Aspen, Colorado: Day 1

Sunday, July 25th



After packing from 10 - 12 last night, Dave and I awoke early to finish the process and head onto the road for a long drive to Aspen, Colorado. Dave had to come for a business trip and so we figured the kids and I would tag along. It was a great deal since it was a business trip we were able to vacation for basically FREE. What a blessing!



We were quite excited to find that our planning ahead had really benefited us as we drove off only an hour after waking up. It was one crazy busy hour, however. I'm also learning with each driving trip how to travel in a car with many kids scrunched in small spaces. We've come to realize over the last few years that we purchased a very small minivan. This wasn't a problem when we purchased it years ago, but now that the kids are growing, it's becoming a problem. There is still one seat available, but the back seat just isn't big enough for 3 carseats, even though it claims it's big enough for 3 people. Quite a difference!!! After much shifting and strategizing, Dave and I figured out the optimal seating arrangement, taking into consideration issues such as these:



1. Harris and Brigden can't sit by each other because they cannot seem to get along without teasing or being crazy for more than 1-2 minutes.

2. Everyone needs to be able to see the DVD player since we only have one working portable player and it has to strapped from each headrest of the front seats.

3. There is not sufficient storage space in the back of the van, so we need to remove a seat from the middle in order to store 2 storage totes and a cooler full of food.



As I read these issues back to myself, it sure doesn't seem like a lot to worry about, but it's amazing how much it really is when you're in the thick of it.



Well, once we figured it all out and were on the road..I realized the many errors we made in our departure: leaving totes in the front yard, milk that will go bad while we're away, overdue library books that need to be returned, and leaving our front door unlocked. I made a phone call to my saving grace and friend Angie Wood who graciously accepted my request to fix all of them and returned my attention to the beginning of our family vacation.



The drive was actually a very peaceful one. The kids watched movie after movie. We were able to answer the frequently repeated question, "When will we be there?" in terms of how many more movies they had to watch until we were there. Although I'm not a huge fan of sticking my kids in front of a tv, there is just something to be said for a dvd player on road trips. It's a major life saver! Especially when the kids just can't get out and roll around like the good old days! We've also learned in the past to only give out snacks in small portions and at designated snack times (like every 1.5 hours or so) because of the major mess they make with them as they eat. This was also very helpful.



Over the past 8 years I've become accustomed more quickly to the children and the patience necessary in working with them than Dave merely because of proximity as a mother, but I was very impressed with his patience with their constant needs, messes, and requests. More importantly because road trips with whiny kids just aren't his forte and therefore I was very impressed that he took it all in stride and managed to maintain a cheerful attitude the entire day! It ended up being as good as it could be with 4 little ones stuck in a small minivan for 8 hours during the middle of a hot July day driving in the dessert.



One of my favorite moments was when we were coming upon Spanish Fork and Harris asked,



"Mom, where are we now?"



"We are in Spanish Fork."


"Do they speak English here?"



"Yes."



"Do we?"


To which Dave and I couldn't help but laughing as we replied, "Yes" and wondered how is it that he didn't already know the answer to that question. I guess we failed to ever actually inform him in his 6 years of life that the language he speaks is English. He knows it's not Japanese and Spanish, but I guess that wasn't enough. At least now he knows it is English.