Road trips - I love them and I hate them. Sitting for hours in a car isn't really my favorite thing, I like to get places fast. There are some road trips that have been a little more of an adventure with more fun stops to see different places. These days our road trips consist of the 8 hour drive to McHenry, Illinois to see my favorite brother and sister-in-law, plus some handsome nephews.
Aaron and I put some thought into what would be best for Payton and our sanity during the road trip. We decided to leave around 6p on Friday in hopes that Payton would sleep the majority of the drive. Of course that didn't really work in our favor, and she had a hard time falling asleep and ended up waking up every hour crying. There were a few stops to help get Payton through the drive and Aaron and I tag teamed the trip to McHenry, Illinois. Andrew helped navigate and kept the music going. We were pretty wore out and we finally made it there around 3am.
Saturday was a fun family day. We watched Jameson play baseball, had some fun swim time in the hotel pool and enjoyed some Chicago style pizza at Sean and Kristina's house. It was fun seeing the kids play together. Preston and Payton had some fun while Andrew played with Jameson. Payton and Preston liked to fight over the toys, but for the most part they did pretty well together. I think Jameson was just excited to have a big kid around to play with. We were able to get in a nap in to get us through the day. Payton was attached to Kristina from the start and she thought Uncle Sean was scary...it was the beard =) It took some time but he was able to get a hug. We ended the day by celebrating Preston's birthday and coloring some Easter eggs.
Sunday was Easter and the kids had some Easter baskets waiting for them. Payton's basket was full of Frozen stuff and she even got her nails painted by Kristina, the highlight of Payton's trip. We watched Moana, Preston and Payton played in the backyard with his new water table. Andrew hid the Easter eggs for the kids so they could have an egg hunt in the afternoon. Preston scored and got most of the chocolate, Payton loved all her money and Jameson of course found the most eggs. They had a good time. Kristina and my mom made an amazing lunch/dinner. We had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus and salad. It was pretty delicious. We kept it low key that night and just enjoyed each others company. We took the kids on a little walk around the neighborhood. Aaron, Andrew and Jameson went back to the pool for some swim time. Kristina and I planned our activities for the big day trip to Chicago. It was a quick weekend, but I am glad my mom and dad were able to spend Easter weekend with both their kids and all 3 of the grand babies.
Monday we started early and jumped on the train at 9am to get a full day in. Nana stopped by in the nick of time to say her good byes. Then we were off. Thankfully everyone was fairly patient on the hour ride downtown. Payton and Preston loved the choo choo. It was a little rocky when we first arrived to find our pick up location for the bus tour. We thought that would be the easiest and fastest way to see most of the city while handling two toddlers. We started off at the Sky Deck and decided to only jump off the bus twice during the13 stop tour to keep everyone together.
It is definitely the windy city. We were pretty chilly on the bus tour and we kept Payton warm with her blanket. We didn't bring a stroller so both Payton and Preston were carried quite a bit. Thankfully, there wasn't too much walking until we reached Millennium Park. Everyone made sure to get the perfect photo in front of the Bean. I don't know if the kids thought it was as cool as we did =) Back on the trolley we got to see a lot of the city and all the fun attractions. Next trip we will have to see the Shed Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. It looked amazing and I am sure Payton would love it. We also stopped at the Navy Pier for just a few minutes to get warm and take some more photos. I am thankful Kristina planned out the fun trip and we really got a great look at the city and some ideas for things to do next time.
I have to say the end of the day was a little stinky...literally. Payton went through 4 pull ups on Monday. Nothing in her diaper was solid and she was finding the most inconvenient times for me to have to find a place to change her pull up. Thankfully, Preston had an extra pull up for Payton to use. After a long hour and a half train ride back we started pulling up to our stop. At the perfect time, Payton threw up...all over me. Kristina came to my rescue and with all the chaos we missed our stop. The doors literally closed on us while I am holding Payton with vomit all over her and me...AWESOME! The next stop wasn't too far away. Sean came to pick us up, I luckily packed another shirt for myself and an outfit for Payton. While it was a rough and stressful at the end of the trip, we did get to end the day all together at Georgio's for dinner and a couple of beers.
I am so glad this opportunity came up. Aaron happened to have vacation at the right time. Family is so important to me and I want Payton to know her cousins. She is already obsessed with her Aunt Kristina and working on not being scared of Uncle Sean. Jameson and Preston are her cool cousins and I can't wait to see them all again in July. I am a lucky girl to have such awesome people to call my family.
Saturday was a fun family day. We watched Jameson play baseball, had some fun swim time in the hotel pool and enjoyed some Chicago style pizza at Sean and Kristina's house. It was fun seeing the kids play together. Preston and Payton had some fun while Andrew played with Jameson. Payton and Preston liked to fight over the toys, but for the most part they did pretty well together. I think Jameson was just excited to have a big kid around to play with. We were able to get in a nap in to get us through the day. Payton was attached to Kristina from the start and she thought Uncle Sean was scary...it was the beard =) It took some time but he was able to get a hug. We ended the day by celebrating Preston's birthday and coloring some Easter eggs.
Sunday was Easter and the kids had some Easter baskets waiting for them. Payton's basket was full of Frozen stuff and she even got her nails painted by Kristina, the highlight of Payton's trip. We watched Moana, Preston and Payton played in the backyard with his new water table. Andrew hid the Easter eggs for the kids so they could have an egg hunt in the afternoon. Preston scored and got most of the chocolate, Payton loved all her money and Jameson of course found the most eggs. They had a good time. Kristina and my mom made an amazing lunch/dinner. We had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus and salad. It was pretty delicious. We kept it low key that night and just enjoyed each others company. We took the kids on a little walk around the neighborhood. Aaron, Andrew and Jameson went back to the pool for some swim time. Kristina and I planned our activities for the big day trip to Chicago. It was a quick weekend, but I am glad my mom and dad were able to spend Easter weekend with both their kids and all 3 of the grand babies.
Monday we started early and jumped on the train at 9am to get a full day in. Nana stopped by in the nick of time to say her good byes. Then we were off. Thankfully everyone was fairly patient on the hour ride downtown. Payton and Preston loved the choo choo. It was a little rocky when we first arrived to find our pick up location for the bus tour. We thought that would be the easiest and fastest way to see most of the city while handling two toddlers. We started off at the Sky Deck and decided to only jump off the bus twice during the13 stop tour to keep everyone together.
It is definitely the windy city. We were pretty chilly on the bus tour and we kept Payton warm with her blanket. We didn't bring a stroller so both Payton and Preston were carried quite a bit. Thankfully, there wasn't too much walking until we reached Millennium Park. Everyone made sure to get the perfect photo in front of the Bean. I don't know if the kids thought it was as cool as we did =) Back on the trolley we got to see a lot of the city and all the fun attractions. Next trip we will have to see the Shed Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. It looked amazing and I am sure Payton would love it. We also stopped at the Navy Pier for just a few minutes to get warm and take some more photos. I am thankful Kristina planned out the fun trip and we really got a great look at the city and some ideas for things to do next time.
I have to say the end of the day was a little stinky...literally. Payton went through 4 pull ups on Monday. Nothing in her diaper was solid and she was finding the most inconvenient times for me to have to find a place to change her pull up. Thankfully, Preston had an extra pull up for Payton to use. After a long hour and a half train ride back we started pulling up to our stop. At the perfect time, Payton threw up...all over me. Kristina came to my rescue and with all the chaos we missed our stop. The doors literally closed on us while I am holding Payton with vomit all over her and me...AWESOME! The next stop wasn't too far away. Sean came to pick us up, I luckily packed another shirt for myself and an outfit for Payton. While it was a rough and stressful at the end of the trip, we did get to end the day all together at Georgio's for dinner and a couple of beers.
I am so glad this opportunity came up. Aaron happened to have vacation at the right time. Family is so important to me and I want Payton to know her cousins. She is already obsessed with her Aunt Kristina and working on not being scared of Uncle Sean. Jameson and Preston are her cool cousins and I can't wait to see them all again in July. I am a lucky girl to have such awesome people to call my family.
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