make it an adventure

Yesterday we spent the holiday at my sister's in-laws (because our families are cool like that). Going there is a treat for my kids because the house is big, it has its own special play room, a sprinkler was involved, an uncle plays with them, cousins are around and different toys abound! In the morning I decided to have a little fun with them and ask if we should go on an adventure. Well if that didn't perk their little heads right up! It was cute to hear their ideas of an adventure - the park, the library - but mine won for sure and excitement ensued. We had a good time. Fast forward 24 hours and I needed to take a small road trip by way of highway 6 for 75-90 minutes each way... with all three angels. My biggest concern is keeping my sleep-deprived self awake while driving through the mountains, but coming in second is keeping those whiny little beasts happy. So I pulled "adventure" out of my magic hat and geared them up to be excited.  We piled into the car and the ever predictable "I'm hungry" rang out. But I was prepared with an uncommon treat at our place: graham crackers, which could be consumed after the apple slices. They were cool with that, I mean, it was graham crackers. Next on our adventure we counted the trains, both stationary and mobile, passed on our journey. This is probably Joel's favorite part. Halfway there I broke out the portable DVD player (thanks mom!) and Dr. Seuss entertained the older two the rest of the way.  Our adventure to the McDonald's playground (because my children get excited about McDonald's playgrounds) was a success and because they were pretty well behaved they got some ice cream on the way out. Talk about sticky happy (quiet) children! But the real fun happened on the way home. So, for whatever random reason, there is a replica of a train at a random stop on highway 6. I found it on accident last month. Boy was that fun. :-)  What really happened? I think I gave them a positive label to place on the experience. I think I gave them a positive way to look at the bulk of their day. I think I put out some positive energy to feed off of.  I hope I taught them something about perception and attitude. It could have been a boring 3 hour drive. But we made it into an adventure instead! It was a good reminder for me. Oh, I should mention that while at the train rest stop a real train passed by and Joel shot both hands high into the air and shouted, "Two trains! Two trains!" Cutest thing all day.