Vacation: Travel

I have to brag...in all honesty, our kids did an AMAZING job traveling! From the Metro-link train ride to and from the airport, the flights to and from CO which had layovers, to the rented van and the Sides vehicle pulling a trailer...from start to finish our kids traveled well. And, most of the time, loved every minute of the traveling.

Ben, especially, loved all the excitement and activity of flying and riding so many different types of vehicles...particularly some of the more unique things like the shuttle bus to the rental car station, and the in-airport shuttle/train in Denver. There is a pic below of him with Aaron on the trip home, holding himself up (with just a bit of help from Daddy;) with the train handle. He loved the fact that the train had no seats and was for standing only.

It all started with Aaron dropping me, Ben and Molly off at the Shrewsbury Metro-link station at 5:40 a.m. the first day of vacation. I took the Metro with the kids, one carseat, and one carry-on bag to Lambert Airport. I was meeting Mom/Granny, Aunt RiRi, and cousin Anna there. The three moms and the three kids were going to fly to CO, and all the dads/boys drove out.

Aaron dropped us off with about a minute to spare, but both kids just happily took it all in stride as we raced on to the train and waved bye to Daddy. Then we had a very pleasant ride to the airport while watching the sun rise. And we didn't have to pay for long term parking, so it was even nicer:)

After a little hustle getting through security and on the plane, all the kids flew very well, with some very special help from Granny. She was the glue that held the flying travelers together, because with her there was a 1:1 adult to child ratio. Below are a couple of pics of our airport/airplane time. All three kids were fascinated with the planes.

They all three also really loved picking up the rental van in Colorado, and Ben talked all week about riding in the "vacation van". He was also completely fascinated by the trailer that Grandpa had hitched to the Sides car for towing luggage (and 2 motorcycles, but that's another story!). Ben loved to "help" hitch and unhitch the trailer, and spent large chunks of time instructing the rest of us on how to properly attach, open, and then close the trailer:) There is a pic below of him proudly showing off the hitch.

So, all in all, for a trip with 3 kids 3 yrs and under that involved many different modes of transportation, I'd have to declare it a rousing success!