We told Kiddo we were going home the next day. But I try to spell out experiences for her very explicitly, so she has appropriate expectations of what is coming up.
Yes, we're going home, but that means we go to the airport, fly on two planes (and spend a long time on each plane) then take two buses, then we'll be home. It will be bedtime when we get home.
To accomplish this day, we had to wake up at 5 am. It wasn't a big deal though, because by 4:30, Babs was whining in her bed, wanting to be picked up, and Kiddo was already in our bed, kicking at the side of it, making the whole thing shake. My husband and I were gamely trying to ignore both of them in hopes of eeking out a few more minutes sleep. I gave up at 4:54.
We brought both kids out to Grandma and Aunt M to enjoy their last hour of vacation, then finished getting ready.
13 hours later we walked into our home. It was nice to be gone, it is nice to be home again.
