The Goodwins continue to venture out in new ways (as mom and dad are brave enough to try). A couple of weekends ago we braved the first trip to Atlanta. There were two occasions to celebrate. The first was the wedding of our dear friend Ainsley. It was a beautiful event. Congratulations Greg and Ainsley! The second was the 100-day birthday of Chelsea and Colman. For those unfamiliar, in Korean culture, the 100-day birthday is a big milestone. See the pictures of the party below.
The trip was a great experience for us. We have discovered that any trip like this is pretty much like moving. After two pak-n-plays, two bouncy chairs, a double stroller, mom and dad's bags, kids bags, diapers, feeding supplies and equipment, and various toys/amusements get loaded into ye olde minivan, it's pretty much packed to the gills. Much more and we'd have to call U-Haul.
By and large, the kids tolerated the trip pretty well, but we have discovered that our kids greatly appreciate routine. Violating the routine resulted in what came to be very predictable results. Everything came to a head on Sunday afternoon at the James household. We had a full-volume meltdown (in stereo no less!). It was the first one of those in a long time for us. We also discovered the 70% rule. Chelsea tolerates her car seat for about 70% of the distance to our intended destinations. For the trip to church this means about 1.5 minutes of fussing and crying. For the trip to Atlanta... you can do the math. Carol wants to go to Virginia for wedding in October. Yikes!
All said and done, we enjoyed the adventure. It was great to catch up with friends and introduce Colman and Chelsea around. Of course, the best part has been to see Hadeubuhjee and Halmeunee dote on their grandkids. That combined with all the Atlanta friends that C-n-C have yet to meet translates into many more trips to Atlanta in the near future.
The trip was a great experience for us. We have discovered that any trip like this is pretty much like moving. After two pak-n-plays, two bouncy chairs, a double stroller, mom and dad's bags, kids bags, diapers, feeding supplies and equipment, and various toys/amusements get loaded into ye olde minivan, it's pretty much packed to the gills. Much more and we'd have to call U-Haul.
By and large, the kids tolerated the trip pretty well, but we have discovered that our kids greatly appreciate routine. Violating the routine resulted in what came to be very predictable results. Everything came to a head on Sunday afternoon at the James household. We had a full-volume meltdown (in stereo no less!). It was the first one of those in a long time for us. We also discovered the 70% rule. Chelsea tolerates her car seat for about 70% of the distance to our intended destinations. For the trip to church this means about 1.5 minutes of fussing and crying. For the trip to Atlanta... you can do the math. Carol wants to go to Virginia for wedding in October. Yikes!
All said and done, we enjoyed the adventure. It was great to catch up with friends and introduce Colman and Chelsea around. Of course, the best part has been to see Hadeubuhjee and Halmeunee dote on their grandkids. That combined with all the Atlanta friends that C-n-C have yet to meet translates into many more trips to Atlanta in the near future.
