This picture Brad took really makes me smile; it is so real. I love that Annika is trying to cheer up Elise by feeding her a peanut butter sandwich.

For the benefit of any of you out there who are wanting to take a growing family on a long vacation, here are some of the things we learned (mostly through trial and error):

1. If you can con an unsuspecting couple without children to join you on your vacation, you will not regret it. They might, but the addition of four extra hands will make your life much, much easier and might just save your sanity. If your toddler is absolutely in love with these friends it makes having them around that much better. Thank you, thank you, thank you Paige and Andy.

2. You might plan really cool trips to see things like Roman arenas, gladiators, medieval castles, giant catapults, and rolling fields of lavender. That’s great, as long as these are things that you want to see and you are willing to deal with crying, hot, tired children along the way. Just know that your kids will be much more interested in playing with rocks at the beach, watching ants, climbing on (and through) rocks, jumping on the hotel bed, eating ice cream, and riding carousels. Most of these things can be done without driving all over France. Also, the lavender may not yet be in bloom. Lesson learned.

She hasn't stopped talking about this ride - she felt just like Cinderella

3. Eating dinner at a nice French restaurant might sound like a good idea. Your mouth might water at the thought of all that fresh seafood, local herbs, and summer vegetables roasted to perfection. Your husband might warn you repeatedly that eating out with all the kids is just going to be a hassle. But, eventually your husband will give in, because he is a great guy and wants to make you happy. As you sit at the restaurant with two crying babies and a toddler who keeps knocking over her glass and getting spaghetti sauce everywhere  you will realize that you would have been better off getting a baguette, a quiche and a slew of pastries and eating at a park. It’s a good thing we only ate out once. It left us more money to spend on pastries with raspberries and pistachio cream, decadent chocolate eclairs, treats in various animal shapes that Annika was happy to devour, and plenty of fresh local produce from the markets.  Eating has always been a prominent part of our traveling. That didn’t change this time, but we did learn to avoid restaurants.

4. If you are traveling with three children, only one of whom can walk (and not very far), ignore manufacturers’ safety recommendations and do whatever you have to do to get them around. Creativity is essential. One time we even tried to cram both babies into one seat in the stroller. They weren’t particularly happy about it, but it worked.

5. Spending time at the beach is the perfect vacation with kids. We could have stayed there forever. Annika was hesitant at first, but she warmed up quickly and never wanted to leave. We swam, splashed, built sandcastles, played catch, ate sandy food, and then did it all over again. No matter what the local pool says, water wings are amazing. Annika was so proud that she could swim by herself, and even though we always kept a close eye on her, those water wings gave us a couple of free hands and enough peace of mind so that we could give the babies more attention. It also helped Annika feel more confident and made playing in the water much more fun. The babies were content to lounge in the shade with an occasionally salty dip. There were a fair share of topless sunbathers, but it was more a curiosity than a scandal. I don’t think Annika even noticed. She sees me nursing so often that it probably didn’t even strike her as odd.

Elise is in pink, Lucy is in green

6. Besides the beach, we decided to go to Provence because it was supposed to be beautiful. Though it was different than we thought (more desert, fewer rolling hills of purple lavender) Annika loved pointing out flowers, castles, birds, trees, boats, mountains, and “peoples.”

7. She also loved her DVD player. We wouldn’t have survived without it.

Our family, 4 hours into an 11 hour drive that should have been 8.

This is a four day weekend for us, and then Brad takes leave starting Tuesday. We are leaving on Friday for a much anticipated week long trip to Provence, France. There is a lot more sun and water in our near future!

And, on another note, Happy Father’s Day! I have a wonderful Father and all of my girls adore their “Opa”. I have many happy memories of riding bikes, playing at the beach, working in the garden, and backpacking with my Dad. He was my biggest fan and I could pick out his voice over my coaches’ when I was playing basketball. His example has inspired me to be a harder worker, a more loving mother, and a more devoted follower of Christ.

Opa and newborn Annika

A fun grandpa, no?

If I can say so, I think I got a pretty good husband who is a wonderful Dad as well. I don’t know if you can  tell from the pictures on the blog, but Brad is the “fun” one in our house. Annika has an acute sense of hearing when it comes to the door downstairs and she is usually rushing down the hall yelling “Daddy’s home!” before I even know what is happening. He likes to pretend that he really wants boys, but I know our girls have him wrapped around their fingers.

This is from a month or so ago -- Brad is now "Cap'n Holland"

]]> http://www.ericaholland.com/2010/06/20/splash/feed/ 5 http://www.ericaholland.com/2010/06/09/i-think-we-might-need-a-pool/ http://www.ericaholland.com/2010/06/09/i-think-we-might-need-a-pool/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:21:05 +0000 Erica Holland Photography http://www.ericaholland.com/?p=689 It was nice and sunny today, and Annika wanted to play with her new beach toys. We don’t have a pool for her, but being the ingenious Mom that I am, I came up with what I thought would be a reasonable substitute. Annika played in this tub for hours tonight; she must not know how much better it could be. I think a better pool might be in order.

(Elise is on Annika’s right, and Lucy is on Annika’s left)

The twins are now three months old. They both roll over, coo and babble, smile and occasionally giggle, and tolerate a lot of “love” from Annika. They are sleeping from about 9 to 4:30 or so pretty regularly, so I guess I can’t complain. They are so easy going that sometimes I think the two of them together are easier than Annika was all by herself.

Annika talks and talks and talks. We planted some seeds and plants out on our patio and she waters them everyday and checks to see if her flowers are growing. I told her the sun has to come out to help the flowers grow, so every time the sun appears (which is not very often) she runs outside and says “The sun is shining! My flowers are coming!” She then stares intently at the dirt, waiting to see the sprouts appear. She loves her friends, princesses, the park, singing, making cookies, and playing soccer. We don’t do a whole lot lately besides hang out together at home, but I think I can safely say that we are a happy family. Life has treated us well. Now if we could just get the sun to stay for more than a couple of days . . .