Christmas Trip wrapup
Dec. 29th, 2009 05:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fleaDec. 23rd: Leave home 5pm. Minor rush hour traffic in ATL. Stop at Mickey D's for dinner and Happy Meals have no toys!! (Drive-thru, so we didn't realize.) Bypass Chattanooga, children fall asleep 8pm, drive until 9:30, 20 miles south of Knoxville, hotel room.
Dec. 24th: Leave hotel 8am. Stop so mr. flea can pee, Dillo can pee, mr. flea can get coffee and Dillo can pee. Possibly more stopping for peeing in there. Pee is going to be a theme of the trip, let me warn you now. Stop at Mickey D's for lunch and Happy Meals have toys! Ponder anatomy of Blue Cats from Avatar. Observe road cuts and explain very elementary geology. Bypass Lexington. See some horsies. Go down the hill into Cincinnati and ponder weird blue and white wing-shaped building, which we later determine is on the Covington side. Drive up 71, cut across to Washington Courthouse. Driver becomes loopy, children become bickery. On seeing old remnants of snow in field, Southern-born child exclaims, "Cotton fields!" Arrive at cousins' house. Cousinly joy ensues. Dillo is taught to Wii bowl. Adorableness ensues. Eat not very good homemade pizza with double-inlaws (15 people). Leave for hotel with Dillo at 8pm; mr. flea returns to house to settle Casper on cousin's floor. Later discover they fall asleep at 11:15.
Dec. 25th: Get to cousins' house at 7:30; stockings have been opened by kids. Presents, phase 1, ensue. Casper very chuffed with American Girl and Dillo cleans up generally; Uncle Nate has been an especially good gifter. Breakfast, 15 people. Presents, phase OMG is this still going on. Long lassitude of day and unhappiness by me; Nerf gun shooting Wii by cousin. Dinner, with 17 people including evil Uncle Bobby (double-inlaw). Finally escape by 8:30 or so to put Dillo to bed. Casper again sleeps on floor and mr. flea stays up late talking to his parents.
Dec. 26th: Run up to Columbus to COSI in caravan of 3 cars (10 people), meet old college friend and tattoo compatriot E (hi E!), her husband, her mother, and 5 year old C and 10 month old H. COSI awesome, everyone happy. E has to leave ca. 1pm, we eat lunch at COSI, Casper totally melts dpown due to exhaustion and has to be carried to car. We take off for hotel and naps (which don't happen) and baths which do. Return to cousins' at 5, make lasagna, assemble gingerbread house, surviving sugar glue failure. Frost cookies with various family, a success. Eat lasagna, moderate success; eat cookies and gingerbread house, great success. This day definitely more festive than the previous one. Leave ca. 9pm to put Dillo to bed.
Dec. 27th: Final photos and goodbyes with cousins, leave 10am for Cincinnati. Meet old grad school friends for brunch and marvel at the awesomeness of Joseph-Beth bookstore in Rookwood. Go to father's at 2pm, play a little Wii with brother and his wife, kids open more nice presents (books/puzzles/Magic schoolbus and movies). It starts to snow and kids spend several stints outside very excited. mr. flea has nap. Dinner & we leave ca. 7:30 into blowing snow. Stop and get windshield wiper fluid (and for Dillo to pee, natch) and drive until 11:30pm. by which time we are south of snow. Dillo has peed in car seat in sleep. Joy. Hotel room.
Dec. 28th: leave hotel room by 9am, avoid traffic, good weather, much bickering and crankiness especially caused by bored Dillo making fights, under-caffeinated and under-fed me yelling a lot, and GIS unit lying and telling us there was a Starbucks where there was most definitely not (on a residential street in rural KY). Get home at 2pm. Sedate children with television.
The end. Dillo has been so backslidey on the potty that I am seriously considering returning him to diapers for a punishment.
Dec. 24th: Leave hotel 8am. Stop so mr. flea can pee, Dillo can pee, mr. flea can get coffee and Dillo can pee. Possibly more stopping for peeing in there. Pee is going to be a theme of the trip, let me warn you now. Stop at Mickey D's for lunch and Happy Meals have toys! Ponder anatomy of Blue Cats from Avatar. Observe road cuts and explain very elementary geology. Bypass Lexington. See some horsies. Go down the hill into Cincinnati and ponder weird blue and white wing-shaped building, which we later determine is on the Covington side. Drive up 71, cut across to Washington Courthouse. Driver becomes loopy, children become bickery. On seeing old remnants of snow in field, Southern-born child exclaims, "Cotton fields!" Arrive at cousins' house. Cousinly joy ensues. Dillo is taught to Wii bowl. Adorableness ensues. Eat not very good homemade pizza with double-inlaws (15 people). Leave for hotel with Dillo at 8pm; mr. flea returns to house to settle Casper on cousin's floor. Later discover they fall asleep at 11:15.
Dec. 25th: Get to cousins' house at 7:30; stockings have been opened by kids. Presents, phase 1, ensue. Casper very chuffed with American Girl and Dillo cleans up generally; Uncle Nate has been an especially good gifter. Breakfast, 15 people. Presents, phase OMG is this still going on. Long lassitude of day and unhappiness by me; Nerf gun shooting Wii by cousin. Dinner, with 17 people including evil Uncle Bobby (double-inlaw). Finally escape by 8:30 or so to put Dillo to bed. Casper again sleeps on floor and mr. flea stays up late talking to his parents.
Dec. 26th: Run up to Columbus to COSI in caravan of 3 cars (10 people), meet old college friend and tattoo compatriot E (hi E!), her husband, her mother, and 5 year old C and 10 month old H. COSI awesome, everyone happy. E has to leave ca. 1pm, we eat lunch at COSI, Casper totally melts dpown due to exhaustion and has to be carried to car. We take off for hotel and naps (which don't happen) and baths which do. Return to cousins' at 5, make lasagna, assemble gingerbread house, surviving sugar glue failure. Frost cookies with various family, a success. Eat lasagna, moderate success; eat cookies and gingerbread house, great success. This day definitely more festive than the previous one. Leave ca. 9pm to put Dillo to bed.
Dec. 27th: Final photos and goodbyes with cousins, leave 10am for Cincinnati. Meet old grad school friends for brunch and marvel at the awesomeness of Joseph-Beth bookstore in Rookwood. Go to father's at 2pm, play a little Wii with brother and his wife, kids open more nice presents (books/puzzles/Magic schoolbus and movies). It starts to snow and kids spend several stints outside very excited. mr. flea has nap. Dinner & we leave ca. 7:30 into blowing snow. Stop and get windshield wiper fluid (and for Dillo to pee, natch) and drive until 11:30pm. by which time we are south of snow. Dillo has peed in car seat in sleep. Joy. Hotel room.
Dec. 28th: leave hotel room by 9am, avoid traffic, good weather, much bickering and crankiness especially caused by bored Dillo making fights, under-caffeinated and under-fed me yelling a lot, and GIS unit lying and telling us there was a Starbucks where there was most definitely not (on a residential street in rural KY). Get home at 2pm. Sedate children with television.
The end. Dillo has been so backslidey on the potty that I am seriously considering returning him to diapers for a punishment.