And a dog throws a wrench in everything.

So, the original thought was that we wouldn't get a dog until AFTER our trip. That way we wouldn't have to worry about where said dog would go while we were away.
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Then Ella happened. My hubby fell madly in love with a Brittany Spaniel mix named Ella and now she's taken up residency in our home. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with her too... But it does throw a wrench in my plans for surprising the boys. In case you don't remember, I was originally planning on walking them most of the way to school, having a "chance" encounter with their grandparents and then getting a ride to the airport where we would THEN tell them about the surprise.... Having Ella toys with that.
You see, I could keep to the plan and have Ella in the car with us.. But then that means we have to deal with her terror as the boys scream up and down about where they're going, we have to navigate the airport situation while we're getting our stuff checked in to board and that also leaves my in-laws responsible for getting her to my parents house where she'll be staying.

It's doable... and the idea of being able to wake up and shower in my own home the day we leave is VERY appealing (I love my parents but they have a lot of dogs... You smell like dog when you leave)..... BUT, sticking to the original plan just doesn't seem very convenient or easy when you throw Ella into the mix. The more logical plan seems to be to go down to my parents house Sunday afternoon, stay the night (so the kids don't even think about the fact that they're supposed to be in school) and go from there. I mean, I could always have my in-laws on skype so they don't miss the surprise (they really want to see it)

Pros and Cons of the new idea:

Pros:
1. Less stress for Ella because she'll be able to acclimate back to my parents house for longer before we're gone.
2. The boys won't have to be wearing their school uniforms
3. My parents could give us a lift to the airport and they're a lot closer
4. No drive time for my in-laws.
5. Don't have to deal with leaving Ella in the van OR taking her into the airport

Cons:
1. We'll smell like dogs
2. My parents are notoriously late (the last time I had them give us a ride to the airport we BARELY made it on the plane on time.


I know the Pro's outweigh the cons.. But that smelling like a dog bit is a really big deal for us... And, I really do love my parents... but it's awful how dirty we all are when we leave and I'm just not 100% sure how stressful it will be taking extra precautions to make sure we're all clean and smelling nice when we leave in the morning.