More thoughts

Moments like this make me feel all wobbly inside. A very happy kid
In a very happy place.

Diesel rocks.

Some friends have asked us how we survived a road trip with 2 young kids. Well, we are lucky the boys have been good and behaved really well throughout the trip. The biggest challenge we faced was not having enough sleep in the night because Linus decided 4:30 am was our wake-up call. Considering we had messed up his routine and familiar sleep environment, I was prepared for some kind of disruption. Lucas had no problem sleeping through the night as usual and was very content as long as his blankie was with him.

The good thing about being on vacation as a family is that we have so much time together, enjoying the boys and doing things together as a family. I felt like Lucas' vocabulary expanded immensely through the trip. I am not sure if this is because we had more opportunities to engage with him or because he was having such a great time taking all the experiences in. Probably both.

More notes from our trip:
1. I travelled on possibly the longest bridge when I was in San Francisco.
2. We did not see "the most photographed bridge" when in San Francisco.
3. I love the weather in San Francisco.
4. I think I can live there.
5. Witness to a truckload of dead pigs in Chinatown San Francisco made me think of being a vegetarian (which is a big feat because I love eating meat).
6. One of the nicest zoo I have ever been is in San Francisco.
7. I fear to drive in San Francisco.
8. I had the greatest scare of my life in Las Vegas.
9. There is endless buffets choices in Vegas.
10. You don't have to gamble in Vegas to have a great time.
11. I love the Venetian and Paris hotels in Vegas.
12. Winter is probably the best time to visit Vegas when it is not as crowded and weather was comfortably cool.
13. I had the best "yao kai mein" (Soy Sauce Chicken Noodle) in Vegas.
14. I didn't know Vegas had so many good Chinese restaurants.
15. Lucas "chickened out" on some of the rides in Disneyland and covered his eyes throughout some of the rides.
16. Lucas can say "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" by the end of our Disneyland adventure.
17. I sat on the longest tram ride ever in Disneyland when Lucas couldn't stop saying "hello" and "hi-five" to everyone seated behind us.
18. Lucas charmed the cashiers at the Supermart with his "Good bye" "Have a good day" "Have fun!"
19. Road trips are amazing for the changing landscape we see from the red cliffs in Arizona, to snow-capped mountains in Utah.
20. I wonder how cows stand and maintain their balance on steep cliffs. How did they get there in the first place?
21. We saw cows, horses and sheeps all through our journey on the road which absolutely fascinated Lucas.
22. What resulted was a Lucas version of "Oh MacDonald".
23. I wonder how anyone ever go on a road trip without GPS in the past?
24. I think Dr. Pepper is Root Beer gone bad.
25. Eating healthy on a road trip is not easy!