Howard Trio Plus One: First Family Vacation

A few months ago Micah came up with the idea that we should take the whole family to Ouray, Colorado between Christmas and New Year's for a little vacation. Ouray is known for the ice climbing and Micah wanted to meet up with his dad and a friend there, so he thought it would be a great time for us to do a trip since we would have six adults for three babies. I'll admit that I was very skeptical when we first talked about it as I knew it would be a ton of work to get the babies there (pack all of the clothes, bottles, food, diapers, gear, etc. and then stop along the way to feed bottles) and I thought Micah might be off climbing the whole time while I took care of the babies in the hotel room. But I have to say that it was actually a great trip as the guys only climbed half days so I was able to get out and have fun every day as well!

Jack, Faith, and Alexis with our friends Davis and Sarah

The whole fam outside our hotel room

The view from the balcony outside our room

We left on Friday around 4:30 p.m. so that most of our driving would be when the babies were sleeping at night anyway. We fed them at home around 3:00, played for a bit while Micah loaded the car, and then we loaded them up. Everyone went to sleep quickly and didn't really wake up until we got to Bloomfield, NM around 7:00 and stopped at the Burger King. We unloaded the babies, I changed all of their diapers in the bathroom (conveniently there is no changing table in the men's bathroom there), and we fed them. We then ordered food for ourselves but ended up eating very quickly as there were suddenly a lot of kids at BK and the babies were becoming an attraction. The remainder of the drive went well as the babies slept the entire time, and we arrived in Ouray around 11:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the babies did wake up when we got in our hotel room and it took us two hours to get the babies fed and put to bed in their pack n plays (we fed them to help them fall back asleep as they were all a bit hysterical from being woken up in middle of the night) and for us to unload everything we needed from the car. Micah and I finally made it to bed around 1:30 a.m. which is the latest we have stayed up in awhile!

Heating up bottles in the car. We actually have an outlet in our car that we had forgotten about on previous trips, so that came in handy for warming and we also use a thermos to keep water hot until we want to heat bottles.

Micah monitoring propped bottles in BK

Faith eating in the play area at BK

Our hotel suite was the perfect set-up for four adults and three babies (we stayed in a suite with Micah's parents while Davis and Sarah had their own hotel room). It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living area, and a small kitchen (not much smaller than the one at our house!). One of the bedrooms was much bigger so we were able to fit three pack n plays in it.

Play area in our hotel suite

Faith and Jack waiting for their bottles in the hotel (kitchen is behind them)

Finishing up bottles in the hotel room. I have Jack, Buzz has Alexis, and Karen has Faith.

Three pack n plays in our room. L to R: Lexis, Faith, and Jack.

Micah's parents arrived on Saturday and our friends were already there, so the guys spent the afternoon ice climbing while the girls strolled through town with the babies. That evening we went out to eat with the trio for the first time in months (I decided it wasn't going to work once they became more alert because they were more likely to miss a nap and have a meltdown), but it actually worked well as we had many arms to hold babies while we all ate.

Alexis

Faith with Grammy

Alexis

Jack the flirt

Alexis

Faith

Sunday the guys climbed early and in the afternoon Micah and I went to the Hot Springs, which we had never done before, while Micah's parents took care of the babies. It was very relaxing and I'm so glad we had time to do it! Sunday was Micah's dad's birthday so we attempted a fine(r) dining experience with only four adults and the three babies, which was a little more difficult but we still made it out of there without any major meltdowns (our friends had their own plans that night).

Monday the guys climbed in the morning again, but Micah's mom babysat for a couple of hours so that Sarah and I could drive to Telluride for the afternoon while the guys finished climbing. It was about an hour drive from Ouray to Telluride and we enjoyed an afternoon of browsing shops and enjoying the beautiful mountain views.

View of Mountain Village from the Gondola

Sarah and me (baby free for the afternoon)

On Tuesday (New Year's Eve) morning we fed the babies at 7:00 a.m., let them play while we loaded up the car, and we took off around 8:30 for home. Once again we stopped in Bloomfield, NM at the BK to feed bottles and grab a quick bite for ourselves. Overall it worked great, and there was only about 30 minutes of crying from Jack between Bloomfield and Albuquerque. Both ways the 5 1/2 hour drive took us about 6 1/2 hours. Not too bad with three babies to take care of!