I really, Really, REALLY LOVE travelling with my kids.....

Oh, yes...that is laced with significant sarcasm. I was hoping that I could convince myself that it was true...but, I can't. We made a quick trip to Grand Forks this weekend. Our new neice, born right before Thanksgiving, was being baptized. And, our godchild and neice was having her first communion. So, we left Friday morning. We should have known that trip was going to be interesting before we even left the house. About and hour before we actually left, Charles was fully dressed in his winter coat sitting by the door with his suitcase packed. About 15 minutes later he was complaining about being too hot. Min was crying because he thought we were going to leave him. I really don't know where that came from because we have never left him anywhere before.... I stay home with him. We made it to Pine Island...about 15 minutes from home... and the first 'How far is it?' started. We stopped to eat on the other side of the Cities. Got in the car and drove for about 5 minutes and had to make a bathroom stop...for one of the kids. Min got about a 20 minute nap before one of the big brothers woke him up. This was NOT a good thing and mom and dad were not happy. A brother bonding moment in the big tub at Uncle Gerad's and Auntie Misty's. They were trying to be Santa Claus and Charles helped Min just a little. It was baby soap so it didn't sting his eyes...not sure about the taste though.

Back to the story. We learned that you do not drive for 6 hours and then stop in Fargo at the Japanes-Korean restaurant. Not only did the boys look like street children... they were dirty from eating in the car...but they acted like they had never been to a public place in their entire lives. Thankfully, the restaurant was part of a little mall where they could run. And, run they did. They ate all their mandu and then Min drank the cho jang sauce, the dipping sauce for the mandu, out of the bowl. This is mostly made up of soy sauce among some other ingredients. He drank a lot of water that day. We finally made it to GF. The boys had a great time with their cousins. And, we had a great time visiting. Min was homesick... especially at bedtime. He would ask, 'This my house?' 'No, Min. This is Uncle's house.' 'My house at home?' 'Yes.' He would wake up crying and scared.

This is baby Greta, our newest neice. Henry thought we should trade Min for her. She is such a good baby and has the cutest little smile. Charles thought we should trade Min for Uncle's two cats...one is quite elderly and the other is quite large... a full 7 pounds more than Min. He liked that they actually sat still so he could pet them which is not at all like our cat. The good thing for the boys...neither the cats nor Greta try to take their toys, mess up their room, or create as much mess as their brother. I think we need a little more brotherly bonding.

The trip home was a real winner. Thankfully, they all did nap...at least for awhile. Min managed a full 30 minutes. Not good for the Paul Family. He cried for nearly the last 2 hours of our trip. We heard this...'I want Min's bed.' 'Want go to sleep.' When we finally got home...at 8:15 p.m... he was so happy to be home. He just looked around and would say, 'There my Abby (the cat)' 'There my bed,' 'There my jammies' 'There my diaper.' It went on and on...and he was so delirious with fatigue and the excitement of being home that he could hardly go to sleep. Finally he just crashed.

And, here is the view of the Red River Valley in the wintertime. They have a lot more snow than we do. This is when we were nearly to Grand Forks.