Wiens World: At Long Last - Part 1: The Manginellis

Finally, the pictures and stories from our winter break trip to Seattle and Portland! We had such a fantastic time together as a family, and with our friends all along the way. I know some of you think we are completely crazy for even attempting a road trip like this with three kids, and maybe we are, but it works for our family. Our kids are great travelers, and I personally think a car ride is much less stressful than an airplane ride. On a plane, when your kid cries it bothers everyone else, and then you have the stress of knowing that you are ruining everyone else's trip. In the car, it's just us that get frustrated. In the plane, kids are supposed to sit, buckled in, for hours and hours, they can't get up and move much, because any extended time in the aisle makes flight attendants nervous, and they inevitably have to go potty when the fasten seat belt sign goes on. In the car, we travel with no expectations. When kids (or moms) have to potty, we stop. When people get antsy, we get out and throw a ball around. When someone is hungry, Mom has a giant bag of snacks and drinks (all bigger than 4 oz.) at the ready. Sure, it takes longer than it did before kids, but as long as we know that going in, it doesn't seem to bother anyone.

We left on Tuesday morning and made the first leg in 10 hours. We stopped to spend the night with our good friends Derek and Julie in Grants Pass, OR. They bought a house since the last time we visited, and we expressed how nice it was that they bought a house that worked so perfectly for our visits! The master bedroom is on one side of the house, and the two guest rooms are on the other, along with a nice big bathroom. We didn't have to worry about our kids waking them up, and they didn't have to worry about waking us up early as they left for work. They were so generous to let us stay and use their home, even when they were getting ready for a trip themselves, and in the middle of the first week back to school. We love these friends so much, and cherish the time we get together.

The next day we continued to Seattle, another 10 hour day. We rolled in just in time for a yummy lasagna dinner at the Manginelli home, a place that feels like home. Our kids wasted no time, but got right to the serious business of having fun together. For the next three days, they played with Star Wars toys, Squinkies (a toy introduced to us by Emma and now a favorite), spent plenty of time running and jumping and dancing in the living room, and having a great time together.

Playing with American Girls dolls

Loads of action figures

A shared love of all things Star Wars

Can't you just hear him singing the Imperial Death March?

True kindred spirits, Emma and Charlotte made lots of crafts together.

Jen, making her famous peach cobbler...

and everyone gathering around to eat the extra crumble topping, made just for this purpose. It's called planning ahead.

Uncle Aaron, Luke, and Gabriel

Cuddle time with little Claire

Emma and Gabe

Big sister and little sister, both so beautiful

Most of what we did in our three days with our good friends was just hanging out in their home. It is such a blessing to have quality time with friends we rarely see face-to-face, so fun to watch our kids play and build bonds with each other. One of the other fun things we did was to go watch Eli's basketball game. It was his first game of the season, and it was so fun to see, such a privilege to be there. Here are some favorite pics from his big game.