RSAD got the best of me this year...and I really love and miss my family (all year round, not just in the fall)...so with the help of the best airline out there (Southwest!) I took the girls to Chicago for a little bit of fall and family.I looked at this decision to willingly sit on an airplane (twice) for 4+ hours, outnumbered by my children, from a cost and reward standpoint.
COST = money, travel hassle, stress over travel hassle, potential travel disaster (think tantrums/sickness/diaper explosions etc.), about 12 challenging hours of my life managing my kids in airports and on planes ALL BY MYSELF
REWARD = perfect Midwest fall week, precious time with precious family, 4 nights and 4.5 days of my favorite season with some of my favorite people
In the end, the reward most definitely exceeded the cost (just as I knew it would).
As far as the fall experience goes, I think I checked just about every box there was to check:
brisk walks in 50 degree temps, carving a pumpkin, wearing my down jacket, wearing socks, candy corn, chili, cider, apple pie, pumpkin spice latte, raking leaves for the kids to jump in, pressing leaves in wax paper, visiting Sonny Acres (the farm and pumpkin patch where I used to go as a kid), putting the cousins in their Halloween costumes, frost on the ground in the morning. It was fabulous! See for yourself...
In addition to all of that fall awesome-ness, there is also the "priceless list". The list of things you can't buy and sometimes don't plan. The things that just happen as a result of being together and make up my favorite moments and memories from this trip. Things like...
- Sleeping at my sister's house for the first time thanks to the amazing remodel of the parsonage.
- Having a sister sushi lunch date.
- Seeing my Grandparents with 4 of their 6 great-grandchildren.
- Laughing our way through Modern Family in my parent's basement (I miss basements).
- Navigating Target with 4 cousins in a cart (until the big ones jumped off and ran away from us).
- Searching the Chicago suburbs for a sleep sack for Abby (I'll never forget THAT item again).
- Watching Sam "help" my dad in the garden for an hour.
- Going to my sister's book study at her church and watching her lead the group (so proud).
- A breakfast date with my mom and a dinner date with my dad.
- Eating one of Uncle Lars' amazing homemade dinners (the guy can cook!).
- Simply watching my kids with my parents.
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| Picture taken by Samantha. |
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| Great-Grandma Carolyn and Great-Grandpa Bob. |
In summary, I think we're going to do this trip every year during Fall Break.
