We got back from our whirlwind of a roadtrip Friday evening and I'm still trying to recover I think. Here's the recap: My sister and her hubby and my nephew Tug (who is 3 months older than Addie) flew in Tuesday night from Cali, so we all met at my parent's house for dinner and of course, drinks. Wednesday morning, The Heeters, along with my hungover younger brother Jon (who for all intensive purposes was tricked into going to visit his Grandma while under the influence), came and picked up me and Addie and off we went. Our first stop, Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis, only a little over 400 miles away where my Grandma and Aunt (and most of my dad's relations) live.
Thankfully, they had rented a Kia Sorrento that was large enough to not only accommodate four adults, and two carseats, but also all of the luggage, toys, snacks, and accessories that travelling with toddlers entails. The first day went well, due largely in part to the portable DVD player and Muppet Show DVD's that put the kids in a hypnotic state for much of the ride. We got to Grandma's around 7:15 pm, had a late dinner, and then stayed up playing 5 card draw and shit on your neighbor with nickles after the kids fell asleep.
We left Minneapolis the following morning around 11:00 am and headed down south to Davenport, Iowa (again, over 400 miles away) to visit Tony's Grandma and Uncle. We made good time though (or maybe stopped less) and were there before dinnertime. We got a suite (so my poor brother didn't have to share a bed again with me & Addie), went swimming, and ordered a feast of pizza/pasta/salad/chicken and of course beers and just chilled in the hotel room. Liquor is key to keeping your sanity when travelling with two tired displaced toddlers!
The following morning we went to the Niabi zoo in Rock Island, IL, which was a really great small zoo and the kids had a blast! After the zoo, we went to a beautiful park in Davenport, that reminded me of a mini-Central Park - unfortunately, the kids didn't understand that they couldn't just run into the pond and go for a swim...Addie finally crapped out in my lap and got in a nice little thirty minute nap before we headed off to Famous Dave's with all of Tony's family for a delicious dinner!!! Afterwards, it was time to drive back to Chi-town, and honestly, I thought the shortest drive (probably like 2 and a half hours tops) would have been the easiest...but after no long naps that day and probably being tired of sitting the car, the kids were cracking (Addie in particular). About 40 minutes from home, she started to carry on and worked herself up so much that her face was puffy from all the crying and she was choking on all of her saliva - we had to pull over and try and calm her down. She was fine sitting with me but she wanted absolutely nothing more to do with her car seat...we ended up moving Tug's car seat up a row, and I sat in the way back with Addie to attempt to make her more comfortable, but she didn't stop crying or fall asleep until about fifteen minutes from my parent's house.
It was a great time though overall, it was nice for my Grandma and Aunt to finally meet both of the babies, and I loved spending all of the extra time with my sister and her family. I've always loved roadtrips! It was nice to be off of work for three days too! hehe
Yesterday, after visiting one last time with my sister and her family, Elliott & I had an open house to attend. My friend's from college just bought their first home, so we spent a couple hours there last night eating, drinking, and chasing after Addie (to make sure she wasn't breaking any of their valuables)!!! Needless to say, I was extremely tired today and not really motivated to do much - I watched a Marathon of Crap Reality TV on MTV all afternoon and finally mustered up some energy to sew a new outfit for Addie when she & Elliott took a nap!
Here are some pics from our roadtrip!
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