Planes, Trains and Automobiles!

Well, I once again flew solo with Lucy. I will never- I repeat- NEVER do that again (at least not at this young infant stage).  She is too old to sleep the whole time like our first flight, but too young to have any sort of stability in her posture.  Imagine being in line to have the TSA look through your stuff.  Now, follow along as you picture doing all of this while holding a wobbly/tired/cranky 3 month old.  I had to figure out how to fold up her stroller and stuff it through the x-ray machine on the conveyor belt, while also switching Lucy from her car seat to my arms and putting her car seat, my carry-on, and her diaper bag through the machine as well. This was while impatient people were behind me declaring "well, we definitely picked the WRONG line to wait in."  I had to hold her while taking my shoes off, taking my bag of liquids out (including her bottles for them to test since they were over the 3 oz. limit) while she cried and squirmed the whole time.  And TSA is telling me I need to hurry.  RUDE.  Next, we were on the plane and I could not, for the life of me, buckle up my seat belt! You need 2 hands for that and she can't sit up yet, so I couldn't just let go of her because she'd topple over; therefore, I didn't have a free hand.  Then, she didn't want to drink her bottle during take off (AFTER we had sat on the tarmac for a whole hour because maintenance had to fix the plane- and she wasn't happy about that either) because it wasn't warm enough for her liking.  So she screamed (not just cried, but SCREAMED) for a good 25 minutes until we were at the altitude where flight attendants would get me hot water to heat up her milk (they were SO unhelpful and rude to me).  Well, we had a couple of bumps and the cup of very hot water tipped over and spilled ALL over the man next to me who got very angry at me (remember, Lucy is still screaming this whole time).  Finally, just to top it off, she poops.  Not just a little poop- but an EXPLOSION.  So I have a shrieking infant in my lap, an angry man mopping up his seat and rolling his eyes next to me, and a smelly, leaking diaper in my hands.  Now, have you ever tried to use an airplane bathroom while there is an infant on your lap? Well, while I was in the bathroom changing her, all of the sudden my bladder seemed to fill up very rapidly.  So I held her while I went, then had to lay her down on the tiny tilted changing table to wash my hands.  Oh my gosh, it was all just a NIGHTMARE!  The whole day went on like this.  Everything wrong that could have happened to us, did (and, likewise,  on the way back to Denver we also got stuck at the airport during a delay and ended up sitting alone at our gate from noon to 8:15 pm- after going through Airport Security yet again).  It's EXHAUSTING! But the highlight of this post, is that we finally got to see Heidi, Bret and her boys!  Shawn and I were able to go to Orange County and not spend a dime while we were there!  It was so perfect.  All of our meals were paid for, our hotel suite, even checking our luggage on the plane was expensed!  While we were there, Heidi took us to the beach to boogie board, to a Beatles cover concert, and we had some quality family time.  No bills to look at.  Just a little pick-me-up during the usual grind of life.  It was seriously fabulous.  All the stress at the airport was worth it!  WELL worth it.  It was a get-away that Shawn and I really needed.  We had date night and forgot about all the stresses back home.  It was just perfect.  So even though Lucy hated the airplane, hated the train that takes you from gate to gate in the airport, and hated being stuck in her car-seat the many times we got in Heidi's car, it was the "in-between stuff" that mattered.  And that "in-between stuff" was truly wonderful.  Thank you so much, Kelly family, for ALL you did for us to make our trip to much fun and so memorable.  I am so glad we were able to see each other and to have you meet Lucy.  I'm sad it wasn't for as much time as I would have liked, but it was truly unforgettable!

The Boys Loved their new Cousin!

Family Pic!

LuLu and Heidi-Ho!

The oldest cousin, and the youngest cousin (for now!) And Jayden is SOOO sweet to Lucy <3

Beautiful Laguna Beach

Just Another Day in Paradise :)

Spenc and I catching some waves!

Brother and Sister

Brother and Sister!

"All You Need is Love"

Beatles Concert in the Park

Spencer turned her song on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and she got SO happy!

Heading to the beach

Aunt Heidi loves her Lucy and Lucy loves her back :)

I love these two.  Such special people.

I LOVE California!

Good night Lucy Lu!