A Little of This and That in February

I don't have a whole lot to say by way of introduction this month, so let's get right into the good stuff, such as . . . 

Earning . . . a couple of merit badges with my mom. She participates in the Proper Mountain Woman Club every year, which involves setting goals, trying new things, learning skills, being active and social, and reading. I've never been a part of it before, but I know that she usually enjoys working on her challenges with other people. So we danced to some energizing music before heading out the door, and then she and my two sisters and I wore matching clothes and went out to eat. (Some of the merit badges are more serious or educational, but these ones were pure fun). 

Learning . . . about my enneagram type. I love any personality framework, and one that I have been intrigued by for a long time but never spent the time to actually learn about it was the enneagram. So when Mike's cousin, who is a marriage therapist, offered a workshop, I jumped at the chance. She took us through all nine types, offering examples in culture and movies. We learned about wings and weaknesses and strengths and healthy/unhealthy versions. It was fascinating, and by the time we were done, I felt like I had a solid understanding of it. I was easy to identify: I'm a Type 1. Mike was a little harder for me to figure out: he's either a Type 2 or Type 9. Surprising to me was how interested my kids were when I got home. They all wanted to take the test and look through all my papers and examples. Clark is probably a 7, Bradley's a 1 like me, Max is either a 1 or 8, and Aaron's a 9. 

Attempting . . . potty training. And really, that's all it was. An attempt. Silas has been picking up on things so quickly, so I thought, "Why not give potty training a try?" This is about a year sooner than we tried it with any of our other kids, but I thought it couldn't hurt. So we got him a basket of treats, put him in underwear, and . . . he had a bunch of accidents and not a single success. So, no harm done, we decided to put the underwear away for now and try again in a few months.

Attending . . . a trunk show. One of my knitting friends, Deborah, has her own yarn dying company (Candy Shoppe Yarns). One of the nearby yarn stores (Petit Fours and Purls) hosted Deborah for a trunk show. I went with my friend, Emily, and most of our knitting group came, too. It was so fun to admire all of Deborah's beautiful yarn (she knows how to put together a truly gorgeous display), and I came home with a couple of skeins that I love. 

Hosting . . . cousins. We got to have Josh and Benny at our house for a couple of days while their parents and brother were in Florida. They could not have been easier kids to have around. They were kind, helpful, and polite, and my kids loved having them here. 

Sewing . . . a dress. I haven't done any personal sewing in about three years. I just kind of lost all interest in it. But then, one evening I suddenly had the thought, "I need a new wintery dress. Maybe I should sew myself one." I knew just the fabric I wanted to use. I immediately prepped the pattern and cut out the pieces. The next day, I made the dress. It was so much fun. It was a fast project, and both of my machines worked well the entire time, and it turned out just the right size, so it was a pleasure to make from start to finish. I've been knitting my dad a cardigan, and it is taking quite a long time, so I think it was really energizing to have an instant gratification project like this one.

Celebrating . . . love. Our Valentine's Day was pretty low-key but nice. Clark and Ian made Valentine boxes for school. In the evening, we had a candlelit dinner, each of the boys received a new book, Mike wrote me a poem, and we ate lots of chocolate. 

Discovering . . . amazing Thai food. There's this frozen yogurt place close by that we'd never been to. On a whim, we decided to go there (on the snowiest day in February, no less), and while the frozen yogurt was good, we were more intrigued by the Thai food that was also sold there. So the next night, Mike picked some up for dinner, and it turned out to be really good. So good, in fact, that we got it again a couple of weeks later.

Skiing . . . in Logan Canyon. On President's Day, we went to Mike's parents' cabin with two of his siblings and their families. There was a lot more snow there than we currently had at our house. We took advantage of all that snow and went cross country skiing. I had never done any type of skiing before (downhill or cross country), but I had been wanting to try. So Mike and I went out together . . . and I did not have the best attitude. It did not come naturally. It was a real struggle. I felt like I was so bad at it. Mike kept calling back, "Are you enjoying any of this?" And I said, "Maybe 5%." I just kept wondering why I wasn't just hiking instead. But when we got back to the cabin, Sonja and Amanda were just heading out, so I decided to keep going with them, and things improved (both my attitude and skills). Besides skiing, there was also a lot of playing games and chatting and eating. It was a fun day.

Buying . . . some cheap wood. Mike is still making frames, and he was able to find a great deal on some wood scraps from a local carpentry business. They were being sold at a steep discount because they were pretty much useless for building cabinets but perfect for making frames. 

Discussing . . . a book over dinner. My good friend, Sarah, and I decided to start a very small book club. It has exactly two members: just us! We chose four books for 2024 and we are meeting quarterly for discussions. First on our list: Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. We went to a new-to-us Thai restaurant (I guess this was the month for Thai food!), and, armed with our books and notes and questions, had a thoughtful and engaging conversation while eating yummy food. It was such an enjoyable evening, and honestly, I was so grateful to have someone to discuss this book with. There was a lot to unpack, and I think I would have felt very unsettled at the end of it if I'd been left to wrestle with it alone. As we left the restaurant, our waiter asked, "Good book?" I think we looked like the biggest nerds, but that suited me just fine. 

Singing . . . at library storytime. I used to take my kids to storytime at the library every week, but I haven't done it at all with Silas. But we were free one morning, so I decided to give it a try, and he instantly loved it. He joined in on all of the actions. He sang along with the librarian. And he listened to the stories very attentively. At the end, the librarian passed out supplies for a craft (a polar bear made from a paper plate), and he proudly showed it to everyone after it was done. He enjoyed it so much that when we were at my parents' house a couple of weeks later, we decided to check out the storytime at their library, and he loved that one too. 

Visiting . . . his friend in the hospital. One of Clark's best friends had his appendix rupture (after several weeks of abdominal pain and multiple consultations with the pediatrician). He was in the hospital for a couple of days, so Mike took Clark over for a visit. Luckily, his recovery has gone quite well and he is pretty much back to his regular self. (Unfortunately, neither of the dads remembered to take a photo of these two friends.)

Seeing . . . a classic play. Our local high school put on the play, Our Town. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see it since I never had before, but it's often referenced in books or movies and I wanted to know what it was all about. Max went with me, and we enjoyed the production very much. The audience was seated on the stage rather than in the auditorium and this made the whole story feel much more intimate and personal. Max loves discussing social dilemmas and life questions, so this play was perfect material for him. 

Joining . . . in on a musical number. A few weeks ago in sacrament meeting, a father and daughter in our ward sang an arrangement of "I am a Child of God." This is one of Silas' favorite songs, and as soon as they started singing, he enthusiastically joined in. I maybe should have tried to quiet him, but it was just the sweetest thing. 

Competing . . . in a baking competition. For our friend, James' birthday, he hosted a Great British Baking-themed birthday party. We ate food inspired by Cornwall baking and also competed in a challenge to make waffle cones and English flapjacks. Not to brag or anything, but Mike's and my flapjacks won. In true Gardner fashion, the whole party was beautifully executed, complete with a gorgeous tablescape, delicious food, fancy tea, and matching aprons and cake stands as party favors. Very fun.

Reading . . . a smattering of good books, which were: 

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (not a book I would have picked up on my own; enjoyable but too long)

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 5 by Beth Brower (thoroughly enjoying my slow pace through this series)

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (historical fiction set in 1957 Madrid; cannot recommend the audio, but I enjoyed the book itself)

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari (wish I'd made some real improvements to my attention span after reading this book, but still feeling distracted most of the time)

Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé (in contrast, I implemented some changes immediately based on the info in this book)

Shaving . . . for the first time. Bradley and Maxwell got their first shaving lesson together. Max freaked out about it so much that Mike decided to give him an electric razor for his birthday. 

Cheering . . . at a Jazz game. Just Mike, Clark, and Aaron this time.

Rekindling . . . a love of piano. Bradley has recently been spending a lot of time at the piano with zero encouragement or incentivizing from me. The motivation? A collection of arrangements of Disney songs that he's really been loving. So far, he's learned "Let's Get Down to Business" from Mulan, a medley of Aladdin songs, and "Tulou Tagaloa" from Moana. Finding music that you enjoy and want to play makes all the difference. 

Drawing . . .  Bluey. For a change of pace during Family Night, we followed an Art for Kids Hub tutorial on how to draw Bluey. I am not much of an artist, so I was impressed that I actually produced a recognizable Bluey. 

Waiting . . . for his birthday. Max spent Leap Day informing all of us that it was his birthday 75% of the time on this day. So, if you didn't know the year, you could just assume it was his birthday, and you'd be right the majority of the time. But alas. Not this year. He had to wait an extra day.

And that's it. Sunny days and blue skies ahead!

A Winter Getaway to Florida

We tried something new this Christmas and gave Aaron, Maxwell, and Bradley a vacation as their main (and pretty much only) present. 

When Mike and I decided to gift them a vacation, we didn't have anywhere specific in mind. Ideally, it was going to be somewhere warm and sunny that we hadn't been to before. Mike watched for cheap flights, and when some came up for Orlando, we jumped on them. 

I'm very fortunate that Mike enjoys vacation-planning since I find it pretty stressful. I let him fully take the lead and just chimed in occasionally if he asked my opinion about something. 

By the time the boys opened up the clues on Christmas morning, Mike had all of the big parts of the trip scheduled but spent the next two weeks working out the remaining kinks and logistics. With the vacation on the horizon, we didn't even get the post-Christmas blues, even when the boys had to go back to school for a few days. 

Our itinerary was as follows:

Monday, January 8th: fly to Orlando, Florida

Tuesday, January 9th: Disney World

Wednesday, January 10th: Disney World

Thursday: Rest day and air boat tour

Friday: Harry Potter at Universal Studios

Saturday: Kennedy Space Center; fly home

I can't resist doing a vacation recap, so I'll break down the highlights from each day as well as the food we ate (of course) and share a few wrap up thoughts at the end. 

Disney World

I would not consider us big Disney people. We've only ever been to Disneyland once and never Disney World. We don't get matching T-shirts or wear Mickey Mouse ears or have any other Disney paraphernalia. In spite of having a truly amazing time at Disneyland five years ago and feeling the magic, I've always kind of thought of that as a once-in-a-million trip. Like, somehow all the stars aligned to create low crowds, a perfect ride schedule, good weather, the right age of kids, and blissful ignorance for the most perfect experience that would never ever be able to be recreated.

So my expectations were low, especially since we were only going to have two days to do four parks instead of the five days we had when we did Disneyland. Plus, it always seems like there's this secret Disney formula you have to follow that only the true Disney people know about in order to get to do all the things and not just get lost in the crowds. 

Can you tell I was a little cynical?

But somehow, just like last time, I only had to step foot onto the pavement before I was totally won over.

Our first stop was Epcot, and, after it was all said and done, it was my personal favorite. We stayed at the Caribbean Resort, so all we had to do was hop onto the Skyliner and we were at the back entrance in a matter of minutes. 

(Side note: this turned out to be quite the trip for modes of transportation: shuttle, jet, car, skyliner, river boat, monorail, train, air boat, jungle jeep, and bus.)

We tried to take full advantage of anything that would streamline our experience. Because we were staying at a Disney resort, we had early entrance to the parks. We also paid for some Lightning Lanes and used a Genie Pass on the second day. Disney has all the tools you need in order to have a relaxed, easy time . . . for a fee. 

I know everyone has different things they love at Disney World, but our main interests were rides and food. We started our time at Epcot with Test Track and Mars Mission (our minds were kind of blown with the G-forces; I had a hard time even lifting my hand to push a button). 

I don't have the time and space to give a play-by-play from each park, so I'll just share the highlights:

Our favorite Epcot rides were Gaurdians of the Galaxy (what I liked to call the "party roller coaster") and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (one of the best 4-D rides, for sure). 

But what really made Epcot for me was the cultural experience. I loved wandering down the streets and watching the landscape and architecture change from Norway to Germany to France to China, etc. It was a feast for the eyes (and the stomach). 

After a half day at Epcot, we headed over to Magic Kingdom. There's just nothing like the feeling of walking onto Main Street. Highlights from this park included all the classic Disney rides, the Dapper Dans, Monster's Inc. Laugh Lab, and the fireworks. 

It ended up pouring rain for a couple of hours in the early evening. This was accompanied by thunder and lightning. We had a Lightning Lane reserved for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and had just scanned in when they shut down the ride. We waited for over an hour before they finally (finally!) put the pass back on our tickets so we could ride it later. Disney does many things well, but shutting down rides is not one of them. I don't mean that they should never have delays or stops, but when they do, it would be so nice if they would have employees explain to everyone what is going on, inform how long the expected wait time is, provide some entertainment (like showing a Disney movie), and provide a pass for later. 

Anyway, once we had our pass returned to us, we went to dinner. Mike had made reservations at the Jungle Skipper Canteen, and this was for sure a highlight of the day. We were all so hungry and it was still raining, and it was so nice to have a place that had our name on it where we could sit down and enjoy some yummy food.

Our favorite ride in Magic Kingdom was Tron, although I have to say that this ride also gave me the most anxiety. I didn't realize until we were nearly to the front of the line that this ride would involve straddling a motorcycle, facing forward, and being strapped in on my chest. It ended up being so fun, but I wish I'd had a bit more of a heads up that it was going to be a little different than a traditional roller coaster.

We started our second day at Hollywood Studios. We rode the Slinky Dog coaster first thing. The attention to detail in Toy Story Land was pretty amazing with all of the larger-than-life objects and toys.

But the real highlight of the day, and the thing the boys had been waiting for, was Star Wars. I wish I could say the same for myself. I definitely enjoyed watching them love it, but it's too bad I'm the one writing this little recap because I just can't gush about it the way they would want me to. 

We rode the Millennium Falcon first. Six people ride this at one time, and each person has a job: two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers. We should have asked someone which was the job with the least amount of pressure because that's the job I wanted. Instead, I was one of the pilots, which was not low-stress at all. We decided to wait in line and ride it again so that Aaron and Bradley could be pilots and I could happily push buttons as an engineer. (Although Lightning Lanes are nice, sometimes the line is half the fun because you get to wind your way through cool scenes and storytelling--this was one of those lines.) 

After our second time on the Millennium Falcon, we rode Rise of the Resistance. This was Aaron's favorite ride of the entire vacation. I can't think of another ride like it. It's completely original and unique. You feel like you're a part of the story as you get shuffled from room to orderly room in the Empire with employees who are cold and strict. It's actually a little frightening. Then suddenly, a door opens up and members of the Resistance hurry you into vehicles and you make your escape. Pretty thrilling even for a non-Star Wars fan. 

We saved Animal Kingdom for last, thinking that if we ran out of time, it would be the park we'd skip. But you can cover a lot of ground with three teenagers, and by mid-afternoon, we felt ready to leave Hollywood Studios. We knew we'd only have a few hours at Animal Kingdom, but that would still give us a good sense of the vibe and let us do a couple of attractions.

Unfortunately, poor Bradley came down with a cold and was really feeling it by this point in the day. He was such a trooper and kept going, but it was not as much fun for him. 

After we were in Animal Kingdom, I was so glad we hadn't skipped it. It felt more chill than the other parks, and it was so gorgeous with its big centerpiece Tree of Life and tons of foliage and greenery. We went on the safari (which felt way more real than I was expecting) and walked on the Gorilla Exploration Trail. Mike, Aaron, and Max rode Everest. Bradley decided to skip it since he wasn't feeling well, but when they came back, they all gushed about it so much that Bradley and I decided to ride it, too. It was actually just exactly what Bradley needed to give him a little boost of adrenaline for the rest of the evening. 

After Animal Kingdom, we all agreed we wanted to end our Disney experience with Epcot. We did a bunch of rides with no wait times (including the Earth one in the giant globe) but most of them were a bit lame (although I have to say I was absolutely fascinated by the Living With the Land ride). We really wished we had just waited in line to ride Guardians a second time. We had missed getting ice cream the day before, so we remedied that and ate it while listening to, of all things, a Canadian rock band. We found a place to watch the fireworks but dashed off during the final sequence so we could beat the rush to get back to the hotel. 

Disney World was a major win. I was amazed by all that we were able to pack in with only two days while still enjoying pretty much every minute of it. 

Airboat tour in Kissimmee, Florida

We knew we wanted a rest day in between theme parks. We also really wanted to see more of Florida itself. We didn't have time to travel all the way down to the Keys, so we did the next best thing and booked an airboat tour of some swamplands just south of Orlando.

I don't have anything else to compare this to, but I don't know how it could have been any better. None of us had ever been on an airboat before. Even if we hadn't seen a single interesting thing, just the thrill of skimming over the water and through grass and plants would have been enough. We all wore headsets so we could chat with each other even with the loud noise of the fan. Our guide's name was Shane, and he knew the waterways like the back of his hand. He had us practically flying one minute, only to make a sharp turn, cut the engine, and point out something interesting.

One of those interesting somethings? Alligators. Even though it was a chilly, overcast day, Shane knew where we would be most likely to see some. He slowed down the boat as we approached a shallow area, and there was the biggest alligator we've ever seen, mere feet away from the boat. Jimmy Buffett was his name, and he had to be at least thirteen feet long. We sat in almost reverent awe, hardly daring to breathe as we watched him turn around, his enormous tail swinging out behind him. 

Besides that legend, we also saw a mama alligator and several babies, a water snake, a raccoon, some cows, a bald eagle, another male alligator, and many other types of birds. 

We went over patches of lily pads, navigated through tall grass, and passed under giant cypress trees. At the end, we jetted down a canal back to the dock. 

Aaron was so quiet during the entire tour, giving a wide smile when we came upon Jimmy Buffett but not saying a word over the headsets. But as soon as we got off the boat and headed back to our car, he exploded with enthusiasm. It was one of my favorite moments of the trip. 

That night we lounged around our hotel room and watched Money Ball, and even though it wasn't as exciting as alligators or rollercoasters, it was quite a nice end to the day. 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios

We started our day by immediately going to Hagrid's Motorbike ride. Because of some issues with the lockers, we still ended up waiting in line for quite a bit. It was well worth the wait though because this ended up being our favorite ride of the entire trip. It just had everything: a fun story, awesome acceleration, surprising twists and drops. In fact, at the end of the day, we decided we all were willing to stand in line just so we could ride it again (and then, as it turned out, the wait time ended up being half what it said it would be, so that made it even better). 

Harry Potter World was an immersive experience. The attention to detail was amazing. It felt like we were in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and King's Cross station. We could hear Moaning Myrtle in the bathrooms; we felt the heat of the Gringott's dragon breathing fire on the hour; we marveled when we saw ourselves disappear at Platform 9 3/4. 

Occasionally, like when we were on the bridge, we could catch a glimpse of the rest of Universal Studios, and it was a bit jarring. We were so completely invested in Hogwarts that anything else felt out of place.

We enjoyed the other rides (Hogwarts, Gringotts, and the Hippogriff). I thought it was so clever the way they melded virtual and realistic pieces in the Hogwarts ride, seamlessly taking you between one and another. We rode that ride twice as well.

One of the highlights for us was at Ollivander's. We were planning to purchase a wand no matter what, but imagine our delight when Bradley was chosen by Ollivander himself to have the wand experience. It made the wand feel that much more special, knowing that Ollivander had given such careful consideration to what would work best for Bradley (wink, wink). And, as crazy as it sounds, the wand truly did seem to work better for Bradley than any of the rest of us. We had great fun finding the different spell spots and making magical things happen. We even found a hidden one that was not on the map.

We also enjoyed several different forms of butterbeer, but I'll share more about the food a little later.

We ventured out of Hogsmeade to explore the rest of Universal for a short while. Bradley, Mike, and Aaron rode the Velocicoaster, but honestly, we all just wanted to get back to Harry Potter. Everything else felt kind of fake and overdone. All we wanted were the cobblestone streets and crooked buildings and the feeling of magic all around us.  

Kennedy Space Center

On our final day, we didn't have to be at the airport until late afternoon, so we had most of the day to do what we wanted. We had considered the Kennedy Space Center but didn't know if it would be worth the cost if we could only spend a few hours there. But in the end, we decided to just go for it, and I'm so glad we did. It's true that four hours wasn't long enough, but we prioritized the things that were important, and I think we were able to hit most of the big ones.

One of the things the Kennedy Space Center did really well was to guide you through the experience, teaching you along the way and building up to cool things. 

For example, we went on a bus tour to see the Vehicle Assembly Building and get close to the launch sites (and, as an added perk, we spotted alligators in the ditch as we drove along). Immediately upon returning, we went into a theater. It took us through a series of rooms, each one focused on the development of the Atlantis Space Shuttle. In the final room, a wall moved out of the way, and through a screen, we could see the actual Atlantis Space Shuttle. The screen lifted, and we walked out to look at the shuttle up close and personal. It was so much more impactful to experience it this way than to just walk in and find it there.

Same thing with the Saturn V Rocket. We went into a theater that looked like a control center and watched a short film about the moon landings. This was followed by walking under a full size Saturn V rocket (massive!). 

On our flight, we watched A Million Miles Away, and when we got home, we watched Apollo 13, and it was crazy how much the events in those movies meant to us once we had actually seen some of these objects and places in real life. 

The Food

One of the reasons we travel is for the food, and so this trip recap would not be complete without sharing all of the delicious things we ate. The boys were all adventurous, and it was so fun to try new things and savor the flavors that were a unique part of this trip. I originally wrote out an entire list of everything we ate, but it was a bit overkill (and boring), so instead I'll just share the top ten. (Also, I think it's kind of hilarious that I took photos of a lot of the food from our trip, but not most of the food that made it onto this top ten. I guess we were too busy enjoying it.) 

#1--Fish sandwiches from Fish on Fire. 

This was our first taste of Florida, and it was a good one. We tried the grouper, snapper, and mahi mahi, and all three were just what you want fish to be: Tender, melt-in-your-mouth, and a mild but distinct taste. I think the grouper might have been my favorite. (And, although not included on this list, Max would also want me to mention that he loved the fish and chips he had at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley.)

#2--Tropical Colada from the Centertown Market (at the Caribbean Resort at Disney World)

My family might not agree with me, but this was in my top ten for sure. On our first night, I wasn't super hungry and really just wanted something cold to drink. You know how sometimes something just hits the spot? That's what happened when I drank this. It was exactly right: cold and slushy and the perfect blend of mango, coconut, and pineapple.

#3--Caramel popcorn from Karamell-Küche (in Epcot)

It was the smell that got us. We walked past this little German caramel shop, caught a whiff of caramel, and stopped in our tracks. It tasted as good as it smelled, and we still dream about this one. 

#4--Baguette from Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (in Epcot)

We tried many things from this little French bakery (all good!), but the plain and simple baguette was our favorite.

#5--Dr. Falls' Grilled Steak from Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen (in Magic Kingdom)

Maybe it was just because it was a cold, rainy night, and it just felt so good to sit down and eat warm food, but Aaron claims this was some of the best steak he'd ever had. I had the fried rice and the carrot ginger soup, and I'd have to say the same: quite memorable and tasty. 

#6--Honey Sesame Chicken and Rib Tips from Yak and Yeti (in Animal Kingdom)

Mike found a bunch of Disney World recommendations on a food blog, and this was one of them. We were only in Animal Kingdom for a couple of hours, and this meal was one of the highlights. We sat at an outdoor table overlooking the water and scarfed it down because it was so yummy.

#7 Caramelized pecan ice cream from L'Artisan des Glaces (in Epcot)

We each tried a different flavor of ice cream and they were all delicious, but caramelized pecan was the one I chose, and I didn't regret it.

#8--Cookes of Dublin (Disney Springs)

We got a quick, takeout order of the Dubliner Irish Cheese and Bacon Dip with french fries to serve as an appetizer before getting pizza at Pizza Ponte (also worth a mention). This dip was so rich and good. It's probably good we stopped at just one order because it might have turned into too much of a good thing, but what we had was perfect.

#9--Butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

We tried frozen butterbeer, cold butterbeer, and hot butterbeer. We loved all of them, but it was the hot butterbeer that surprised me. It probably helped that it was a cooler, rainy day, but it was perfectly warm and comforting and not too icky sweet. 

#10--Cuban sandwich from Cubans on Wheels

We desperately wanted to try some Cuban food before going home, so we stopped at a food truck on our way to the airport. The service was not fast, but the food was amazing. I got the brisket fries, which I liked, but the cuban sandwiches were the real winners. 

When you have six kids, it is a constant balancing act. There are a lot of needs but only so much time in the day and finite physical capacity from two parents. As they grow up, they become more independent and can take care of many of their needs on their own. They need less of us physically but maybe more of us emotionally. 

And that is why this vacation felt like an absolute dream. Not only could they all carry their own luggage, get in and out of vehicles by themselves, and be patient if food didn't miraculously appear right when they wanted it, but we could have meaningful conversations, enjoy all the sights with a certain level of maturity, and soak up every detail. Mike and I could be fully present with them in a way we don't often get to be with the many demands when we're at home. 

Of course we missed the three younger boys and were sad that there were things they didn't get to do that we know they would have loved, but it wouldn't have been the same trip if they'd been along for it. This felt like the right choice for this time of our lives and the stage of parenting we're in, and I'm so glad we will have these memories with our big boys forever.