We are definitely fans of Johnny Horton in this family. For some reason when I though about going to Atlanta the song North To Alaska popped into my head. Hence the name of this post. Anyway...
This past weekend we took a road trip to Atlanta to celebrate our niece, Evie's, birthday. It was quite a weekend. We came back ridiculously tired but we had a great time.
We started our long weekend early. On Thursday we picked up a van from Budget because we planned to drive with Steven's parents (hereafter referred to as Mom Y and Dad Y) to Atlanta. Kenzie thought the van was Ah-Maze-Ing. She is nutty. She referred to it as our "van car" for the duration of the trip. The pick up was uneventful except for the fact that we began to worry that between 4 adults and 2 children (that need a whole lot of junk to travel) that we wouldn't have room in the van. Regardless, we went home, loaded our stuff, and set off for Mom and Dad Y's house. Once we got there we pulled our everything they planned to bring and practice loaded the car to make sure we would fit. It was a bit like an adult version of Tetris (which is a game I love and my obsessive compulsive nature was determined to fit everything into the car perfectly). We were able to do it, so we pulled out their stuff because they had a bit more to add to it on Friday morning before we left and planned to get up a few minutes early to re-load it on Friday. We had pizza for dinner. Kenzie was overtired and a bit nutty so we put her to bed shortly after dinner. Will was put to bed early. He was fussy. This set up the beginning of what would turn out to be a terrible weekend out sleep for the Little Man. Poor guy. He was up A LOT on Thursday night. I would figure that pack and plays are not that comfortable to sleep in and he is used to his comfy bed.
We got up super early on Friday and reloaded the car with no issues. We were packed and there wasn't a lot of room, but we made it. We set off for Atlanta at 6am. We actually made it into Georgia before breakfast and stopped at McDonalds. The kids were happy to be out of the car for at least a few minutes. The drive between breakfast and lunch was uneventful. We stopped at Chick Fil A for lunch in Macon and that's where the drive got yucky. We hit traffic almost immediately after leaving Chick Fil A. We stayed in fairly heavy traffic until close to Julie and Eric's house. We think we added about 2 hours to our trip in traffic alone. Once we got into Julie and Eric's house we had just a few minutes before we changed the kids and headed out to Julie's friend of a friend's house to have a few photos done of the cousins together. We like to try to plan for things like that whenever possible so that we can get cute pictures of the kids together as they get bigger. The kids handled it remarkably well for 9.5 hours in the car. After pictures we went to dinner at Provinos. It was super yummy Italian. Kenzie ate her weight in spaghetti. Will was DONE, though. He fussed through a large portion of dinner and Steven and I took him out of the restaurant off and on to try to calm him down. That night he didn't sleep that well again. It was actually his worst night of the trip. That means it was also my worst night... and Steven's since he hears me get up every time. We were exhausted on Saturday, but we pushed through because...
It was the day we came for! Evie's 1st birthday party!!! We had a great time celebrating Evie. She loved her cake and her presents (okay, maybe just the cards but what 1 year old actually cares about most presents anyway?) I'll leave most of the recapping of the party to her Mommy though and just say that we had a great time! Somehow, after all the excitement of that we were able to get out to dinner. We went to Mambo's Cafe which was super yummy Cuban/Peruvian food. Kenzie didn't eat as well but she is like me and after too much eating out in a row, she starts to feel a bit sick so she doesn't eat as much. My tolerance is higher though so I can go out more often before that happens. She was just not into eating out as much. Will had a better meal because he somehow fell asleep. He was just so exhausted from his lack of nighttime sleep and lack of naps. Poor little guy. After dinner we went to Avalon which is sort of an outdoor mall, community type place. Kenzie played on the small playground and her and Evie played on the big grassy area. After walked around some (and maybe spending money at Gymboree because I couldn't pass up a dress I saw for Kenzie), Aunt Juju and Uncle Eric treated Kenzie to a treat at the candy shop. She picked out a chocolate covered pretzel. She was super excited about that pretzel but it was late so we told her she had to wait until the next day to eat it.
Sunday was Easter. Will's first Easter and the first one that we were able to explain to Kenzie what was going on. She had a blast opening her Easter basket and searching for the eggs that the bunny hid at Aunt Juju and Uncle Eric's house. Unfortunately, we did not get to attend Sunday church services because we weren't home, but missing it for Evie's first birthday party was worth it. We can still discuss with Kenzie what Easter is actually all about and she will attend services another year. We had a great day complete with playing at the park, subjecting our children to more family photos, and a great meal made by Julie. Will and Kenzie even got in three hour naps. Kenzie was so over tired that she couldn't help herself and Will was able to get a nap in Evie's crib which meant he was more comfortable. It was amazing. For everyone involved.
Monday we set out for home. We got up super early, packed up the car, packed up the kids, and picked up Steven's parents at the hotel. The drive home went much faster than the drive to Atlanta. We made it through Atlanta traffic prior to their morning rush hour (or at least before it got really bad) and then didn't hit any additional significant traffic that day. Kenzie took a morning nap in the car. That's how we know that the kids were worn out. It was such a fun weekend but I'm sure they were thankful for some calm after all the excitement. We dropped Steven's parents off at their house and headed to Apopka. After dropping the luggage off at home we made the trek back to the airport to drop off the van. Both kids fell asleep. They were so tired. Kenzie actually woke up and cried because she realized we had dropped off the "van car" and it was gone. Poor thing.
We had a blast celebrating Evie and Easter in Atlanta. I am so glad that we are able to make these trips to see the family. I can't wait for our next visit together when Julie, Eric, and Evie are in Florida doing their annual tour de beaches. I can't believe how much bigger the kids are each time we are together and I look forward to them being able to spend even more time together as they all continue to grow up. Cousins are an awesome thing and I love that we are able to foster a close relationship between our children despite the distance between us.
This past weekend we took a road trip to Atlanta to celebrate our niece, Evie's, birthday. It was quite a weekend. We came back ridiculously tired but we had a great time.
We started our long weekend early. On Thursday we picked up a van from Budget because we planned to drive with Steven's parents (hereafter referred to as Mom Y and Dad Y) to Atlanta. Kenzie thought the van was Ah-Maze-Ing. She is nutty. She referred to it as our "van car" for the duration of the trip. The pick up was uneventful except for the fact that we began to worry that between 4 adults and 2 children (that need a whole lot of junk to travel) that we wouldn't have room in the van. Regardless, we went home, loaded our stuff, and set off for Mom and Dad Y's house. Once we got there we pulled our everything they planned to bring and practice loaded the car to make sure we would fit. It was a bit like an adult version of Tetris (which is a game I love and my obsessive compulsive nature was determined to fit everything into the car perfectly). We were able to do it, so we pulled out their stuff because they had a bit more to add to it on Friday morning before we left and planned to get up a few minutes early to re-load it on Friday. We had pizza for dinner. Kenzie was overtired and a bit nutty so we put her to bed shortly after dinner. Will was put to bed early. He was fussy. This set up the beginning of what would turn out to be a terrible weekend out sleep for the Little Man. Poor guy. He was up A LOT on Thursday night. I would figure that pack and plays are not that comfortable to sleep in and he is used to his comfy bed.
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| Playing at the playground in Grandma and Grandaddy's neighborhood |
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| Feeding the turtles |
It was the day we came for! Evie's 1st birthday party!!! We had a great time celebrating Evie. She loved her cake and her presents (okay, maybe just the cards but what 1 year old actually cares about most presents anyway?) I'll leave most of the recapping of the party to her Mommy though and just say that we had a great time! Somehow, after all the excitement of that we were able to get out to dinner. We went to Mambo's Cafe which was super yummy Cuban/Peruvian food. Kenzie didn't eat as well but she is like me and after too much eating out in a row, she starts to feel a bit sick so she doesn't eat as much. My tolerance is higher though so I can go out more often before that happens. She was just not into eating out as much. Will had a better meal because he somehow fell asleep. He was just so exhausted from his lack of nighttime sleep and lack of naps. Poor little guy. After dinner we went to Avalon which is sort of an outdoor mall, community type place. Kenzie played on the small playground and her and Evie played on the big grassy area. After walked around some (and maybe spending money at Gymboree because I couldn't pass up a dress I saw for Kenzie), Aunt Juju and Uncle Eric treated Kenzie to a treat at the candy shop. She picked out a chocolate covered pretzel. She was super excited about that pretzel but it was late so we told her she had to wait until the next day to eat it.
Sunday was Easter. Will's first Easter and the first one that we were able to explain to Kenzie what was going on. She had a blast opening her Easter basket and searching for the eggs that the bunny hid at Aunt Juju and Uncle Eric's house. Unfortunately, we did not get to attend Sunday church services because we weren't home, but missing it for Evie's first birthday party was worth it. We can still discuss with Kenzie what Easter is actually all about and she will attend services another year. We had a great day complete with playing at the park, subjecting our children to more family photos, and a great meal made by Julie. Will and Kenzie even got in three hour naps. Kenzie was so over tired that she couldn't help herself and Will was able to get a nap in Evie's crib which meant he was more comfortable. It was amazing. For everyone involved.
Monday we set out for home. We got up super early, packed up the car, packed up the kids, and picked up Steven's parents at the hotel. The drive home went much faster than the drive to Atlanta. We made it through Atlanta traffic prior to their morning rush hour (or at least before it got really bad) and then didn't hit any additional significant traffic that day. Kenzie took a morning nap in the car. That's how we know that the kids were worn out. It was such a fun weekend but I'm sure they were thankful for some calm after all the excitement. We dropped Steven's parents off at their house and headed to Apopka. After dropping the luggage off at home we made the trek back to the airport to drop off the van. Both kids fell asleep. They were so tired. Kenzie actually woke up and cried because she realized we had dropped off the "van car" and it was gone. Poor thing.
We had a blast celebrating Evie and Easter in Atlanta. I am so glad that we are able to make these trips to see the family. I can't wait for our next visit together when Julie, Eric, and Evie are in Florida doing their annual tour de beaches. I can't believe how much bigger the kids are each time we are together and I look forward to them being able to spend even more time together as they all continue to grow up. Cousins are an awesome thing and I love that we are able to foster a close relationship between our children despite the distance between us.
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