We have tried all sorts of different traveling times. We've traveled durning the day and that works out just fine if you are an extremely patient person. On some days I would consider myself to be apart of this select group of people in the world. However when you put me in a car for some reason all patients seems to become thin. I can only handle so much crying, so much fighting, and so much stopping every few hours to let the kids run and play and get it out so to speak. Now don't get me wrong, if I am on a leisurely vacation where we don't really have any plans going from one town to the next visiting whoever... sure driving during the day is the way to go.
On previous trips we have left early in the morning so that the kids sleep for half the trip. It's a beautiful thing. It seems like the early hours of the morning are the most agreeable among the kids and so the trip would always seem just that much easier. David and I thought that this was the only way to go. Until this trip! We left at 12:00 midnight Christmas night. The kids were awake for an hour in silence and then fell asleep. They didn't wake up until we were about an hour and a half from my parents house. It was a wonderful thing! For the rest of the day David and I both felt as if we had been hit my a Mack truck but we were there in record time and we didn't have to listen to the kids (especially Talan) the whole way.
Coming home from this trip we decided to leave at 9:15 pm. The kids fell asleep immediately and slept the entire way. When we got home at 5:50 am we had them all crawl into their own beds and they continued to sleep until something like 10:00 am. It was heaven!
We stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Haws' house for the first few nights of our trip making a trip out to Queen Creek to visit with my brother and sisters and their kids.
(Talan and Abe born just 18 hours apart)
The kids got to see their cousins...
And sword fight with their Uncle Christopher.
Grandma and Grandpa Haws took the kids to Walmart and let them each pick out their own Christmas gift. The kids look forward to this little tradition. It's always fun to see what they decide to spend their money on.
We went to the Respite care home Grandpa Adair was staying in to see him. He didn't remember who we were but he played peek a boo with Reagan anyways. I think that somewhere in his brain he knows that he's suppose to do that.
This might be the last time we ever see Grandpa Adair alive. He is going through kidney failure and they don't expect him to live much longer. Even though he doesn't remember who I am I made sure to remind him that I was his favorite every time we saw him! He didn't see the humor in my saying this, but right before we left to go home I said it one last time and he laughed! I'm going to take that as an agreement, I am officially Charles Adair's favorite!
Ever since we moved to Utah Grandma Adair has moved her traditional Christmas Eve party to after Christmas. Our kids are glad she did because they love going to it. She always has pinatas for the kids and it's an absolute highlight.
It starts with the youngest and goes to the oldest.
Talan was second this year and had a pretty mean swing!
Reagan swung like a girl. A left handed girl.
Carsten was out for blood!
Bradon got close to breaking it.. Maybe next year!
The best part of the pinata bust is that you never know what Grandma is going to put inside the pinata. This year she had bills wrapped in tin foil. Each kid could have one! Some were ones, some twos, some fives and and couple were tens! Nothing motivates like a little money!
Next they did the older Grandkid pinata. Ethan got his chance at the turtle with no luck!
It was fun to see all the Adair's again.
That night we went to my brother Christopher's house to spend the night. The next morning we all went to a paint on pottery place. The kids had a blast being creative. Ethan and Bradon made Christmas ornaments, Carsten made a panda bear, Reagan made a couple of magnets, and I made a plate for Talan with his handprint on it.
Bradon, Milan and Carsten.
Ellyse, Lauren and Ethan.
Afterwards we went back to their house and the kids had a good time playing. Their is just something about Christopher and Cheryl's kids and ours that works. It's like good chemistry or something. They never fight, they never get bored, it's always just a good time!
Reagan loves nothing more than to play school. She is always the teacher and at home she teaches imaginary students. We caught her in her element teaching Lani.
Lani was very cooperative. The perfect student! Reagan read her books showing her the pictures while she read.
Bradon, Milan and Carsten
spent a fair share of time playing video games.
And Ellyse and Ethan played on the computer.
Maybe the chemistry they have has something to do with their similar interests.
Whatever it is... it makes for happy days!
We stayed the next night at my sister Staci's.
And then the next two nights at Grandma Adair's.
On New Years Eve David and I went to Brian and Jenny Mehlberg's and then to David and Kimberly Fuller's to ring in the new year. The kids rang in the new year with Grandma Adair just like old times!
We celebrated Talan's 2nd birthday at Chuck E Cheese on January 1st. (I'll post all about it next.)
The night before we went home Ethan and Bradon went to the Mehberg's to have a sleepover with Kaler. Carsten, Reagan and Talan went back to Staci's for another night with their fun cousins. David and I went to a hotel for some much needed rest before the long trip back!
Our post Christmas trip was a lot of fun! When we got home the kids thanked us for taking them and consider the trip to be one of their Christmas gifts.
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