This week is kind of a special week at iheartfaces. Instead of the normal weekly judging, we've been asked to write about a family vacation. This will give a much needed break for those who run the show at iheartfaces and allow all of us who participate the chance to share a little bit about ourselves.
When I read about the theme: "My Story Through Photos: Vacation Edition", I almost decided to back out. I haven't taken an "official" vacation in years. Partly, this has been due to using up all my leave for maternity leave, twelve weeks each for both kids, and taking up leave every time one of the kids become ill. Sure, we've had a little excursions to the Children's Museum, the local zoo, and the like, but not an actual vacation. A real vacation.
I was just going to share one of those excursions, but then decided to share with you that last real vacation I ever took.
Let me take you back to a time when our family was half the size of what it is today. Just Scott and me. No children. No diaper bags to pack. No bottles to prepare. No car seats and strollers.
In fact, this was maybe about a month or two before we found out I was pregnant.
My mother, who was still alive then, lived in Minnesota with my stepdad. She really wanted me to come see her and visit. Living poorly then, we made a road trip out of a long weekend. My mother also wanted me to bring her some of her stuff kept at my dad's house. That's what having a pick-up is good for, right?Scott and I left after working early morning shifts that day. We live in Colorado Springs. We were traveling to Little Canada, Minnesota. That's a long, long, long drive. Scott and I divvied up the driving shifts. I took the trek through Colorado. He'd take the Nebraska bit. I'd take over in Iowa. Then him in Minnesota.
By the time we reached Nebraska, the sun had pretty much set. We stopped at a gas station and Scott took over so I could get some rest. No sooner had I fallen asleep that I had awoken to us stopped at a rest stop and Scott was starting to sleep! We had no time to waste. I didn't want to sleep in a rest stop and lose precious time. So, I took over. I drove all night until the sun was starting to come up. I drove almost all the way to Iowa. Scott slept, in and out mostly. I drove. It was a long, long drive. Boring and long. And I was exhausted.
Scott took over for the rest of Nebraska and most of Iowa.
Either way, we finally made it to Minnesota.
Despite being exhausted, I caught my second wind and we headed out to have some fun (of course, after eating and showering).
Here are a few things we did that weekend.
Visit the Mall of America.
Go skiing/snowboarding. Weird, though. I live in Colorado and up to that point had never gone to any of Colorado's beautiful ski slopes. This was my first time and it was in Minnesota, not Colorado.
Self portrait.
Visited a small town near the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. In fact, the bridge behind my mother leads into Wisconsin. As you can see from my mother's expression, it was very, very cold.
The weekend was too short. I didn't want to say good-bye to my mother. The next time I saw my mother, we were both pregnant and she was getting ready to move back (my stepdad was preparing to serve a tour in the Middle East).
Our ride back was a bit more fairly spread out. It seemed quicker because much was during daylight hours and our load was lighter (no piles of boxes in the pick-up bed)
As the day faded, I took a picture of a beautiful sunset and surprised it actually turned out well.
She wasn't happy here. She really needed a nap.
This time, Tristan got an octopus painted on his face. 
An even better picture of Captain Jack of the Colorado Renaissance. Not bad, eh?
