Modobject at Home: A Trip for the Boys

In December of 2009 the professor surprised me with a trip to New York City in celebration of our tenth wedding anniversary. This past December, in the days right after Christmas, we surprised the boys with a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

So much of 2010 was focused on Baby Sister as she joined our family. It was a quiet year for us. We tend to be homebodies but this past year we stayed at home more than usual. Aside from a few visits to Bunny and Pop's house there was no summer vacation or weekend road trips. Over summer break we rarely went to the pool, had friends over to play, or enjoyed fun outings... the boys never complained. Throughout our year of transition they have consistently played together happily, they have been patient and understanding about adding an infant to our crew, and they have embraced their sister with hearts full of love. It was a delight for the professor and I to plan a trip that would delight them.

Several weeks before Christmas Little Brother informed me, "Mommy, we haven't been to a hotel in woooong time." He knew nothing of the gift that we were planning... How often does God to the same thing for us?!

We rolled into Chattanooga after several hours of miraculously pleasant driving {no baby screaming}. The boys were excited to stay in a downtown hotel and they were anxious to visit the Choo-Choo, Chattanooga's grand, old train station... something we did almost immediately.

We started early the next day at the Tennessee Aquarium which was amazing.

The aquarium is beautifully designed and impeccably managed; our experience there was pleasant and wonderful... worth every penny. All five of us thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

What trip to Chattanooga is complete without a visit to the kitschy tourist hotspot of Ruby Falls?!

It didn't seem wise to take the baby down into the caverns for several hours so my aunt and uncle, who happen to live on Lookout Mountain, kindly babysat.