Crazy or Adventurous?

Well, we are either crazy or adventurous! Earlier this week we booked train tickets going from Chicago to Boston - at which point we will then rent a car and drive to New Hampshire, spend the night, and head over to Maine!

For most of the trip, Little Man and I will be in a little sleeper room and hubby and girls have regular seats. I imagine though, aside from bribing getting him to sleep, that wild boy will be busy exploring the train and the sites that surround us. Or hopefully there will be some empty seats and we will be able to spend some time with the rest of the family during that first part of the trip.

I personally can NOT wait. I think it will be fun and exciting, albeit a bit stressful as well. We did ask the girls if they could pick, would they fly to vacation or take a train to vacation and both of them immediately said train! Now that those tickets are booked, I am getting more excited about this vacation!

I have to admit, at first, I was quite hesitant about it all ... I was really thinking we couldn't afford it (although, my in-laws are very graciously paying for our transportation out there and also for the cabin we will all share while we are there), that we really needed to stay home and that 2008 would be the year for extreme penny pinching to eliminate as much debt as possible. Not to mention in the next 13 months we have: 3 weddings to go to - 2 are out of town and 1 has both my daughters as flower girls (which also means 3 bridal showers), several baby showers, 3 or 4 graduation parties. And that's all we know about now. It's only January! And I feel like there will be a lot of travel and lots of money to spend. I also feel like I should be getting a job somewhere, but seriously, how can I get employment and expect to keep the job when I know that I will have to request so much time off? Ugh.
But I am starting to feel much better about it all. Of course dh's raise helps alleviate some of that worry. But there are still some worries there. And I will definitely be looking to get some work at some point this year, but I might have to be a bit more creative about it.
And of course, I was right about watching every penny we spend, but of course for about the first half the year it will be to fund traveling and then for the second half it will be for debt repayment. But I am feeling much better about how the year will play out. And I can't wait for all of these great things to happen now!

(would it be too nerdy to admit I am already starting packing lists and picking which knitting projects to bring on the train as well?!)