A Vacation, in Quotes

Travel with preschoolers!  Such maddening sweetness!  In lieu of a blow-by-blow, we offer you this compendium of quotes which we feel capture that maddening sweetness in all its glory:

"Mommy!  We're gonna be quiet all the way to the airport.  We're gonna talk on the plane."  Joe, upon departing Raleigh House

"And listening ears on and listen!"  Clara, upon arrival at the airport

"Mommy!  Did you know the airplane's bathroom is really small?!"  Joe, upon landing, while grasping on to Clara's seat on the airplane from his, behind hers

"Clara, when I get to five, you need to stop saying holiday lights.  You need to stop saying annoying noise."  Joe, one way to dinner our first night

Joe, to Clara: "See!  Now you just broke a library book!"  Clara, in response: "No.  I just got to go potty."

"I want letters!!!!!"  Clara

"You gotta stop crying.  I'm trying to listen."  Joe, to Clara

Ted to Joe and Clara: "Do you want pancakes or eggs?" Clara, in response: "Cupcakes!"

"Mommy, the stars are following us."  Joe, to Julie, while in her arms, looking at the stars

"Clara Jane, if you do not take that rock out of your mouth, I swear to God, I'm going to pitch it. . ." Julie, to Clara, on way from Tucson back to Phoenix  (Aunt Kate, laughing, correctly guessed that Julie was about to say she was going to pitch the rock out the window.  However, such an action would not model appropriate behavior.  What is it about the bambini and rocks?!?!)

"Every time you talk this dinosaur will say 'Shh!  Shh!'"  Joe, to Clara, after a dinner at which two balloon dinosaurs were acquired

"My favorite race car is Lightening McQueen ka-CHOW!"  Joe

"No, I gonna push it!!!!!  NO I GONNA PUSH IT!!!!!"  Clara, to Ted, almost every time the sliding passenger door was opened because she was unable to reach the button to close the door until removed from her car seat (but you know, trivialities, Brigade, trivialities)

"I got boogers." Clara

"You have millions of boogers!"  Joe

"Boogers, boogers, boogers, boogers. . ." Joe and Clara, repeated incessantly until told to stop by exasperated parents

"Holy bonkers, Joe."  Clara

"Don't put your ball in the sand." Clara, in the middle of a game of I Spy

Joe: "Is someone else going to rent the car?" Julie and Ted, in response: "Yes." Joe, in response: "And are they going to go fast like a rabbit?!  Fast like a rabbit?  Fast like a rabbit?  Fast like a rabbit?. . ." (fast like a rabbit repeated incessantly until told to stop by exasperated parents who were also trying to figure out why the rabbit was being cited as the paragon of speed)