Road Trip

So our niece Meghan was graduating from Auburn this month and almost all the extended Millers were going to be in town to celebrate (Chris' brother and his family live nearby), so we decided to take the leap and embark on our first road trip with two kiddos. Boy was it an adventure.

We were planning to get up and go Friday morning, and be there by late afternoon, in plenty of time for Avery's early dinner and bedtime. Chris was traveling that week and his flight was delayed coming home, so he got in very late the night before we left. Being solo with both kids made it difficult for me to get much packing/organizing done ahead of time. So we were already behind schedule. Then we were awakened around 3 am by Avery coughing and crying. I knew we were in trouble when I heard her say "uh oh...messy!" Yep, her first stomach bug. We changed the sheets and her jammies (and my shirt once) no fewer than three times over the next hour. Between the puke-fest and Mason's normal nocturnal feedings, nobody got much sleep.

This also necessitated me doing some laundry Friday morning before we left. No way did I want to come home to a laundry room full of pukey sheets that had been ripening for five days. This set our schedule back even further. But Avery seemed to be feeling better, so we plowed ahead.

When we finally did get on the road, we quickly encountered torrential downpours so severe that cars were pulling off the freeway. Gotta love the Southeast. The weather finally cleared up and we needed to get off to get some lunch and feed Mason. And what did we discover? A flat tire. No, I'm not kidding.

Food, nurse, look for a tire place. The first place didn't have the right tires. The second place had just sent their entire staff on lunch break (who does that?). The third place was boarded up. The FOURTH place could help us... just have a seat with the other 15 people in the waiting room. Avery ran laps (literally) around the rather large waiting room and rearranged their nice display of wiper blades while I nursed Mason. By the time we got back on the road, we were already past our originally planned ETA, and we were still in Columbia -- not even two hours from home.

We finally made it to Alabama. What should have been a five- or six-hour drive took us 10 hours. We discovered that Avery will not nap in the car. We were hours past her bedtime, in a new, exciting place with people (and dogs) she was anxious to see. In short, she was a HOT MESS.

The good news is that once we arrived, we had a great time. It was wonderful to get to spend time with everyone and to introduce Mason to the fam. And the trip home was blissfully uneventful. Still long, with all the nursing stops, but free of catastrophes. At that point, I figure karma owed us.

Happily unaware of all the drama, Avery was perfectly content exploring all the new car-friendly activities I brought along.

There aren't many pics of Mason from the trip. He was busy enjoying the arms of all the Miller women. Here he is showing Aunt Dana his tonsils.

Avery wanted to bring Cousin Meghan home with us. Here they are splashing in the pool.

Here's Avery helping Dana harvest eggplants from the garden.

Exploring cool new toys.

Avery loved meeting Baby Ronan. Here they are reading with Meghan and Will.

"Riding honey" in the Polaris with Cousin Matthew.

Go faster, Matthew!

Avery's chosen accessories for the trip home. I think they are calling this look "toddler chic" on the runways this fall.