Vacation!

T-3 day until we fly out for Seattle. We being me, the kids, and my brother. Mr Wampuss is flying out next weekend so he can stay a week and do the return trip with us. (By my request. He let me decide if I'd rather he fly out with us, or back with us, since he only gets one week off)  Today is the start of my pre-travel panic attack. I have one every time we travel. It's where I run around in circles and freak out about every last detail until I'm sure everything is in place, and I have every contingency handled. Then everything goes remarkably smoothly for the actual traveling. My husband is going to opt for overtime so he doesn't have to be here while I run around and ponder things like: Is it easier to check both carseats, or drag one through the airport so I can secure at least one kid into an unescapable seat for the four hour flight?  How many sippy cups should I take on the plane? How many should I pack? Should I take my laptop and camera? Should I just take my iPad? Should I take Demon's iPad? Should I take an iPad for Heli? Can I run a laptop and iPads through the security belt in the same bucket, or will I need 4 of them? Where is my epi pen? Is diaper cream a liquid or a solid? Does it have to go into the 1 quart bag? Do we have any 1 quart bags?

You get the idea. It just goes on and on. Then, I have to pack in sections. We're flying into Seattle late, spending 1 night there, then driving out to the ferry at Anacortes, and taking the ferry to the island.  If you go straight through (without spending the night) it's about a twelve hour trip. If you take a puddle jumper instead of the ferry (which I don't think we can do with 2 small kids and two carseats) it's 8-9 hours.  It's not a short trip. It's worth it though.

This is where we're going

This is my breakfast view. 

This is the view form where my children can run around all day

There are acres for them to run in. They could run all day and never wonder off the property. There is a pool for swimming, there is an adorable town with good food, cheap movies, and no chain anything.  But best of all, best of all, they are surrounded by people who love them.  People who can't wait to see them, and spend time with them, and do things with them. Feed them, snuggle them, play with them, entertain them. It's a wonderful Nirvana filled with family that cherishes them.  It's totally worth the long haul up there (and the same haul in reverse to get home.) It's worth the detail worry. It's worth the inevitable meltdowns. It's worth the screaming children, the lack of sleep, completely changing their schedule and routines. It's worth it, and I can't wait for our two weekends in paradise surrounded by family.  I have been counting down the days for two months and it's almost here!