The Esker Twinsanity: Traveling with Two

What a weekend... I'll start off by saying, thank God for our wonderful family! We are now officially residents of Pittsburgh, PA, but it wasn't easy. Nana, Pa and Aunt Kaleigh came up on Thursday and helped set the trip in motion. Everyone was a little bummed that Brenden and Jackson are starting to grow out of the "sit on my lap and cuddle" stage, especially Nana and Kaleigh. I know Pa is ready for the "go out and get dirty and maybe even get into a some trouble" stage. Nonetheless, they were all happy to see the boys. That night, we made some burgers on the grill and enjoyed our time together.

Friday, we woke up and got straight to work... right after we enjoyed Mom's best ever homemade cinnamon rolls. Pa helped with the luggage rack and even mowed the lawn and washed up the car. Best! Father-in-law! Ever! Nana and Kaleigh gladly looked after the boys while mom and dad got everything ready to go. It took some serious prioritizing to pack a small SUV with the essentials necessary to put up a family of four for 7 weeks. Two babies... check, two pack-and-plays... check, two high chairs... check, one double stroller... check, one microwave... check, clothes, bedding, towels, pots, pans, dishes... check, 7 cases of beer... just kidding. That night, we all TRIED to get a good nights rest in anticipation of the big move.

Saturday started off nice and easy. Everything was packed from the night before. With the help of a few Beavers, we tied up some loose ends and pulled out of the drive around 9:00 am... Just in time for Brenden and Jackson's first nap. We made our first pit stop around 12:30 and another around 1:30. The second time we stopped, the GPS took us on a joyride in search of a park. (Recalculating) We finally found one with a playground so Brenden and Jackson could have a chance to stretch their legs and run off some energy. The last leg of our trip got a little long, but we finally rolled into Pittsburgh around 6:00, which was actually 7:00 because of the time change. I am so proud of these two boys for their patients on the long car ride!

We had a friend of our landlord let us into the place. This is where our evening took a turn for the worse. Not a thing in the apartment had been cleaned. We were afraid to even set Brenden and Jackson on the floor... and we still had an entire SUV to unload. At this point we decided that cleaning supplies were more important than unloading so we packed back up and headed to the store. A cart of cleaning supplies and a couple tv dinners later, we made it back and managed to clean up and get the boys in their pack and plays by 10:00. Now it was time to unload. It seemed so much easier packing up than unloading. We must have had some help in Elmhurst or something ;-) After a dinner a la microwave and about 20 minutes of screaming babies, we finally laid down a little after midnight.

Now that we have had a chance to get everything organized and Mom has made a few trips to rehearsal. We are starting to settle in. The boys love to explore the new pad and seem to have made the adjustment well. Our apartment is actually a little bigger than I imagined. The main room is about 15 by 15 including the kitchen. The pleasant surprise was a hallway that is just large enough to fit enough to fit two pack and plays. It has now been transformed into Brenden and Jackson's bedroom. We look forward to visitors, but in the meantime have managed to find ways to entertain ourselves!