Road Trip

So we survived our first long road trip with two kids. It was touch and go here and there, but we made it. We started out by heading to PA last Monday to spend a few days at Grandma's house. We had a nice time visiting with everyone there, and Sean had his first birthday party at Aunt Deb's house. He looked so cute in his little Elmo hat! Rex had lots of fun when we went for a ride on Uncle Paul's boat- he even got to drive the boat! (I wish I had had my camera for that one!) I think Sean's favorite part was swimming in Aunt Deb and Uncle Harry's pool. He is such a water baby! His arms and legs splash a hundred miles a minute the whole time. He loves the water. On Friday, we packed up and headed west to Indiana for my friend (and sorority sister) Beth's wedding. The boys were very good for the trip, and despite driving through the worst thunderstorm I've ever seen, we made finally it to Fishers, Indiana. Unfortunately, I had printed out the directions to the wrong hotel, so we had a nice tour of the town (and a trip to Target) before settling in at the hotel for the night. My wonderfully thoughtful husband bought me a nice big bottle of Chardonnay to share with my sorority sisters to celebrate the weekend, but as you all know, I never travel lightly, and the bottle rolled off of the overcrowded luggage cart and met an untimely death on the sidewalk below. Michael's sandals (the only pair of non-dress shoes I packed for him) were now full of wine and shards of glass, none of us had eaten dinner (cue the crankiness), Sean was crying, and the glass of wine I was looking forward to to help ease the stress-filled tightness in my shoulders was flowing down the parking lot. We went to bed early that night. The next day started out great- the weather was beautiful, both children slept late, and there was an awesome continental breakfast in the lobby. Life was good. We took the kids for a swim in the pool, and then ordered some lunch from the restaurant next door. As Michael went to pick up our lunch, he walked past the truck and realized our back tire was completely flat. Bummer. The family afternoon nap that had been scheduled (the wedding ceremony was not until 5:30) was replaced with Michael changing the flat tire, and me calling all over Fishers, Indiana to find a tire shop that was not only still open on a Saturday afternoon, but one that could see us sometime before Monday morning and had our tires in stock. Not an easy task. Apparently, our tires are considered "special order" for most places. Who knew? I finally found one place that had exactly two tires in stock, and had a slot open that afternoon. The Heavens smiled on us. Michael made it back to the hotel with just enough time to shower and dress (which means I had spent the rest of the afternoon getting myself AND the children showered, fed, dressed, etc- FUN!), and we made it to the church with time to spare. The ceremony was beautiful (and nice and short!), and Beth looked gorgeous in her gown. The reception was LOTS of fun, and I got to hang out with some sorority sisters that I hardly ever get to see. We danced all night, and I made up for the wine I had missed the night before. Rex was so excited with the Shirley Temple drink the bartender made just for him. Cranberry juice, water (Rex doesn't like soda), and two cherries on a little plastic sword. It was a good time. (Although, we had to confiscate the sword b/c he kept poking at his brother with it.) We headed back to PA on Sunday, spent the night there, and then headed back home on Monday. It was quite a whirlwind of a week, but it was fun. We enjoyed seeing everyone- we miss you all! Now if I could just make a dent in all of the laundry that's piled up...