Notes from our Vacation

We spent Wednesday through Saturday at my parent's house in Green Bay last week.  For the last two years I've made a trip home, just me and Brooks.  But this year Chris decided he didn't want to miss out on the fun.  And, well, since we had one more baby since last year, that made 4 us.

It's an eight hour drive to Green Bay, so we decided to start our trip after Chris finished work on Tuesday.  The plan was this ... leave by 5:30pm, drive until 9, stop and prepare the boys for bed (go potty, jammies, diapers, etc), and drive the rest of the way there while the boys slept.  Here's how it actually went .... left at 6:30pm, stopped at 7:30 because the baby was literally screaming to get out of his car seat, stopped again at 9:30 for the bedtime routine stuff and then finally drove all the way to Green Bay.  Oh, and the sleeping part?  Carter caught on and snoozed the whole way there.  Brooks, however, was awake until midnight.  Mid.night.  At which point he was so tired he was crying to go back home and sleep in his bed.  After about 30 minutes of "shhh, don't wake the baby" and "it's ok if you fall asleep here", he finally gave in and slept.  We arrived at 3:30am.  Oh, so late.  I mean, I see 3:30am all the time while feeding a baby, but there's usually several hours of sleep beforehand.  We tucked the boys in, said good-night to our parents and fell asleep at 4am.

So the driving through the night thing was not such a hot idea.  But there were two good things about it.  1. We didn't waste a whole day driving and 2. Grandparents are great at playing with kids while mama and daddy sleep.  We did a lot of playing while we were there and there's so much to try to remember.  Here's a few observations I made during our trip ... in no particular order.

It takes a full two days to recover from staying awake until 4am.

It's so nice to wake up and have breakfast made for you.  That's my kind of vacation.

My dad has a stuffed bear cub named "BooBoo".

Carter loved BooBoo.

I really miss my mom.

Toys from 25 years ago are still fun to play with.

I love my parent's house.  It's quiet and there's trees.  (two things our current house lacks) And it smells nice.

Brooks insisted on wearing his Boston Red Socks t-shirt, just so he could show Uncle Adam.

Uncle Adam was very proud.

Wisconsin makes the best.cheese.ever.

Eating a fresh, squeaky cheese curd just minutes after it's made is an experience everyone should have in their lifetime.

Chris loves cheese.  Perhaps a bit too much.  I caught him putting cheese curds on top of his ice cream.

It's fun having geese eat out of your hand.

My dad makes the best grilled salmon.  Ever.
No, seriously, it's amazing!

It rained in Green Bay.  I miss rain.
Carter was not very interested in nursing during our vacation.
Cribbage is a fun game.  Even when I lose.

The children's museum is really cool.

I don't recognize most of down town Green Bay.

Without help, I would totally get lost driving in Green Bay.  Still.
There is no such thing as a nap schedule on vacation.
Brooks is much better behaved at Grandma and Papa's house.
We should spend more time at Grandma and Papa's house.
The Olympic opening ceremony was really weird.
I like cupcakes.

I haven't been to a baseball game in a long time.  They're fun.
When the sway bar on your van breaks it makes a loud clunk followed by a grinding noise.
My dad is really good at fixing sway bars.
I love my dad!
Bay Beach is still a really cool place to go.
Bay Beach is not, however, a good place to go on a Saturday morning.
Carter NEEDS to move.  As in, he will scream at you if confined too long.
Almost everyone we spent time with commented on how well behaved and polite Brooks is.  That makes me proud.

We went on a double date for the first time since Brooks was born.  It was fun.
My best friend, Theresa and I don't see each other nearly enough.
I am incredibly proud of her.
Her fiance is perfect for her!
Carter does not like to ride in the van during the day.
Brooks does great riding in the van during the day.
Brooks hates long trips at night + Carter hates long trips during the day = no more long trips for the Anderson family (at least not for a while)
A portable DVD player and lots of snacks were our saving grace during this trip.
Despite our road struggles, it was still totally worth it to spend time with my family.
On the way home, we considered moving to Wisconsin.
Probably won't happen.
I still giggle when I stand under the Jolly Green Giant statue and look up.
We weren't really ready to come home.  Could have spent a few more days in Wisconsin.

Well, that's about it in a nutshell.  Here's a few pictures from the week!

Scray's Cheese.  Where the magic happens.

Carter and Papa Dave

after watching Uncle Adam play softball

The ONE thing Brooks wanted to do on this trip was ride the carousel.  And ride it he did!

Carter rode along too :)

Riding the train with Grandma Marty

All this playing wore Carter out!

Me and Theresa.  I love that girl!

BooBoo

See?  I bet you're giggling now too!