Last night, I started the
recap of our recent trip to the in-laws. Hopefully I can finish it now without writing a book :)
I forgot to mention that AJU5 refused to nap Wednesday morning/midday. So, she was exhausted by the time we got to the airport. She fell asleep in her stroller while we walked from security to the gate but woke up when we had to get her out to get on the plane. She didn't nap on the plane at all! So, we thought she would be out in seconds on the drive home - Nope! It took lots of work to get her to sleep in the car, and then she woke when we got to the house. We got the car unpacked and said hi to everyone. It was about midnight out time at this point, and everyone was dead tired! Only problem - AJU5 refused to go to bed. It took to tries of just letting her cry (with a stroller ride in between) to get her to sleep for 3 hours. Then we wailed again and got to sleep in bed with us for the rest of the night (you know, about 4 more hours). Needless to say we were a little tired on Thursday...
Luckily, we had nothing planned for Thursday. The parents-in-law had work, so it was just us and AJU4 at home. AJU2 came over in the morning (he lives in the same town), and the guys spent time fixing a loader (for hay). AJU5 and I went out to watch and sit in the "chairs" - tractor seats! She loved to sit there and play with all of the controls. And, since they have 3 tractors, she had lots of play with. Eventually it looked like she was ready to crash, so I brought her in and tried to get her to nap - FAIL! She did sit in her crib and drink her beverages for a while though so I could make sandwiches for everyone's lunch. She did eventually nap, but it wasn't her normal 2 hours. And, she wasn't willing to go down at her normal 7pm either. Luckily, she did eventually go down on her own without too much crying and slept the whole night - but only 9-10 hours instead of her normal 12...
Friday we went to a touristy lake about 2 hours away. We left around her normal nap time, so she did get about 45 minutes of nap in the car. Once we got there, we had our picnic lunch and hung out on the "beach" for a while. AJU5 loved it! She got to play int he water, throw rocks and small pieces of wood, and work as an earth mover (moving dirt/sand back and forth between the beach and water). Once the adults had had enough sun (about an hour) we went to see what else we wanted to do (and get cleaned up). We ended up going for a little hike and then getting ice cream before heading home. AJU5 was in no mood to walk though. So, I carried her first. Then, she sat on Daddy's shoulders. Then, she got a ride on AJU4's shoulders. During this last part, she actually fell asleep! Unfortunately, she woke before we got in the car... And of course, she stayed up late but slept through the night.
Saturday the guys had to deliver two loads of hay. Both times I took AJU5 out to watch them load the trailer some and just walk around outside. Luckily during the first set of deliveries, she took a 2 hour nap! It was great! And needed! She woke shortly before the guys got back and we had a mid-afternoon meal (the big meal of the day due to the delivery schedule). During the afternoon loading, AJU5 got to ride the loader with Grandpa. She wasn't 100% sure about going with him, but I think she liked the ride! I tired to get her down at the normal hour that night, but the dogs kept barking. Then it got close to when the guys should be back. So, it was another late night for her, but again she slept well!
Sunday was Grandpa's 60th birthday! So, we did the normal morning routine of breakfast, Sunday School, and church. Then we headed to a park for lunch. Grandpa thought it was just going to be the family (meeting AJU2 and his wife there since they go to a different church in the area). But, we surprised him with a big party! We were all shocked that it actually worked. AJU5 had napped for about 30 minutes in my arms at church, but was strong until the end of the party when she crashed in Daddy's arms. She did wake while we were loading the vehicles, but it was still at least 30 minutes of nap. And again, she went down late... although I napped that evening while Grandma played with her :)
Monday was another day of just relaxing at the house. Again the parents-in-law had work, but Grandma came home early to play. AJU3 was also around some, but AJU2 didn't stop by (he had work to do). AJU5 did take a good nap while everyone was gone, and we just enjoyed playing inside and outside for the rest of the day. Sleep wasn't great though. She went down a little earlier than she had been, but she woke around 2:15 and slept with us for about an hour. Then I moved her back to bed. But she woke quickly. Luckily, all she needed was her juice! And Grandma got her up in the morning so we got a little extra sleep.
Yesterday, we had to leave by 8am local time. So, the morning was busy! AJU5 was definitely not sure about us packing everything up again. But, because Grandma and Grandpa were taking us to the airport, she wasn't too worried. We stopped and saw Great-Grandma (who is one month shy of 98). Then we hit the road and headed to lunch and the airport. AJU5 was not a fan of saying bye to her car seat. She was a little sad on the way out, but coming back was even worse! Then we had to go through security. Both ways this was a challenge. AJU5 did not like having her duck, juice cups, and stroller out of reach. Luckily, it doesn't take too long to get through the lines :) She had napped for about 45 minutes on the way to the airport and then napped at the end of the first flight. I sort of wished she hadn't fallen asleep then so I could have passed her to Daddy... There was lots of turbulence on the way down and I almost lost everything in my stomach. But, we survived. The second flight was uneventful other than her behavior issues (throwing things, etc). Our pastor picked us up from the airport, and we got home close to AJU5's normal bedtime. There was lots of crying when we got her. She wanted to go bye. I think she wanted her grandparents and uncle (AJU4) back. It was hard to get her to realize that was not an option... But, eventually she did calm down. And, she actually went down by 8pm and didn't need me at all until 7am! There was only one problem though - I forgot to change her diaper before bed... So she was soaked this morning- ewe! But, I will take a good nights sleep for sure over a wet toddler in the morning!
So, that was the trip. Pictures will come at some point... First I have to find the camera. Then I have to get AJU1 to take them off the camera. This may take a few days...