Survived our first road trip

Well, we made it - we survived our first road trip with two kids! We went to visit Tim's parents this weekend and had great ambitions as to what our weekend would entail. We thought we'd get there Friday night and settle in. Saturday would be an early bike ride for Tim, a trip to the beach, nap time and then family cookout. Sunday would be another bike ride for Tim and a trip to the aquarium before lunch and coming home. As you'll see, that was W-A-Y too ambitious and didn't happen that way but was very enjoyable.

We started the weekend on Thursday night with our friends Kara & Brian. They came over with Owen & Faye to enjoy pizza and hang out. Eli & Owen had fun jumping in the bounce house and running around like crazy boys. Owen is a bit more calm than Eli but he was running around just as crazy. With full bellies and tired from running around, both boys slept great all night long. I imagine there will be many more pizza nights and hanging with our friends in the future (and that thought makes me happy!).

Friday night, we left home about 7:45pm to head to Tim's parents house. The boys traveled great and we arrived at their house sometime after 11pm. After unloading the truck, Tim snuggled in the bed with Eli to get him to sleep while I got things ready with Cole. It was probably 1am before I got to sleep and Cole was up around 3am. Fortunately Tim was with Eli so I didn't have to worry about him as they were warm and snuggly, snoring away.

Saturday morning, boys were up by 6:30am and we started our day (I was pretty tired, I keep threatening to start drinking coffee). Eli ran around outside before we enjoyed a pancake and bacon breakfast - it was yummy! We let Eli run around more and play in the yard. Tim, his Dad and Eli ran to the grocery for Grandma to pick up things for the cookout before lunch and nap. Family and friends started to arrive at 4pm and the fun started. There was such a great turnout and there were kids running all over the place. Tim's dad had once commented that he'd love to have the kids running around and he got his wish. Lots of energy and excitement. It was a lot of fun to watch them playing together and Eli running around like one of the big boys. We ate lots of good fun (surprise surprise!) and enjoyed talking and catching up with everyone. I'd say the fun winded down about 7:30pm when the kids were falling apart. We just knew Eli would sleep soundly all night. He went down pretty easily but woke up crying for Daddy in the middle of the night.

This morning, Tim & his Dad changed the oil in his truck while Eli continued to explore the yard and terrorize the two fish in the fish pond. He loves to throw the resin turtle and frog in the pond. I think he even threw a rock in there this time. After a morning of exploration and playing with Grandma & Grandpa, we ate lunch and then packed it up to head home. (and boy was there a lot to pack / get together - it felt like we were leaving for a week when we left home Friday night!) The boys traveled great home - Eli fell asleep pretty quickly and slept for 1-1/2 hours (half the trip) and Cole also slept most of it.

So as you can see, the only thing from our list of plans that we actually did was the family cookout but it was great! We really enjoyed just hanging at Grandma & Grandpa's house and letting Eli enjoy being there. It's very laid back at their house and being away from home allows me some time to forget about all the things that have to be done (laundry, cleaning, etc). Although we didn't get as much sleep as we would have liked, I think we came back mentally rested and are ready to tackle the week ahead.

It's going to be a busy week. Aunt Cary arrives from Colorado Tuesday night (and will be here through Friday - woo hoo!), Eli's 2nd birthday is Thursday (how did that happen?!) and then Tim's parents will be here Friday to help us get ready for Eli's birthday party on Saturday. Whew - I'm tired thinking of it all.

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa for a great weekend, for taking care of us and for a wonderful cookout. And of course, there are pictures to share.....