Lessons Learned

AAAhhhh, we are finally HOME after spending the past few weeks away. We headed to Indiana the last week of November to spend Thanksgiving with Justin's family. After spending 3 quick days at home (packing/re-packing), we headed to Tampa for 5 days. Luckily, my brother Casey went along with us to help out. Sucker. Here is what I learned from both trips.

1) Milwaukee actually has traffic. There are also traffic jams in the middle of nowhere Indiana...in the middle of the night. Oddly enough, we sailed through Chicago (and when I say "sailed", I mean I didn't have to go below 35 mph...I was very happy with this!). It can take over 8 hours to get to Franklin, Indiana. Who would've thought?
2) Leaving at night for the 6+ hour drive back home so the kids could sleep most of the way is a joke. Izzy finally fell asleep 20 minutes before we pulled into the driveway at about 11:30pm. BUT, this was better than when she DID fall alseep on the ride there...and then was WIDE awake when we arrived at 1:30am...I was up with her until 3:30am. PAINFUL. Lesson learned.
3) Having 4th-6th grade female cousins at big family gatherings is absolutely delightful and hugely helpful to me. Izzy was in heaven on Thanksgiving hanging out ALL day with her cousins Jordan & Kayla. I miss Jordan & Kayla. Sam & Caleb had a blast with Alex & Zachy.
4) Someone else (Zachy) enjoys a crib FILLED with books, blankets, animals, toys. Isabella took her best nap in Zachy's crib. She honestly still talks about sleeping in "Zachy's KIB".
5) Kids need routine. I knew this already, but was painfully reminded...I won't mention any names, but I'll just say that Caleb adjusts very well to change in schedules. Some other kids in the family don't.
6) It's not a good idea to plan back to back get-aways with 3 kids under the age of 6. Refer back to Lesson #5.
7) Make sure the battery in your laptop is actually charged before asking kids if they'd like to watch a movie (on the laptop) on the airplane. Yeah. Not good.
8) People in Florida will look at you like you are abusing your children if you let them get wet if it's perfectly sunny, no wind and 68-70 degrees. Yeah...if looks could kill, I'd be a goner. Personally, I thought they were over-heating their own children who were wearing WINTER COATS in this beautiful weather.
9) The ride "Sheikra" at Bush Gardens is as insane as it looks. If your brother tells you otherwise, he's lying. :)
10)There are no lines at Bush Gardens if you go in December and it's ...68-70 degrees and sunny. PERFECT time to go.
11) Tampa has an unbelievable Aquarium (which I already knew, but LOVED going again b/c all of our kids love it so much) and a GREAT new Children's Museum...best one I've been to.
12) SantaFest in Tampa just doesn't work. It's hard to get into the Christmas mood at an outdoor festival when you're sweating. Even Sam thought it was odd...having Santa a few feet in front of him had no influence on his behavior. Go figure. See Lesson #5.
13) Spring Break at Blue Harbor in Sheboygan, Wisconsin sounds pretty good right now.
14) Just because there is snow in Milwaukee doesn't mean there is snow in Sheboygan. Don't let Sam see the snow unless you know it's right outside your door. Poor kid wants snow soooo badly.
15) Izzy won't sleep on an airplane. Even at night. Even without a nap all day. It's not fun...especially if the battery in your laptop is dead...and you've promised Nemo.
16) Being at home feels soooo good. Back to school, back on the tennis courts, back to healthy good food, back in our beds, back to friends...back to routine. See lesson #5.