Mini Road Trip

I've been a little quiet these last few days because on Sunday the kids and I left Geoff to man the fort at home while we four hit the road for a short vacation.  We were originally intending to head out on Monday, but weather forecasts south of the border indicated that a big blizzard and snow dump was to occur on Monday directly on the route we were going to take.  So, with only a couple of hours notice, I frantically packed the kids on Sunday afternoon and had the four of us (including one sick kid!) out the door and loaded into the van about two hours later.  (Thankfully I'd done our laundry the previous couple of evenings, in anticipation of packing,)  So on Sunday afternoon we drove for just over seven hours to our destination (on clear, dry roads) and crashed into our hotel beds at about 10:00 that evening.  It was a good thing because by Monday, 15-20 inches of snow had fallen on an extended portion of our driving route and highways were closed for four hours of the drive we'd just completed.

So far so good...we've been having a good time.  The biggest disappointment has been that my parents were going to join us but ended up not being able to, due to some circumstances beyond their control.  The kids were pretty choked when they learned that Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't be able to come.  Their absence has been sorely noted.

There's been a lot of swimming these last couple of days, along with a visit to a big mall and an aquarium, and today we spent the majority of the day at a terrific science centre.  We were all pretty exhausted by dinner time.  After an awesome dinner at one of my favourite restaurants (The Cheesecake Factory), we stopped at a container store to enjoy the eye candy, and then headed back to the hotel room, where the kids barely made it through teeth brushing and jammie donning before falling exhausted into bed.

I'm about to do the same.  Maybe watch thirty minutes of netflix before letting my head hit the pillow.

It's nice being on vacation and enjoying a change of scenery...especially since the climate here is about ten or twelve degrees warmer and there's almost no snow to be had.  We've been walking around in our shirt sleeves or with a light jacket for the first time in months...and it's been l.o.v.e.l.y!