Avoid the Snow - Part 1

We had school and work through December 22nd, so planned to head north mid-morning on the 23rd. I had my team holiday party (a virtual wine tasting ... where I drank whiskey) until 5:30 that evening. There were some great plans between Mike and I around taking breaks from work during the day to do some packing ... but you know what they say about best-laid plans. They went awry.

[Pandemic disclaimer: because we were working and schooling from home, we made the commitment to self-isolate for two weeks before Christmas. My parents and sister made the same commitment so that we could safely see each other for the holiday.]

As I started to get dinner ready, my dad called. "Sar, you are keeping an eye on the weather, right?" Um, I think so ... why? "Because we are supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow tomorrow." Mi-ike!!! Turns out, we were keeping an eye on the weather. But the forecast had changed dramatically during the day when we were working [thank you, Dad!]. After studying the forecast and the radar, Mike determined we had three options ... none of which included leaving mid-morning on the 23rd. 

We could hustle it up and leave that night (yikes! We were NOT packed - and such a late arrival!), we could get up early and hit the road around 5:00am to try to beat the storm, or we could wait until Christmas Eve to travel. There was a team discussion during dinner (including the kids because any decision impacted them too). No one wanted to wait until Christmas Eve. Mike wasn't sure that leaving at 5am was actually going to help us beat the storm. Which left ... leave that night. 

I took a few deep breaths, told the kids that the only way this would work is if they cooperated, and tried not to panic. We made the decision to change the plan at 6:30pm. Against all the odds (for real, all of them), we were on the road at 8:58pm. The kids were super helpful, Mike and I had our standard holiday stand-off about bringing too much stuff ... basically smooth sailing. 

As we got on the freeway, Mike said, "I wonder what we forgot." The girls started listing things and one by one, I confirmed we had them. There was a lull while they tried to think of more stuff. Out of the blue, Dec yelled "Keevvvvviiiiinnnn" [nod to Home Alone] and everyone burst out laughing. His comedic timing is so perfect and it such a perfect start to our trip. 

Even though it was already an hour past their bedtime, we knew they wouldn't be sleeping while we went through the cities. Too many lights. So we put on our Disney Christmas carols DVD and let them veg out a bit. Eventually I turned it off and they tried to sleep. It was hard and uncomfortable for them. They dozed, but no one slept much. However, they were great during the trip. [There was one pit stop on the side of an entrance ramp in the middle of the night so four out of five Vannestes could pee on the side of the road ...]

We got to GR at 12:30am (we did arrive on the 23rd!) and immediately brought the kids down to bed and tucked them in. Auntie helped us onload all our crap and then everyone was off to bed. It was a late (or early) arrival, but we were so happy to wake up already at our destination!

The 23rd was super low key. The girls and I got haircuts, Grandpa taught Dec how to play checkers (and true to form, did not give him any advantage. Even though he is only SIX, Gpa!), Mike and my dad played chess (kinda), we played in the new snow (and were thankful we made the travel choice we did), and there was some serious family band practice that evening. The kids were in surprisingly great moods for the very late night. Winter break had officially begun!