matt weighs in

I’ve had a week to reflect on what I think turned out to be a great parenting accomplishment – two fathers on a road trip with five kids, ages 2-6. I don’t think I’m narcissistic, as those of you who know me might attest to (if you won’t, then humor me for a few minutes here), but it really did turn out well.

I’m not as good at lists as Laura is, but here are 10 things I learned from our van-cation to Wiley Park in Aberdeen, South Dakota for a family reunion:

1. Kids can and will entertain themselves in close quarters for up to, but not over, 25 minutes before someone starts poking another or hitting them with an inanimate object.

2. Be prepared to stop 30 minutes after starting a road trip, so 1-2 can go to the bathroom, even though the question was asked three times before getting in the car if anyone had to go to the bathroom.

3. Juice boxes. Lots of juice boxes. And string cheese. And a few movies.

4. Be in the car within a one-hour window of their usual naptime. Awesome. (We nailed this one on the way home. 130 minutes of conversation between brothers.)

5. Putting up the tent is not the #1 priority upon arrival at the campground. Bug spray is #1. Layer it on. 10 days later and Siena has finally stopped scratching. We had no mosquitoes in Minnesota when we left. They were swarming in Aberdeen.

6. Kids can usually sleep through anything – Friday night thunderstorm from 10pm-2:30am. Not a peep from my kids until Siena woke up to scratch her dozens of bug bites. This learning is not the case if your tent leaks. Don’t ask Scott about this night.

7. Throw #6 out the window, too, if you try to get five kids to try to nap in the same space that isn’t a moving van.

8. High school nieces make great baby sitters, even if I didn’t officially ask them to babysit. The kids just kinda gravitate toward them, and the fun lasts for at least an hour.

9. Wiley Park is a very good family destination for a weekend. Camp sites, a lake with a beach, go-karts and bumber boats, 18-hole miniature golf course, volleyball and basketball courts and the kids’ favorite, Storybook Land, complete with a yellow-brick road throughout, a 100-foot tall beanstalk with Jack climbing up, little houses for many other stories kids love (3 Little Pigs, Munchkins, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, etc). It also has a train to ride all around the park, which lets you see everything. All-in-all, a great place to keep a family busy for a weekend.

10. Laura probably hated missing the kids, but not as much as loving the peace-and-quiet 3.5 days without kids brings to the house. Laura was very happy to see them (and me, I think), but I could tell she really enjoyed the “time off,” and deservedly so.

It was a successful trip, too, because of the reunion. About 65 people on my mom’s side of the family came from all over the country to be together – all descended from my mom’s paternal grandparents. Lots of laughs, great stories from when they were younger and some tears for those who have passed away. This is the first reunion I remember on the Baldwin side, but I’m pretty sure that plans are in motion for the next one “not too far away,” in the words of my mom’s +/-90 year old aunt.