On Monday we arrived home from a short vacation in northern New Mexico. Every few years, there is a family reunion on Jon's side and we meet up at a great retreat in the mountains. The drive is about 5 1/2 hours from here (sans children) and I was a little apprehensive about it. However, we stopped for the night at a halfway point, staying at a hotel with a pool. Much splashing ensued. On the way back we elected to drive straight and it *only* took eight hours. Frankly, I was impressed with the minimal fussing and crying that emanated from the back seat. A new toy, a new DVD, and many pit stops were integral. It also helped that I'm keeping Isaac in a rear facing seat for the time being, which encouraged naps. (As soon as Anna turned one, I plopped her in a forward-facing seat, but Isaac seems so much smaller than she did. And anyway, I hear the thing now is to keep kiddos rear-facing until age two. He doesn't seem to care either way.)
Between drives we had a fantastic time. Not a restful time (Mommy doesn't travel well), but it sure was fun. Jon and I went mountain biking down an actual mountain, which was fantastic and a little scary. I was sore for days after that. There was a bit of hiking, some people went fishing, a fun playground was nearby. But most of the value came from the people we were with. Jon has a great family, and everyone is very open and close despite somewhat sporadic face-to-face time. Anna had so many cousins around, and we could just send her out the door to play. It was also nice to have many eyes on Isaac, who is still in his run-wild phase. For me, it was incredible to be around adults all day and have time for actual conversations with both depth and breadth. I suspect Jon felt the same way.
It was hard to come home and get back to the grind, but we're managing. Not much choice, is there?
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