6/21/11

Family Fun

Remember when? Remember when you were a kid and your parents took you on a trip and you didn't want to go? You pouted and whined and dragged your feet and chose to walk 20 yards behind your mom or dad while kicking a rock? The photo above is a classic in my family. We were living in Virginia at the time, so my mom and dad took us all to Washington, D.C. for a family trip. Look how optimistic my mom was! All dressed up and sassy with her white trench coat and pretty hair. Too bad she had to drag 3 ungrateful children along with her that day. I think this was the best photo my dad could get of all of us in front of the White House. After this picture my little brother and I both started crying.

My time has come. No sooner did we finally get past the diapers, pull-ups, tie their shoes, help them get dressed, hold-them-in-the-pool-so-they-don't-drown phase then we are full-on in the crabby, dragging their feet, rolling their eyes, and walking-20-yards-behind-us-while-kicking-a-rock phase. Eighty percent of our vacation time is awesome. Completely great. But the other twenty percent? Mmmmmm, not so much. While we were in Breckenridge and touring a museum there, one of our kids copped such a bad attitude--pouting with tears running down their cheeks--that a woman on the street actually stopped to give them a hug. (My kids are very adept at pouting.)

Here's to family vacations.

5 comments:

rebekah said...

I don't have anything smart to say - just laughing. I was on those vacations - your mom does look rather smart - and I now take those vacations. And will be bringing one of those vacations to your lovely home. Get ready!

hotflawedmama said...

I would really like a copy of this picture, your face is priceless.

On my family vacations I would get sick as a dog. Had motion sickness so bad I'd literally get strep throat every time. Good times.

For the record, I'm better now. Shouldn't be a problem in a week. ;)

jayme said...

I love love love this hysterical picture. I think you should seriously consider recreating it for this project:
http://gizmodo.com/5809529/childhood-photos-recreated-as-adults-today

So maybe (probably) I'm crazy, but I genuinely think my kids are a whole lot more pleasant to be around when we're anywhere but at home. Maybe they're in some magical and short-lived phase where the whole world is still exciting to them, they don't mind being with their crazy parents 24/7, and they haven't yet learned to pout and whine about all the "educational" stuff on our itinerary. Regardless, I am cautiously optimistic about this upcoming trip.

However, you may want to ask me again how I feel about family trips once our traveling circus rolls up in Colorado. Are you sure you know what you're getting into?!?

Chatter said...

That really is funny! I'm glad it was a hug, I was expecting something else.

il panettiere... said...

This made me chuckle- especially the bit regarding your mom's optimism. And your tears. ;-)

I never would have thought it in a million years growing up, but oh how very much I want to take my crew to Washington D.C. I mean, the history! Surely MY kid will be down with it... right?