Trip to Georgia

Last Friday morning, at 2:30am, we loaded the sleeping boys in the van, and drove to Georgia to visit my family. I like to get most of our driving done while the boys are sleeping if possible. Greg ended up coming down with a cold the night before we left, so I drove the whole way. Thursday evening about 8:00pm, we weren't sure if he was going to be able to go. I thought it might be just me and the boys, but Greg felt a little better when I woke him up at 2am and decided to make the trip with us. The long car ride was rough on him, but he was able to sleep when we got to my parents house and was feeling better within a day or two. I don't know how nobody else got sick, but I'm so thankful we didn't.

We try and stop at rest stops or restaurants with indoor playgrounds when we take long trips with the boys. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and they had the biggest indoor playground I've ever seen at a Chick-Fil-A!

We made it to my parents house a little after 12. It was a long drive, but it was so worth it. The boys haven't seen my parents since Christmas. I got to see my mom and sister a few weeks ago in Tennessee, but that was only for a day, so I was so ready for a visit "home".

My parents bought the boys the best blow up pool. It was huge!

We ended up moving it to the deck so it wouldn't be right in the sun. It was easier because we didn't have to worry about sunscreen on the boys or their bathing suits, they just played in their swim diapers.

In the evenings, after the boys went to bed, we'd sit on the deck and talk. The weather was perfect while we were there. It actually got a little chilly after the sun went down. I love the view from their deck. They moved into this house after I had the boys, and we've only been down twice since then and both of those times were in November. This was the first time that it's still been light out after we put the boys down.

My parents had the best house for the boys. They are holding a couple of things for us, like the boys play kitchen and this play house, but they have a lot of toys that they've got for the boys. I brought a bag of toys from our house for the boys and I never had to get a toy out of it for the boys. We got there Friday at noon and left Wednesday at 3:30 and we have TWO 2 year olds, so that's saying a lot that they had enough stuff to keep them busy.

The boys didn't keep their napping schedule while we were there. They skipped naps and we would just put them to bed early. One day, me, my mom and sister, were sitting at the kitchen table talking while the boys were watching cartoons and we peeked in and saw them both sleeping on the couch. Evan and Carter have NEVER fell asleep like this. Ever. I always see pictures of toddlers sleeping in weird places, but my boys have never done that, they only sleep in their beds and the car. I couldn't believe that they both fell asleep on the couch. It was so cute to me. I just could not get over it. Greg was taking a nap and when he came down, he was making as big of a fuss as I was about how he couldn't believe it and how cute it was!

The boys eating was also a little off while we were there. We didn't keep any set schedule with them, they'd graze off what we were having for meals and then had plenty of snacks of fresh fruit, freezer pops, etc. My dad grilled a lot while we were there, so they'd hang out around the grill and get "samples" of what he was cooking. I think they ate a couple of hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, etc that way. They love Papaw's cooking!

When we first got to my parents house, my dad was at work and Greg ran directly into the house and up to our bedroom (so he wouldn't infect anybody with his sickness) and it was just me and my mom with the boys. She greeted us at the car and it was like no time had passed since they had seen her last. They were so excited to see Mamaw and they hugged her and Evan even asked her to carry him in the house since he was barefooted. Normally, the boys are all about Papaw and even Greg, but me and my mom are chop liver around Papaw. Well, not this time. Carter was so attached to my mom while we were there, they were best buddies. He wanted her to do everything, I'd try and do something and he'd be like "No, I want mamaw" He actually renamed her Meemaw while we were there, so that may be her new name now. :) Obviously, he loved spending time with Meemaw and Papaw, but the little bond he had with my mom this time was so precious. Evan loved spending time with both of them too, but he wanted Papaw to read his stories to him before bed and Carter had to have Meemaw read his stories to him. Let me tell you, I did not mind one bit that they wanted mamaw and papaw for everything. ;) I was getting the boys ready after their bath the night before we left and was telling them about us leaving the next day to go home and Evan said "No, I stay with Papaw, mommy and Daddy go home" (I was like "sounds good to me" ;)) I told Carter we would be going home the next day and asked if he was excited to see his toys and friends and he said "Meemaw  is Carter's friend" So sweet!

This was the easiest trip with the boys so far. They're just at an easier age now, they don't try and get into everything, they're able to entertain themselves with toys for longer periods of time, they're only on one nap a day and while we're on vacation--they're manageable if they skip a nap. They're still two year olds and they have their tantrums and fights, but compared to our other trips with them, it was so much easier and pleasant.

I'm going to break up our Georgia trip into a couple of blog posts. And I'll also be including little random tidbits and things they said or did just so I can look back and remember all of it.