Weekend Warriors

Sydney had her first "overnight" road trip this weekend. It all started when Chris wanted to attend the national H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) Rally in Oklahoma City. Chris' Uncle Charles lives in the Dallas area and he wanted to meet up with him so they could ride up to OKC together. His 2 cousins, Brian and Craig, also live in the Dallas area, so it was decided that I would take Sydney and stay with Craig and his family while Chris rode his bike in the blazing hot June sun. I was not envious of him whatsoever...

Anyway, I didn't think anything of traveling with Syd because she has always been a TERRIFIC traveler. Well, apparently, she is not too fond of DFW, because about 1 hour into the trip she began to wail like a banchee. I put up with it until Jacksonville, but coudn't take it anymore so I signaled to Chris that we pull over. We stopped, got her fed and calm, and then went along our way. We made it another hour down the road and had to repeat the pull over technique once more. At this stop, Sydney was not the only one in tears. I told Chris I was going back home because it was CRAZY to travel with a 4 month old who could not be consoled. I pretty much wigged out. Well, I gave her some Tylenol thinking she must have been in pain and got back in the Honda Hellhouse of Terror.

We made it another 30 minutes down the road, and just as we were getting into Dallas traffic, the screeching started back up. I turned up the radio full blast, stuck an ice cold teething ring in her mouth, and drove like my life depended on it. Somehow, someway... we made it to his Uncle's house. I have never been so glad to reach a destination in my life. After visiting and going to dinner, I made my way to Julie and Craig's (who live in Arlington..about 3o minutes away) and she screamed all the way there.

Julie, who has 2 small children of her own, met me at the door with sympathetic eyes. She could tell we had been through it. After dinner, I attempted to put Sydney down. It took 3 tries, but I finally got the little stinker to go to sleep. Craig and Julie have a beautiful pool and pool house in their backyard. Sydney and I stayed in "The Hut" which has every amenity you can imagine and were very comfortable and happy. She behaved quite well and had a wonderful time, ONCE WE GOT THERE. Here she is hangin' out in the hut. Heck, she even had baby toys to play with there!

On Friday, we visited a friend of Julie's, Julia Hernandez. She is a talented artist and she printed Sydney's foot for me. The pieces turned out GORGEOUS!! If you are looking for someone to do a custom piece of artwork that you will cherish forever, I highly recommend her. She is easy to work with and her rates are very reasonable. Visit her site: http://jaeartworks.com/

She turned Sydney's foot print into an Eric Carle style butterfly. It matches her nursery perfectly.

Sydney and I enjoyed getting to hang out with Craig and Julie's 2 precious kiddos. Nolan is 3 and Ella is 18 months old. It was so cool to see Sydney interact with little people just like her!

Nolan, Craig, Sydney, & Ella

A big thank you to my hosts, Craig and Julie, for a wonderful getaway weekend. I hope to come back and visit soon!