Things I have learned while on vacation..

1. Water slides are still super fun!!
We got Courtney to go down by herself and matt even took Christian down a few times. It was a family affair! The only problem was that Matt had to go first because he had to catch Courtney (she can't swim yet and the water was a little too deep). Then Courtney, then myself. Megan could go anywhere, she is a little fish!
2. A hotel with cable is great! The girls may be spending too much time watching "Animal Planet."
3. I don't like it that our hotel does not have breakfast, but the muffins I made at home and brought along seem to do the trick. We might actually have to go out tomorrow morning, we only have 2 left after today. :) Capri Sun apple juice also works great!
4. How much stuff do we need for 3 days??
5. The later to bed, the earlier to rise (Christian!!)
6. Why can't the fan on the room heating unit just work constantly instead of the kicking on and off all night.
7. The girls each have a queen bed to themselves. I am so glad they are old enough where I don't have to worry about them falling out of bed at night.
8. If we go swimming every night, do we really need to shower every morning? Do you know hard it is to rinse off a 20 month with a shower head that does not come off the wall. I got soaked yesterday!
9. I decided not to bring school along because once I thought about it, I determined we wouldn't have much time. (I did bring some workbooks along though that are not part of our curriculum.)
Doesn't visiting historical sites such as the state capitol and Salisbury House (modeled after a castle in England from the 15th century) count as field trips and therefore school??
We went on a tour yesterday of Salisbury House and the lady complimented me on the way out because the kids were very well behaved and they asked very interesting questions. If you are ever in Des Moines, I would highly recommend this historical site. We learned so much and since we had studied the middle ages, we had talked about many items that we in the house, so it was fun to put it all together!
10. Today we are going to Terrace Hill (the governors mansion) and maybe the zoo- depending on the weather. If this doesn't work, then we are going to to the Iowa Historical Society. I think both will be great!
11. I love not having any chores to do- not dishes, no letting the dog out, no cleaning up, no fighting the children to clean up, no laundry, no homework! We have close quarters here at the hotel and if you don't pick up, you are going to be stepping on things. Luckily the kids have a room and Matt and I have a room.
I love housekeeping, they make my bed and pick up my dirty towels everyday! Did I mentioned endless hot water for showers??
12. Megan is loving the ice machine down the hall.
13. Thank heavens for the GPS- I would be completely lost here in Des Moines without that! Of course, it doesn't always take you on the best route and through neighborhoods sometimes, but we usually get where we are going in the end.
14. I have to admit, it is sometimes hard to watch the GPS and figure out what lane you are supposed to be in. It's hard driving in a new city!
15. I can't believe we go home tomorrow. Matt is going to take us to Pioineer tonight and show us where he works. We have to have his rental car back to the airport by noon tomorrow, so we should be home in the afternoon. We really need to get Megan back by 4:15 for dance rehearsal. Ugh, can't we stay longer??