Four Under Five on Vacation Part II

This particular family vacation came with a few perks. 

First and foremost, we stayed at my in-laws' condo completely free.  That is huge.  Without the free place to stay, we may have still gone to San Diego, but we definitely wouldn't have stayed for that long. Along with the free beds, we had a kitchen in which to fix our meals.  In a hotel, we would have been stuck with at most, a mini-fridge.  However, the condo gave us the opportunity to fix a hearty breakfast every morning as well as prepare dinner at night and snacks in between.  We therefore afforded the luxury of eating out everyday at lunch.  

Another great perk on this vacation was the free and ever available childcare.  That would be my mom and Aunt Bette.  My mom and aunt came up for the week as well, and would call every morning to ask how they could be of service.  With four kids under five, I am always up for a little help, so we usually split the kids up and enjoyed the day with two instead of all four at once.  

On one of those split up outings, mom and my sister took the babies to the zoo, while Danny and I took the big girls around the zoo.  The babies and the big girls move at completely different paces!  The babies could walk around and around the monkey exhibit for thirty minutes because it has a cool windy staircase.  

The girls are fast movers.  They prefer to glance at an animal, and as if checking it off their list of required viewings, are ready to move on to the next.  We trekked a long hot couple of miles (or so it seemed to me), to get to the new Elephant Odyssy exhibit.  The girls hardly glanced at the huge creatures before heading off in the direction of the camels.  Go figure.  Personally, I could have hung out watching the orangutans or gorillas all day long.  

One evening we decided to drive down to a quaint little shopping area on the water called Seaport Village.  The most amazing thing happened in this shopping paradise.  My mom, aunt Bette, and Ayron volunteered to take ALL OF MY KIDS, plus their little cousin, on a carriage ride.  A fifteen minute carriage ride!  

"Are you sure, you guys?" I asked tentatively, not wanting to get my hopes up.  They were sure, and Danny and I made tracks.  We held hands walking over the footbridge.  We meandered around the adorable bookstore. We may or may not have kissed under the laurel tree.  It was fifteen minutes of heaven.  It felt like a wonderful, unexpected gift and I savored every moment of it.  

As they drove away, I snapped this picture.  They seemed so happy and excited (except Cubby), I knew I had nothing to fear.  

After the ride, and my glorious fifteen minutes of romantic freedom with my hubby came to a close, we watched as Little G gave Prince Charming a pat.  Yep, the horse's name is Prince Charming.  And no, my big girls won't be forgetting that fact anytime soon.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my kids, and hanging out with them is usually pretty darn fun.  However, sometimes a moment alone without responding to, or looking out for, or straightening out arguments of kids can be a really wonderful thing.  A great thing!  In my case, it only takes a few moments to get recharged, and fifteen minutes was all I needed.