This past weekend we took Emily on her very first road trip (and this was no short roadtrip!). We headed to Edna, TX to celebrate Easter with Shawn's side of the family. I had been there once before, but it was over 3 years ago. Making this trip with a 17 month old was definitely different. We had no idea what to expect going into it and all things considered, she did about what I expected (maybe even better in some areas). We left the house around 9 am Friday morning and after 7 LONG hours, we made it to Edna. Emily only slept an hour in the car and so we made several stops (including an hour stop at McDonald's) to let her stretch her legs and run around. I started the trip in the front seat, but after our stop for lunch, I moved to the back seat. It was much easier entertaining Emily from the backseat. Oh, and let me make sure to mention she's also getting her bottom molars in this week too (so that certainly didn't help things).
Once we got to Edna, we checked into our hotel (1 of 2 in the whole town), unpacked a bit and then headed over to Shawn's Aunt and Uncle's house. They live about 3 minutes from the hotel. We ate dinner over there and visited with some of Shawn's family as well as several people from Shawn's uncle's side of the family. There were lots of kids and Emily had a blast running around with them. She surprisingly did really well warming up to everyone. It took a few minutes but before we knew it she was outside with Shawn's uncle and letting Shawn's brother pick her up and take her outside (usually she's not so friendly with Scott). She definitely isn't as shy as me! We stayed over at his Aunt's house until around 9:30 or so and then decided Emily had enough and needed to get to bed (her normal bedtime is 7:00).
So not only was this our first road trip, but also the first time Emily has stayed in a hotel and slept in her pack and play. She was definitely a little out of her element. We had a suite, so there was a couch area seperated by a half wall and that's where we put the pack and play. If Emily stood up though, she could see us in the bed. It took her a little while to wind down and finally lay down, but once she was down she did good until she woke up screaming at 5:00am. It was one of those "I don't know where I am" screams. So I picked her up and put her in bed with us, but all she did was toss and turn and none of got any sleep. So after an hour of doing this, I put her back in her pack and play and she fell back to sleep for an hour. Needless to say, I don't think any of us woke up feeling refreshed.
Saturday morning, we drove about 30 minutes to Port Lavaca with Shawn's brother and his family to show the kids the ocean. It wasn't the prettiest beach I've been to, but I just wanted Emily to see the water. Let's just say between the wind and the sand, she wasn't a huge fan of the ocean. But I'm still glad we took her. And her cousins had fun playing in the water. Shawn and Scott even caught some hermit crabs for the kids to play with.
After the beach, we headed back to Shawn's Aunt's house. Everyone was getting ready to go to Inez, TX (about a 20 minute drive from Edna) to Shawn's Uncle's Cousin's house (did you follow that?) for the day. Shawn and I both knew Emily would need a nap, so we stayed back at his Aunt's so Emily could sleep. She was just exhausted. About 2.5 hours into her nap, we ended up waking her up so we could go join the party. She normally averages a 3 hour nap when we are at home, so I knew based on what little sleep she had gotten the night before, she probably could have taken a 4 hour nap that day! We made the 20 minute drive and there were probably 50 people over at the house. We visited with everyone and Emily once again had a blast just running around playing (she got the dirtiest she's ever gotten), but she just had so much fun. They had a pool and a swing set and even horses to look at. We stayed there til about 8:00 and then headed back to his Aunt's house to give Em a tub and hang out for about an hour before heading back to the hotel. Emily did better the second night and slept until 7:00am. We were all still worn out and after talking it over, decided instead of going to church with everyone, we would get up and just hit the road. After all, we were thinking we had another 7 hour drive ahead of us.
Heading back home, I decided to start off in the backseat. Emily was really good for the first 2 hours and then that 3rd hour, you could just tell that she hit a brick wall. She was beyond tired and was just fighting it. After about a 30 minute meldown she finally fell asleep. We had intentions of stopping for lunch, but with her asleep we just kept going and made it home in 5 hours!! She woke up 5 minutes from our house, so she got a good 2 hour nap in.
Overall, it was a fun trip, but a tiring one!! I'm glad to be home in my own bed tonight (and I'm sure Emily is too!)
