The Joy of Spontaneity

I'm usually not a spontaneous person. I like to have a plan. It doesn't always have to be on paper but I like having an idea of what's going to happen in advance so I can prepare.

Yesterday my hubby came home at lunch and asked if I'd like to go with him to Rock Springs in an hour and a half. My dad, who is his employer, needed him to pick up a snowmobile hood there that had been ordered through a company that had stopped delivering to our town.

Normally, I would have said no because the idea of spending four hours in the car with 3 little ones 3 and under, making bottles and nursing in a van, and driving over the scary, curvy, ice-covered roads of South Pass is not my idea of fun. However, when my hubby mentioned we could spend time together, go shopping at a mall, and eat out with our old CEF friend Colin, I agreed. I quickly got together gazillions of stuff (since traveling light isn't a wise idea with tiny tots) and we hopped in the van for an adventure.

The roads weren't too bad although there were a couple of points when King Jo said I sounded like I was in labor, huffing and puffing in short little breaths, trying not to imagine the van sliding off a precipice. We found the snowmobile hood, and headed to JC Penney, a huge treat for us considering we haven't even been in a mall for a year and a half! I had given King Jo some money for Christmas to buy a new sweater and he found a great one. Most of their clothes were 70% off and I snagged a few new sweaters and shirts too. It's been over 2 years since we've been in a Christian bookstore and it was fun to browse the super tiny one in the mall there. I even found an XL Bible case for my new ESV Study Bible!

We had an enjoyable dinner catching up with Colin over yummy Mexican food. After supper we shopped a little more and then headed home. Justus even nursed really well during a gas stop and the other kids did great too, sleeping most of the 2 hours there and the 2 hours home. Can you believe we actually drove past a Walgreens and didn't stop? It was tempting, but I didn't know what the deals for the week were anyway and I knew we should focus on the stores we normally can't go to, and not try to do too much in one night. On the drive home King Jo and I discussed our goals for the new year and areas of spiritual and character growth we want to work on (I'll post on these soon.)

All in all, I discovered it wasn't so bad to be spontaneous and it is TOTALLY possible even with three little ones 3 and under! And I discovered our heating vent in the van works well to heat bottles up for my very particular son who gets as mad as a little wet hornet if his milk is a degree too hot or too cold. So, the first day of my "nursing vacation" ended up being way different than I expected, but was still an enjoyable time!