Vacation Part I: Hotel Fun

Since Chad was gone all summer, we had to wait to go on a family vacation. (Disclaimer: A "vacation" with young children is never really a vacation, but just saying "trip" sounds less fun.) Time was short with school starting soon, so we didn't venture too far, just to the city of New Braunfels, Texas. Chad's first 12 days back at home were hectic with his in-processing, unpacking, and trying to settle back in as a family of four. So we were all looking forward to getting out of our house and regular routine and having some fun. All except Elliott, who apparently didn't get the memo about out of routine and away from home being fun. But more on that in a minute.
After an unpleasant and thankfully short drive to the hotel (note to self: never expect Elliott to nap in the car, even if it is her regular nap time), we were ready to relax. Chad demonstrated the proper technique.

One of the best features of the room was- wait for it- the phone. My girls have never used a phone with a cord, so this was very exciting to them. I just unplugged the phone line so they could make "calls" to the heart's content. Elliott's conversations mostly consisted of "Okay? Okay. Okay? Okay. Okay? Bye-bye."


Abbey kept saying, "Hello? Oh, you need help? I can't do that, I have a new-borned baby." (WHAT?!)

When I showed Elliott her new swim towel, she said, "Go swimming?" I told her yes and she proceeded to take the rolled-up towel and lay it out, carefully arranging it just so, and call it "me swimming pool!"

And of course the best part of any hotel stay is all sleeping in the same room. At least, that is the best part if you are a little kid. If you are a grown up who likes to stay up past 8 pm, well, that is just too bad.

Mom, can we have a pull out couch in our room?

Staying in a hotel with my kids is tough. There is the whole sleeping in another place issue. And it's hard to discipline them or ignore tantrums when you know other guests can hear them screaming. Then there's the question of what to eat for every meal- unhealthy, overpriced restaurant food, or meals made of snacks, or go to the grocery store every day to fill the tiny hotel fridge and microwave everything on paper towels. We did a little of all three on this trip. Elliott managed to make any dining choice difficult- climbing on the tables, making messes, wanting to eat food she dropped, screaming, etc. So even though we had fun in and out of the hotel, there is truly no place like home!