Well, we survived our first long road trip as a two kid family. Traveling with little children is stressful and exhausting, but it was so good to see my family, many of which I hadn't seen in a couple of years.
We left at bedtime Thursday night with the hope that the kids would sleep. This hope turned out to be wishful/delusional thinking. I don't know why our kids don't sleep in the car like all other kids in the world, but they don't. After lots of crying on Lydia's part and lots of whining on Jacob's part, both kids fell asleep around MIDNIGHT. We had planned to stop for the night just as the car finally went silent. So instead, we kept on truckin' and made it all the way to Bowling Green, Kentucky around 2:30 am.
We had some trouble finding a hotel with an available room, due to the holiday weekend. For a minute it looked like we were either going to be sleeping in the car or waking my unsuspecting grandparents up at 3 am! We luckily found a vacancy, hauled in our stuff, and woke the kids just to try to get them back to sleep a few minutes later. They were really excited about the hotel!
The next morning we headed to my grandparents' house, but beforehand Jacob had the time of his life eating breakfast at the hotel. We'd ended up at a massive Holiday Inn that had an atrium filled with waterfalls and streams in the center of the building. Jacob loved throwing pennies in the water and riding the glass elevators. He says that hotel was his favorite part of the trip!
My grandparents absolutely loved seeing the kids, and we loved seeing them! It was Lydia's first time meeting her great-grandparents, and she went straight to Grandma without a bit of hesitation, which is rare these days! Jacob had fun playing with my dad's old toy cars, singing "Old McDonald" with Grandpa, and looking at pictures. We stayed all day and were sad to leave. It's hard living so far away from the ones you love!
Around dinner time we loaded up and headed to Nashville to see my mom's side of the family! This was the first time Mama Dot got to see Lydia! We were also eager to see Aunt Sarah, Uncle Dan, Holly, and Dave!
Side note: I think this was the point of the trip where the kids were just done. They were exhausted from traveling and missed naps. There's definitely a reason I keep them in a solid routine and on a schedule at home! Unfortunately, for the rest of the trip they were cranky, fussy, and prone to meltdowns. Luckily, they're cute! ;)
Even with worn-out, weepy kids, we had a great time visiting with our family. On Saturday we spent the day at Holly and Dave's house. It was so fun to see their nursery and look at all their sweet baby accessories! They are having a little boy, Walker James, in August! We are so excited for them!
That evening we went out to dinner to celebrate Mama Dot's birthday! Jacob was very happy to help her open presents. He made her a cupcake magnet!
I love the pictures of our four generations! There's a photo in my baby album of newborn me, my mom, Mama Dot, and my Great Grandma Boo-Boo. I hope Lydia cherishes these pictures one day like I cherish mine!
You can always count on Jacob when cake and candles are involved!
After dinner we took some great family photos. As usual, Jacob was uncooperative, but did gleefully photo bomb a few pictures!
The drive home on Sunday was slightly more tolerable than Thursday night. When we pulled into our driveway, Jacob burst into tears. He was bitterly disappointed to realize we weren't permanently living in hotels from now on!
All in all, we had a great time with our family. We don't get the opportunity to be together near enough, and truly value the times that we do!
