Nora's First Road Trip

Road Trip!!

We took our first road trip with Nora this last weekend. Wow...I had forgotten what it was like to travel with an infant. Let's just say, after packing the vehicle, it looked like we were heading to the beach for the week. However, we were headed to Branson, for a quick night hotel stay, and then on to Houston. Miss Nora did an awesome job. She is a pretty good little rider. Luckily, my parents drove us down to Branson and Houston and then Matt met us in Bolivar on Monday evening to take us back to Blue Springs. 

A few things I found out on this trip.

1. My parents are awesome. They entertained the big kids and let me relax for the weekend. My dad even sat on the floor of the car to help with Nora and be at the big kids beck and call. 

2. Nora doesn't really care who holds her. She was passed around to different family members and friends all weekend. 

3. Nora likes to sleep on soft beds. We tried the pack and play in the hotel and she didn't like it. When we got to Houston, we cushioned it up a little bit and BAM...she slept like a baby (which she is a baby).

4. John and Sophia are excellent baby watchers in the backseat. 

5. Someone once told me that when you have 3 kids, you go from "Man to Man" to "Zone" in taking care of kids. This piece of advice is so true. It was nice being "Man to Man" this weekend. 

Once in Branson, Nana and Pops took the kids to Silver Dollar City, while Nora and I hung out in various places around Branson. The kids had a blast and I got to read and I took a nap in the Tanger Outlet Mall parking lot in the car under a shade tree with Nora on my chest. BLISS! 

Once we got to Houston, we got to see a lot of family and friends and introduce Miss Nora to everyone. John was quite the host, telling everyone that when he saw Nora for the first time, he kissed her on the head and cheek. Sophia stayed pretty quiet this weekend, which comes to no surprise when she is around a lot of people. She really came alive when she saw her cousin Piper. 

The kids got to see cousins, ride bikes, ride the "Big Dog" (my dad's big lawn mower), swim at Aunt Pam's pool,  run around barefoot, and be country kids for the weekend. They loved it and wasn't sure they wanted to come back to Blue Springs. But they missed their Daddy, so they decided it was okay. 

The car ride from Boliver to Blue Springs was a litte tougher. We had 2 feedings, a dirty diaper and and a tired Sophia and John. However, the Royals won, so Mr. Matt was happy with that news and of course seeing the circus come back to Blue Springs. (I had told him to rest up this weekend, because the circus was coming back to town!)

Enjoy your Tuesday!