Dogville

Is that a movie title?

Uhhh, anyway, that's what we've got over here on our road trip to Aspen, CO--dogville. It's our first trip with Haruki, and it's ... different than the trips David and I have taken together.

On previous trips, David and I feel free to do whatever we like. Usually we bring our bikes and fall into a routine that looks like this: wake up when we want, get ready to ride, eat breakfast at some cute cafe, ride, shower/sleep/etc.(!), followed by dinner, followed by dessert somewhere.

Pretty nice, right?

With Haruki here, however, that has changed, since we are not allowed to leave her alone in the hotel at all, meaning that biking together and eating wherever we want is not an option. Hiking is now our activity of choice, since it's more dog friendly. As far as dinner goes, we're left to take-out or places that have outdoor seating; this isn't so bad in the middle of July, but I'd hate to take a weekend getaway trip in the middle of winter!

All that being said, on a dog-free weekend getaway I usually only have one person to play and cuddle with!

I drank no alcohol before this picture was taken.

The reason I'm hashing all of this out is that having Haruki here on our vacation has made me really think about what life becomes once you have kids. Obviously (actually, I mean hopefully) I'll love our kids way more than I love Haruki, but sometimes I really wonder just how hard it is going to be to adjust to life with kids. I mean, if you want to take a hike while on vacation, you either carry the baby while it's still little, or deal with complaining about how tired they are once they get older! If you want to take a family bike ride, suddenly you not only have to buy more bikes, but you also have to buy more gear, transport it, and wash it!

I swear I don't hate kids, despite how those last two scenarios sound. But realistically, it's an entirely different lifestyle--and one that I'm struggling to accept because it's hard to know if it's right for you without just jumping down the rabbit hole full stop.

*How do/did you adjust to life with kids? Vacations with kids?