Road Trip

Yesterday I left for my first "true" road trip with both boys, complete with an overnight stay in a hotel!  (Sure, we've taken many trips to Nana and Pap's house in the past year, but those don't qualify as a "road trip" really, since it is just over a 2-hour trip and we stay with Nana and Pap when we get there.)  This was the first time I have stayed in a hotel by myself with the two boys...maybe even one boy, for that matter!!  Oh, and one more fun detail about this road trip...it lasted only 24 hours (from the time we left our house, until the time we got home)!!  What was I thinking, you ask?  Well, it was for my grandmother's 85th birthday.  She is moving to an assisted living home today and this was her last night her home, as well as her 85th birthday.  A birthday/relocation party was planned and I really wanted to be there for her.  It was a hard decision for me to make, because I wasn't sure I could do it logistically, by myself.  Les was unable to go, due to work commitments, so it was going to be just me and the boys!  After really thinking about it, I decided it was worth any stress I might have (afterall, it was only going to last 24 hours, right?).  So, on our way, we went!  7 hours in a car with two young boys and a stay in a hotel didn't make for a very relaxing trip, but it could have been worse.  In fact,  the most stressful time of the trip occured when we stopped at the hotel to check in and change clothes.  I hadn't really thought about how difficult it would be to get two boys and all of our stuff into our room.  To complicate matters, our key did not work!!  After running struggling to get back downstairs with the boys and our bags to get a new key, and then back upstairs again we finally made it into our room...only to see that it had started to POUR rain, and I had no umbrellas.  This was all compounded by the fact that I was on a pretty tight time-line at this point and didn't really have room for these small inconveniences!  Luckily though, by the time we were ready to get back in the car, the rain had subsided.  And unbelievably, we made it to the party only two minutes late!!  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am rarely anything less tha 5 minutes late, so I'd say this was a huge success!!

The party was a good time and it was nice to visit with family.  I am very glad we went.  While, I am not sure I will be taking another 24-hour road trip any time soon, (we no sooner got there than we were turning around to leave) I can definitely see more road trips!!  Now that I am home and unpacked, I can look back and say that it was actually fun to get out of the house for a little trip.  For future trips though, I'd say a 36-hour trip (minimum) might be set. 

While at my grandmothers, Tyler enjoyed exploring her yard.  He found the neighbors grapevines,

 

and a field full of friends.  Well...he thought they were friendly...they on the other hand seemed to be a little frightened of the small boy running toward them with a loud voice!! "Hi Cows!"

  

He was chewing his first starburst ever here.  He REALLY liked it.

  

Lucas enjoyed the scenery, too!   Luckily Tyler was too busy exploring on his own to realize that Lucas had taken his position atop Pap's shoulders.  He also became best buddies with Aunt Carol. 

 

Lucas wasn't exactly smiles the ENTIRE trip, but it could have been much worse.  For the most part, a snack or drink, or maybe a little toy, would cheer him up pretty quickly. 

And Tyler was happy to watch "The Incredibles" two times (with a short intermission of "Blues Clues" - which Lucas enjoyed, too).

All in all, it wasn't a terrible trip...maybe not something I would try again in just a short 24-hour period, but I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with myself for attempting such a trip, alone...and for having such a great time that I'd be willing to do it all again!!  Where shall we go next??