Yee-Haw

We made it to Texas and back!

We took our first family trip last week, visiting Noah's brother Sean and his wonderful family in Austin, Texas. You may have noticed that I didn't write anything about our preparations prior to the trip. Frankly, I was nervous about the whole thing. The furthest we had ever traveled with our boys was the Carlsbad Company outlet mall - a 20 minute drive from our home - for two hours. Most of our friends had traveled on planes with their twins, but I was hesitant. Something about the fact that they have never sat in one place for more than five minutes made me think that flying would be a challenge. Nevertheless, we decided to give it a shot.

The trip through security the morning of the trip did nothing for my confidence. I had bought new strollers (known as "go-go's" in our family) for the trip and Lucas was so excited about them that he refused to get out of his when we had to fold it up and put it through the x-ray machine. He was screaming "go-go...in...in!" and would not let go of it. As federal regulations likely require that a child not be folded into a stroller when it is sent down the conveyor belt through the x-ray machine, I had to rip him away from it, which only increased the volume and intensity of the cries. A rather pokerfaced man looked at me and observed "He really likes that stroller." Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Luckily, between my playgroup moms and moms from my twins club, I had compiled an arsenal of recommended activities, toys and treats that would increase our chances of success on the plane.


I am happy to say that everything worked. The boys received a new "present" about every half an hour - a Hot Wheels vehicle wrapped in giftwrap. They LOVED playing with these and it kept them very busy. Then they were given fun snacks that they never have at home - cinnamon stick graham crackers, yogurt covered pretzels, animal crackers. This was a big success.



Then we finally pulled out the big guns - Elmo Visits the Doctor on DVD. I was shocked to find us landing just as Elmo received his stickers at the end of the Doctor's visit (note to self - to ensure success at the doctor's office, bring stickers). I held back my excitement until we deplaned, and then could not help myself from whooping it up to the amusement of onlookers as I celebrated what had been a wildly successful first plane ride! Honestly, I was so proud of the boys. They showed great flexibility, listened beautifully, and were just such fun to be with.

While in Austin, we had a great time with family and friends. We stayed with Sean, Karen and their two teenage boys, Andrew and Brian.



Never have you met a family more genuinely welcoming and considerate. They made us feel perfectly at home, as evidenced by the fact that the boys slept, ate and played beautifully while there. Andrew and Brian were so warm and attentive with the boys, and it was clear that Ethan and Lucas loved spending time with everyone.




The first morning we woke up there, Lucas woke first and said "Uncle Sean...Aunt Karen...Andrew...Brian." Only then did he ask for "Mommy and Daddy."

We were also so happy to spend time with Claire (my best friend) and her husband Steve and beautiful daughter Veronica, who had just moved to Austin in November. It is amazing that we saw each other as much as we did while juggling two toddlers, and infant, and all of their nap schedules. But we did manage to have a great day at the park, enjoy the Austin Children's Museum, and some Texas BBQ.



When Noah and I reflected on the trip together, we both commented on how much we both enjoyed the afternoon we spent with Sean's family just hanging out in their cul-de-sac. The older boys played ball as our little guys splashed in puddles left from the rain earlier that day.



Again, I was so proud of the boys and how well they adapted to all the changes in environment and schedule. They are such good boys, and have genuine interest in having new experiences and sharing them with others. They also took great care of one another, each boy always thinking of the other, being generous by sharing toys and taking turns. They really impressed me.

We could not have picked a better way to spend our first family vacation - with people who enjoy and treasure their family as much as we do ours. Thanks to the Heldmans, the Mocks, and especially our Ethan and Lucas for giving us great memories that ensure that we will always think fondly of our first family trip.