It's a Trip!

Now that I have kids, traveling is so different.  Wake up time is around 6:30 AM and lights are out by 9 PM.  Gone are intimate, late night dinners and closing down the bar.  We are on this President's Club trip for the top sales performers at Yodle, who are young, energetic twenty-somethings.  They're rolling out of bed when we're heading to lunch and while they're hitting the local dance clubs, as we are trying to get our kids to calm down and go to sleep.  I don't miss the dance clubs, but do miss sleeping in.

Our trip to Vietnam taught me and Jared to travel with only what the two of us can carry.  For our 11 day trip to Costa Rica, then Mexico (yes we're headed to Baja after this), we're down to two large suitcases and two backpacks.  And that includes diapers, snacks, and other forms of entertainment for the little ones.  

Overall, the kids are good travelers, but it still takes a toll on everyone.  The first night is always was rough.  My daughter was jumping in her crib like it was a trampoline and my son was egging her on.  Jared had a work dinner that night, so I was on point and outnumbered.  After about an hour of shushing, moving furniture around to separate the kids and block their line of vision of one another, and some loud crying, the kids settled down and fell asleep.  Luckily, the subsequent nights haven't been too bad since they're worn out from a full day of swimming.  Nap time is hit or miss.  Today, I spent about an hour listening to my daughter sing The Wheels on the Bus, then pretending she needed to go poo poo on the potty, and dropping her binky out of her crib and then desperately needing it again.  In the meantime, her brother was getting out of bed to ask a question or give us a kiss/hug or find out when it was wake up time, then needing help getting back in, when he didn't have any problems climbing in before.  With all that said, we have been able to achieve the Holy Grail, and that is, of simultaneous napping!  And don't forget, that's with two kids in one hotel room.

I'm quick to correct people when they say we're going on "vacation".  A vacation is relaxing and quiet.  With the kids, it's a trip .. a trip to a really nice, exotic destination.