Spring Break 2026

Vacation in 2018 nearly destroyed us. It (and COVID) led to some pretty big changes in terms of our land and how we vacationed. The last 3 vacations we've taken have included one of our sitters (and my dad for one trip, too) because we learned that more hands make vacations a bit easier. 

This year for spring break, though, we didn't have the option of taking a big along with us. So, we ventured out for a jam-packed road trip with just the 4 of us, heading to the East Coast and taking in as many sights and experiences (and donuts and ice creams) as we could!

The highlights of vacation in terms of sights seen included:

• 3 National Seashores (Cape Lookout (my favorite!), Cape Hatteras & Assateague)
• 1 National Battlefield (Moore's Creek with the slogan of "For King George & Broadswords!")
• 1 National Historic Site (Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad)
• 1 National Memorial (Wright Brothers at Kittyhawk)
• 4 National Parks (Shenandoah, New River Gorge, Congaree & Smokey Mountains)
• 3 hours in Washington D.C. with cherry blossoms everywhere exploring:
• Jefferson Memorial
• Lincoln Memorial
• WWII Memorial
• Korean Memorial
• Vietnam Memorial
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
• Washington Monument

Our favorite moments were our few hours in Washington, D.C. where we absolutely lucked out with a parking spot to walk with hundreds if not thousands of others in the beauty of the snow white cherry blossoms. AJ has never been to D.C., and we've wanted to take him there for years. While this doesn't replace the desire to spend a couple days there exploring all the museums and truly enjoying all the monuments, memorials and history, it was a wonderful opportunity!

The other highlight for our entire family was our trip to Cape Lookout, as we took a boat out to the island to explore for the day. Dave did a phenomenal job planning vacation and had rented us a side by side to drive around the island. It was the perfect way to get to explore the historic village, all the different beaches and the lighthouses. We laughed (and worried a bit) as we got stuck in the sand twice in the first 1/2 mile, but thankfully those were the only times we were stuck. It was a beautiful day, though windy, so we got to dip our toes in the ocean, search for sea shells and enjoy a picnic in short sleeves and sunshine!

Travel with Teddy is still travel with Teddy. As I've told others, we'll have our moments and challenges here at home, and I'd much rather be seeing, exploring and doing than not. So we had a 2 a.m. bedtime the first night and another night with a midnight bedtime because Teddy insisted on sleeping on the couch. That might not sound like a problem, but Teddy is at risk of falling out of bed and eloping or leaving the hotel room, so we always pair him in bed next to an adult for safety. I gave up that night, though, and blocked the door with a laundry basket and just slept lightly to keep an ear for him. 

We also had to do a lot of valet pickups for Teddy, as transitions were tough. He often refused to leave just about anywhere, but he'd go when the vehicle pulled up. The other challenge in the vehicle, which was a challenge, was aggression toward AJ. Teddy decided after the first couple days that he no longer wanted AJ sitting by him, so he was pushing, kicking and hitting at AJ. 

But, we saw progress with restaurants, even without an extra set of hands. Teddy did really well waiting and eating in the restaurants where we ate, which often isn't the case. We also saw progress with hotel rooms, with very minimal attempts to leave the room and much more willingness to just chill with hotel TV. Even bedtime was easier in the sense that it wasn't such a fight with flailing and crying as much as simply not wanting to sleep.

It really was an amazing trip with tons of fun memories for all of us! Here's pictures of some of the fun.

This occupied Teddy for 30-60 minutes. 

Shenandoah was a wee bit foggy.

Teddy still loves viewfinders. We saw a wild horse through it!

Like most boys, Teddy thought the cannon was cool!

Teddy's version of hiking is sprint and stop. Good thing I'm a runner.

The kid who rarely hugs gave Buc-ee a hug.

This boy loves boats!

4 x 4 exploring of Cape Lookout!

This seashore was a wee bit chilly, so they were cuddling for warmth!

Miracles

We've been busy with life and adventures - more on spring break to come another time. In the moments before bed, I've been revisiting a journal of sorts, little notes left by Dave for me years ago when our boys were little. In those early years, our morning schedules often didn't overlap as I spent hours awake through the night nursing and comforting, so I often slept past the early hours he left for work (before 6 a.m. in those days). Those notes were often functional, relaying notes about laundry and little things, but so often filled with love, compliments and reminders about the blessings of our lives.

It's been special to re-read them, and some of them I leave the page open to linger on a few days. There's so many memories that come back in reading these notes. One recently gave me such pause.

This brought back all the feels. We spent several years trying to conceive and went through fertility testing to get this dismal prognosis. But God had other plans for us, and the medical professionals weren't on target ... or we beat the odds twice in 2 years. Both our boys were, indeed, miracles for us. 

But on the hard days, it's easy to forget how blessed we are with our miracles. There are moments and days where things are so hard that it's next to impossible to find the hope, much less the happiness. And years of hard days add up, and patience can wear thin. When the phases of childhood, the tantrums and behaviors of the terrible 2s don't phase out, when the diapers never end after 14 years, sometimes the joy is hard to find. When the things that are supposed to refill our buckets break our spirits (looking at you, vacation of 2018), it's hard to find your way forward. When the faith you were raised in isn't accessible to your child, it leaves you with guilt not guidance.

While we still have our hard days and hard moments, we've spent years building our way forward and working to find more joy, happiness and faith. We've found a church that welcomes Teddy with open arms and that he literally jumps for joy as we head into the building. We've built a community, extending our family by adding our caregivers as "adopted" children complete with an open invite to family dinner each Tuesday, celebrating birthdays and special occasions all together. We've leaned into respite camp and continue to remind ourselves to be intentional about respite for special times with AJ and with each other. We've bought our land and are building memories and enjoying nature there, in a place that is safe and inclusive for Teddy. 

And, I'm reminding myself through these notes from nearly 13 years ago, that we longed and prayed for babies to call our own. We've been blessed with our miracles, and they'll always be miracles no matter how old they grow. Honestly, Teddy becomes more of a miracle each year given his prognosis at diagnosis.