As you all know, we have four kids. When Kami and I both take them all on a vacation, they have us outmanned 2:1 at all times. We’ve found that splitting them up, while it doesn’t change the ratio, does change the dynamics. With all four in the car, or at a touristy location, there are a lot of relationships that can become explosive. But if each of us just takes two of them somewhere, it’s a far easier job, even though, as parents, we’re going it alone. So, for the last few years I’ve taken two of the kids down to see Grandma and Grandpa Hymas in Colorado over spring break. The other two stay home with Kami. We’ve rotated through the kids so they each get both opportunities, and it makes for a fun spring break for everyone.

This year, as I prepared for our annual spring break trip, I looked at what everybody needed and wanted and decided all four kids should go, and Kami would stay home and focus on some personal things. So now I was going to be outmanned 4:1 and with all of the relationships to be managed throughout.

Ok, after all that leadup, it really wasn’t all that difficult.

I loaded the kids up early one morning, got in the car, and drove. We did the full trip from Boise to Grand Junction in about ten hours, with one stop for lunch and a few quick bathroom/gas breaks. The kids all played on their devices (which is a rare treat for them), managed their own snacks, and didn’t fight at all.

It was a beautiful trip.

We arrived just in time to clean up a bit before going to hear Grandma perform an amazing version of the Flower Duet from Lakme. Afterwards we had stew for dinner, got the kids settled, and made plans for the next two days.

On Monday we started the day off slowly, on purpose. We did get to go visit Great Grandma, which was awesome. She was in good spirits and had fun identifying everyone’s eye color. 

Then we had some lunch and went for a hike up Devil’s Canyon.

Our scramblers, Reagan and Levi, did their best to find new and interesting trails, while Cade and Liberty were content to walk the marked trail and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa.

That evening, we started a game of Settlers of America with Grandpa, and planned out our trip to Arches the next day.

That trip began with us all getting up at 6am. We made it out the door by 6:40 and this time the kids were split up between my car and the grandparents, so the drive to the park was even easier. Once we got there, we all loaded into the van and had a great time.

The kids all joined us on hikes to Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch.

Liberty especially was a trooper and had a great time hiking with Grandma and Reagan.

After the two hikes we had lunch and then drove to see other arches, and stopped at Balancing Rock to enjoy the view.

We got done in the park with enough time to hit Dead Horse State Park on the way home.

Levi chased the lizards, Liberty danced on the rocks, and we all enjoyed the breathtaking views of the cliffs, the canyon, and the river below.

When we got back that evening, we had some pizza, finished our game of Settlers, and crashed for the night.

The next morning, we packed up, and took off for ten more hours of driving. Another enjoyable, relatively quiet and conflict free drive. We have definitely arrived. The kids took care of themselves, I enjoyed some good music, and we even got home and started unpacking before mom did.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.