Okay…l’ll admit.  When we first kicked around the idea of going on this mega vacation I was hesitant, scared, resistant.  That’s me though!  Now looking back I am sooooo glad I didn’t talk us out of this trip!  We had the best time, hung out with family and did some really cool stuff.  All the things I was worried about just seemed to work themselves out and the whole trip was really easy and nice.  Sigh!  Something I’ve been trying to do since Drew was born is ask myself “would you do it/go if you had just one kid?”, and of course we would go with one kid…so I shouldn’t psych myself out because we have three.

Flying out of Chicago on our first leg of the trip, I remember thinking I just wish the plane would route us back to Phoenix because it just can’t get any better than our time in Chicago.  The weather was perfect, our sleeping arrangements were perfect, there were a ton of parks (and Starbucks) within walking distance of my aunt’s house and the kids were so happy.  They were sticking to their nap schedules, life was good.  It was equally fantastic in NY.  At both my brother’s house and Aunt Amy’s house they had monstrous bedrooms (love those old historical homes) that could easily accomodate all of us.  We bought a pack-n-play our first day in NY for Drew, my aunt in Chicago borrowed a new one for us, which was critical to our sleeping.  Another thing I was worried about before leaving on our trip was Paige sleeping next to us and getting comfortable with that sleeping arrangement and not wanting to sleep on her own again once we returned home.  Luckily with all the sleeping set-ups we had, she only slept next to Cole, and I think she would be glad to sleep in her own princess bed after sleeping with that flipping/mumbling/crazy sleeper. 

The kids were so adaptable and easy-breezy the whole trip it was amazing to watch them.  They were super great on the airplanes (another big worry of mine)…but Eric booked all our flights around their naptimes so they slept the majority of every flight.  Nice!!!  Paige wasn’t freaked out at all by the engines, she wasn’t freaked out by my brother’s two doggies or my aunt’s dog.  In fact, she would chase the doggies around the houses and when we’d go out to dinner she’d say “bye Scooter” and when we were coming home she’d say “Scooter home?”.  So cute!  Now I’m convinced our kids just don’t like Moxie that much.  We may need a smaller younger doggie if Moxie should ever leave us.  Where’s Homer when you need him??  Speaking of Moxie…she had a nice present on the carpet waiting for us when we got home.  Uugh.

Anyways…back to the trip…super glad we didn’t bring carseats.  We wouldn’t have been able to manage if we had.  Super glad we brought our double stroller.  That was key to getting in and out of the airports.  We’d put the boys and our carry-on bags on the stroller.  I’d push the stroller with one hand and hold onto Paige’s hand with my other hand.  Eric would have to carry our two check-in bags.  Not to future self:  make sure all future luggage has wheels and a handle.  Poor Eric had to carry one really old piece of luggage and was able to wheel the other one.  All our hosts were amazing.  Everyone we stayed with had “new” toys for us to play with.  Nikki was able to score us some great stuff we were able to bring home with us from FAO.  Thanks Nikki!  Seriously…are we lucky ducks or what?  We ate like pigs, enjoying that East Coast cuisine and it was great to dine out because Drew could sit in a highchair at the table with us.  Aunt Amy and Aunt Nancy were able to borrow booster seats and highchairs for Drew for those portions of the trip so again we were super lucky.

So…getting to the best part of the trip….seeing everyone!!!  I love all of you!  I love being in your environments.  I so wish we lived in NY so our kids could grow up kissing and hugging all the time (I know I’m still awkward at that public display of affection, but that doesn’t mean mentally I’m not loving it).  I’d love for our kids to be surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins all the time so they’re not so dependent on us.  They absolutely thrived being around you guys and that was awesome!  It was so cool to finally meet the Ghariablets.  I really feel like I know them…even though we really don’t…and I still think Oprah is missing out on a really cool show if she had us all on there.  I am so happy you guys made the drive from Detroit (that was crazy, but it gives me warm fuzzies to know how excited you guys were too to meet us).  I think it’d be great to have you guys out to visit in the summer, especially now that we’ve met and we know you’re not psycho. 

So in summary….I’m looking forward to our next trip to NY and Chi-town.  In fact I’ll be counting the days!!  I’m so glad we made the trip when we did.  I’m glad that my cousins weren’t back in school and were able to hang out with us.  I’m glad that Eric’s family were able to come over each night and spend time with us.  I’m glad we pooped before getting on each of the flights.  I’m glad some genius created Fruit Roll-ups.  I’m glad we have such amazing friends and family that helped to make this the best trip ever!!  Thanks again!!!