places. Even Lilah has been on a plane more than most two year olds, and has also taken a trip to Mexico. In April, we will embark on a trip to Madrid, Spain to celebrate the marriage of my Spanish sister, Diana.

Earlier in the week our good friends were able to fit us in at the Grand Summit at Sunday River for a weekend of skiing. With small children as young as ours, a ski in/out condo was vital in order for me to be able to nurse Clara without having to subject anyone to spending endless hours in the lodge with lots of other people. Once we got the go ahead for this weekend, we had to find a babysitter for the girls to come with, and one for the dogs. You would think it would be an easy feat, but it surely was not.

Our regular babysitter was unable. Then, we got a great idea to invite my brother, Carley and new baby Landon along. We thought it may be a great way for Joe and Carley to spend time together, and Carley and I to have a little fun while taking turns watching the rug rats. Unfortunately, they were unable to do it. We invited my parents to come along. We figured it would be fun for all, and thankfully they were able to! So once we got someone to help us with the kiddos, we kept running into snags with our dogs. As of last night, we had no one to watch our dogs, and we were going to cancel our weekend. At the last minute, a fav gal friend of mine and a co-worker stepped up and offered to each take a dog! YEAH! Who knew it would take so much effort and anxiety to plan for all of this! We kept running into snags, but we kept with it, and so far, we are planning on going!

Once we had all of our ducks in a row, I called and scheduled Mairead for her FIRST ski lesson. She'll be in an all day lesson on Saturday. I can't wait to see my baby on skis, I really hope she loves it! I am excited for Kevin and I to have some fun together, and I hope my dad gets on skis, too! There is an outdoor pool and hottub, and can't wait for all to enjoy!

Some may be turned off by all the planning involved in taking a family away for just a weekend, but overall it is worth it. It's a good lesson for our children, and it is always worth taking some time for the family. I love when complete strangers compliment us on how well behaved our children are. Mairead to this day talks incessantly about our family vacation to Mexico last March. It makes Kevin and I smile, and makes it all worth it when our children have such fond memories of our times together.

2 comments:

  1. The planning always seems to wear me out, but then I see my girls exuding joy in what we are doing/where we are and it makes everything worth it. Have a GREAT time!!!! Enjoy the joy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so Happy for Diana and for you as well. What a fun time that will be for the whole family ;)
    I think the planning is well worth it. Our motto is "Life doesn't stop when you have kids." In fact it's just begun, so why not have fun and expose them to as many wonderful life experiences that you can. We want to enjoy life as a family and be able to go places and show our kids the world. It will enrich their lives and change them forever.
    I hope you have a blast this weekend.
    Ps. My girls do better on the plane than I do. lol They think it's fun and I'm the one trying not to vomit.

    ReplyDelete

Have a COMMENT or QUESTION? Leave one here!