We came home! Our second night was almost as rocky as the first, but we all got at least a little bit more sleep this time around, and felt more ready for the day to begin when it began!
Brady and I got ready for the day before getting the kids up, and then I wrangled them onto the bed to contain them, and they had a really special, sweet breakfast while watching some Netflix. While they were corralled, Brady packed and got everything ready to go! It was really efficient and smooth, and we were out of there an hour before checkout.
We all went down to the lobby together with the baggage cart overflowing with our stuff, and then Brady decided to pull the van up to the hotel rather than try and drag everything and everyone across the rocky parking lot. In those minutes, I was so proud of the kids. I had all four in the lobby, and they were just so very pleasant. Dekker inspected the baggage cart and talked to me about how he’d park it once Brady had unloaded it. “Its got secure wheels, and I’m a pretty big boy, so I’d ‘afer (prefer) to park it myself.” Some of the people also waiting in the lobby smiled sweetly at him, and I made a point to smile at them when they glanced over at me. It was so sweet to see him taking responsibility for a job. Laela sat beside me, and I had Rowan on my lap. Solly lay in his bucket wide awake nearby. They were all on great behaviour. When Brady did arrive, it took some time to load the van properly, so the three big kids helped me find all of the garbage we’ve accumulated in the van, and we took a walk to throw it away. When we got back, the van was ready, and we headed off!
Ikea was the mainest goal (yup, its a thing) of this trip, so we’ve really been anticipating it! The only reason we waited until the last day was because some of the things we were going to buy wouldn’t fit in our van, and we didn’t want to strap them to the roof and then leave them out in the parking lot overnight. So it had to be today. We were a little bit nervous going into the long shop, with Rowan having been so shrieky the day before, and the kids running on a fraction of the sleep they usually get for two nights in a row now, but we were SO pleasantly surprised!!! Rowan did SO well! WAY better than anticipated! He loved all of the lights and fans, and spent most of the shop staring and pointing up at the ceiling. We had a few different cart setups, but when they weren’t working, we put Rowan in the seat in a regular cart, and I wore Solly in the ergo. The big kids walked, as they often prefer. With that setup, we had a GREAT shop! I am so thankful that the kitchen event was on when we ordered our kitchen, because we had a nice big gift card to work with. We definitely still spent a pretty penny, but we walked out of Ikea with a headboard, a bed frame, an absurd amount of sheet sets and duvet covers, a couple of replacement door fronts, a missed drawer pull, a vanity chair, and a few other small things. But it felt so good to get a few pieces for around our house that we’ve been eyeballing for so long. Once we get all of our ducks in a row over here, our upstairs will be pretty close to done! Eek! The whole shop felt very successful, and I was so proud of our kids. Brady left us waiting at the doors to go get the van, so we could once again load up at the door rather than dragging our overfilled carts across the parking lot. A really nice employee had suggested Brady pull up the van, and I made a comment about how he could take the big kids, and I could hang back with the little ones, just because I was feeling a bit aware of how much space we were taking up. He laughed at asked which kids were the big ones. I had never really thought of that in that way! I pointed to Solly and Ro and said “Well these ones are smaller than these ones…Kind of.” I looked at Laela and pointed out that she and Ro were pretty much the same size. We had a laugh, and he hung out and told me stories about his grandchildren until Brady arrived. After forever, we got the big stuff strapped to the roof of the van, and we left Ikea. A quick stop for lunch and we finally left Edmonton.
It was the perfect drive home. Three of the four kids were asleep before we were out of the city. No screaming to get them there, either. Rowan had screamed and screamed on the way to Edmonton until he finally fell asleep. He was asleep before we even left the Ikea parking lot today! It was SO refreshing to have them nap at the beginning of the drove. We listened to good music and got excited about house stuff. Though it was funny to realize how thematic our road trips have been in the past! In the last few years, when Brady and I road trip, we almost always discuss baby names (we’ve named most of our kids on road trips) and we usually buy dvds or seasons of our favorite shows off of Amazon on our drive home. I don’t know why, but those things just usually happen. However, we didn’t buy any movies, and we are so very NOT pregnant right now, haha! So no one to name! Also, we always discuss dreams of what our house will be like when its built. And its finally built!! Our life is just so very rich.
Things got a bit nuts towards the end of the trip. Laela was very tired, and was crying and asking for things incoherently from her car seat. Poor little miss. But all is well now. We have made it home, everyone is in bed, our bath is run and our bed is looking SO comfy! Road trips are so fun, and I am SO pleased that we are able to take them, but coming home is always nice. And coming home to THIS home is just decadent.
Tomorrow, unpacking and laundry begins. Wish me luck!!!