Road Trip!!

There are few things greater than a super surprise!
Only better, is to be the one who is giving the surprise.
To plan, prepare, and concoct a surprise that in the end goes just as planned. Is worth every ounce of work that goes into making it happen.

This morning we were able to pull off such a stunt and to our great delight surprised Rick's parents. We had made plans to surprise them by driving to Utah on Wednesday. Rick's very nice boss however, said he could take the whole week and do some work from here. So, Saturday after running the turkey run in Lewiston, doing laundry, packing, and buying a minivan (two hours before we left) we hit the road for Utah.

Twelve hours later we arrived in the SLC valley. We decided to wait until his parents were at church to surprise them. We staked out their house until they left for church...Oscar said "we are in dangerous territory" as we were parked a few houses away, monitoring their house until they left. Then we quickly dressed in Sunday attire and sat down next to them at church. They were very surprised and we were delighted to have pulled it off!

Now, here we are Monday and enjoying being back in the comfort of grandpa and grandma's house. Oscar is busy keeping grandma entertained (or is that the other way around?). Poppy is taking a well needed nap. Rick is doing some of his work. As for myself, I'm enjoying being in a house where I don't have to think about what needs to be done. I can sit back and enjoy the sound of Oscar and Grandma's make believe world (no wonder he has such a great imagination!).

Now, we will go back and address the the addition of the MINIVAN!
Yes, I now have to adjust my perceived image of myself to included...The minivan! This is no easy task. I must admit that the trek to Utah was very comfortable. And as far as minivans go...It is cute?...I mean good looking?...I dunno...It's a nice minivan. I'm not complaining... I'm just trying to figure out how to define my new vehicle and how it defines me.

I've now come to a new crossroad in my life where I am treading on territory that I hadn't prepared myself for. I still see myself as 22, that Rick and I are still in school, I'm still in touch with what is cool and what is not...I'm not prepared to be a REAL minivan mom!!!

The image of a worn out mom with stretch pants and undone hair comes to mind! Ok , ok, so most days during the week I don't shower or do my hair until 3pm in the afternoon. And I'm typically in spandex of sorts until that time...It's just that it is easier to shower when I don't have to worry about my children getting into the Sharpie markers and writing all over my retro luggage (oh wait I don't have any retro luggage...Betina ?). Yes, I do most of my errands in this attire and by the time I have actually showered and dressed myself for the day...I have no where else to go... At least my hubby gets to see me in normal clothing!

I'm sure I will adjust to the fine features of this vehicle. I will delight in the fact that we no longer have to put Oscar, Poppy and Smiley on the back seat of the wagon. I will delight in the CD player, temperature control between driver and passenger side (Rick is always warm...Me freezing!), the bucket seats that put my two kids a little further away from each other, and space. But, I still see myself in my CUTE wagon with my bike rack on top and my trailer/stroller in the back...I still see us able to pack the car completely full and head to the Ocean! Now, I'm a mere lemming of sorts... I'm now expanding into a whole new phase of motherhood! I'm going to have to think of a way to define this vehicle as my own...Any good suggestions? In the meantime I will attempt to adjust my image and rejoice in our new, more spacious and comfortable vehicle.
Such is Life! Happy trails!