Vacation - Part II

When Christopher and I flew to Florida in March we saw a number of single women traveling alone with small children. I got a bee in my bonnet that "I could do that..." And this seemed the perfect opportunity to prove to myself (and everyone else) that that was true. At first I thought about just taking Benjamin but I knew Noah would never forgive me for going on an airplane AND going to Michigan and not taking him. So I decided to take them both. At 6.5 months pregnant. You should have seen the looks I got from people when I told them what I was doing. I tried not to think about it too much as I had already committed to the tickets and had to convince Christopher that I could do it. I just kept telling myself that my boys have traveled enough to know the routine and that they were well-behaved enough to mind me for at least a few hours. Turns out I was right. Once again they were just perfect and our flights came off without a hitch. The only problem was that to get from Dallas to Flint we had to stop in Milwaukee. Changing planes was no problem but the 30 minute flight was. It was too short to get out much for the boys plus we didn't get any cookies. BOO! On the way home it a problem again because Benjamin slept on the 30 minute flight and then was awake for the 1.5 hour flight - mostly wrestling with mom. But we survived and had a wonderful visit to Michigan.

We started at my cousin's baby shower. I had picked up a sinus infection in Texas and was not feeling all that well so I didn't get to visit much with family, but Benjamin did. He sat with Grandpa and chatted it up with his great-grandparents. And he ate a lot of food. That is his favorite thing to do, you know. The rest of the week was spent relaxing in Jackson so the boys could perfect their bar stool climbing and piano and organ playing. We got to play with the neighbor grandkids a bit which was big fun. And we also got to have our favorite local meals - White's chicken and Jaxon Pizza Factory. We went to the zoo in Lansing one afternoon but it didn't have any animals. If you ever see any zoo-type animals without a home, please send them to Potter's Park. They have lots of nice facilities - they just need someone to live in them. The boys didn't seem to mind. They were happy to get out explore outside. We ended our visit with a nice little ice cream shop in Hanover (or was it Horton??). It was a little chilly but the staff was very friendly and they just give the 'scream away. I couldn't believe it. If you are ever in the area, I recommend it highly.

Grandma was a big help caring for the boys so I could relax during the day. We had hoped to work on potty training Noah but he would have nothing to do with that. I haven't seen him cry or throw a fit like that in some time. So, unfortunately, that did not work out. Now Grandma has a whole kitchen full of chocolate cakes and a few bags of pull-ups with no big kid to use them. I'd like to say we could still use them when she comes here but, hopefully, he will be all done with that before she heads this way in August... Benjamin got to spend a lot of time with "Ba-pa" which made him very happy. Even after being home for a week, he still walks around the house saying, "Uh-oh, Ba-pa..." Unfortunately, there is no Ba-pa to help him with his problems. It didn't take Noah long to figure out he better buddy up to Grandpa too because Benjamin was getting to do a lot more fun things outside than mom and Grandma who just came straight inside whenever we got home. Dandelions, sticks, and rocks are outside, you know. And that was where the real fun was.

Hopefully Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Scott have rested up from our time there. We won't be going back any time soon as I am now on 'town arrest' until the baby comes. Luckily we had a good couple of trips as our 'last'.