Scenes From our Trip

As we drove home from the airport last Friday afternoon, about twelve hours after departing Denver in the middle of the night and ten days after arriving in Denver in the middle of the night, after spending what felt the better part of those ten days driving confusedly lost through neverending suburban sprawl, and nursing three kids through four different illnesses, I was thinking, "Never, ever, again," when Z announced, "That was a good trip."

Six hours earlier, as our first plane coasted into Detroit in the early morning light, E had said, "We stayed up all night! It was fun! Not grumpy!!"

Perhaps six-year-olds are more resilient than old mamas. In any case, here's a bit of what we've been up to for the last two weeks:

Anticipation.

Our hotel Christmas tree--Maine-grown and smuggled in our luggage.

Street Piano

The Lego Store

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks...

Gems and minerals and dinosaur bones, oh my.

The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Denver Branch (because I lamely failed to reserve tickets to the Mint).

Christmas Eve with around 25 relatives my kids don't remember ever having met (photo by Z, I believe).

Christmas Eve spent introducing and reintroducing myself and my children to my grandmother who doesn't remember ever having met us.

Christmas morning in the hotel room (in new Grammie Jammies)

Lots of screen time with aunts and uncles (Angry Bird, Harry Potter and, here, photos of Greece, I think).

Christmas Day balsa wood plane races.

City lights.

Art photography by Z.

Falling in love with Waffles, despite his sharp claws.

Rare moments of brotherly love.

Discovering powder.

The ritual photo of Twin No. 1, 

And Twin No. 2.

Checking out Grandpoppy's shop.

And, at long last, sleep, undignified as it may be, on the red carpet of Concourse B in the Detroit airport.