How to Survive a Week-Long Vacation to Spokane with 5 Kids under Age 10 and No Husband within a 700 Mile Radius
1. Take along your wonderful, amazing sister-in-law Dorrie and niece Bekah who will help out a ton with the driving AND the kids (they even brought along numbered goodie bags to be opened at marked intervals during the 10-hour journey).
2. Make sure you are driving a car with a DVD player, and make sure the volume is up very high so you can't hear any whining or tattle-telling. Sunglasses and tiaras are optional.
3. Make sure there are plenty of first-cousins-once-removed close to the same ages as your kids so they can be thoroughly entertained by each other throughout the entire trip (except on the few occasions when they fight as first-cousins-once-removed sometimes do).
4. Try and match your kids' outfits in public places so they are easier to spot (...plus it's just so dang cute!)
5. Try and throw in a birthday for your middle child so that you have the perfect excuse to not have a "friends" party when you get home...and don't call it a "first-cousins-once-removed" party - that sounds kinda lame.
6. Give yourself a pat on the pack for fitting in any amount of one-on-one time with any of your 5 children under the age of 10.
7. Don't be afraid to ask total strangers to take group photographs so that everyone can be in the picture.
8. On the hot days, keep the complaining down to a minimum by including lots of WATER in your activities. Olympic-sized swimming pools are definitely helpful...
...as are gigantic splash fountains!
8. Try and be more understanding when your three-year-old prefers this carousel (NOT free):
to this one (free):
and bring extra quarters to humor the little squirt!9. Surround yourself with the beauty of nature, meditate, and maybe you'll actually be able to hear yourself think!
10. Count heads...a LOT. 1...2...3...4...5...yep, they're all there!
11. Enjoy the companionship and long conversations with wonderful women that you count as some of your dearest friends!
12. Pawn your baby off on any of those fine women, because you don't have a husband around to do that to!
13. Only go to a restaurant with 9 children if you're ordering dessert...they'll be too busy shoveling ice cream in their mouths to misbehave and you'll get out of there a lot quicker. Mmmm...ice cream!
Thanks for the great time, Jessica, Ryan & Co. Come see us anytime!
9 comments:
Very cute! You had some fun pictures I didn't have. Really, that was just the funnest week!
I feel like I totally missed out on such a fun time...but we will make up for it in TWO days!
And you look so skinny...I've stunk at my diet and at working out...maybe I'll bring you over to the dark side!
You do look fabulous! I recently took that long drive to Washington too and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. If you tell yourself it's going to be a nightmare, it will be a pleasant surprise when it's NOT a nightmare.
I didn't get to see Jessica though. BOO!
looks like a fun trip!
I am so sad I missed Sunday dinner... are you guys planning anything else this week? Let me know, so the girls and I can tag along!
You are amazing!! That looks like such a fun trip--and traveling with Aunty Dorrie and Bekah sounds like it would make it just that much more fun!
I think we (finally) get to see you guys next weekend?? Yay!
Okay, you're officially my hero AND have made me feel like the worst mom ever. I went to Florida this week with some friends and only brought just ONE of my TWO children because without Marshall along, I didn't want to be outnumbered! You're a brave woman and a FABULOUS mom!
By the way, my eight year old, Hannah is fascinated by your blog and is making me create one of our own - I totally blame you for this! :-)
I recently took a trip to AZ w/o the hubby as well. Lots of help from family/friends made it all worth it...and I have one less kid than you! Glad you had a good time!
My long-time friend (let's call her Paula) and I are sitting by my computer late at night. . . where are our friends from "The Riv?" We find one and are wondering: is she still a "dancing queen?" does she still love Dan Fogelberg? has she ever passed a cleaning check? can two boys still pick up her car? does she still love diet coke? hmmmmmmmm. . .
Holy cow, Sarah!!! There's a blast from the past...and Paula, too? Are you two in Utah? My e-mail is www.cadeseeley@comcast.net. To answer your questions: NO (I watched Mama Mia, but I definitely don't dance), NO (Dan's dead now so it's a little depressing), NO (and my kids don't pass mine, either), NO (how I miss my Chevy Sprint!) YES (but I don't walk to Chevron every Sunday night/Monday morning to get my fix!)
I'm so glad you found me - too funny! Where's your blog, girl?
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