Missouri Vacation Day 1

Man, I have been slacking on the blog and there is no excuse for it! I need to write about the Missouri trip before I forget everything that happened. Usually on vacations, I write down what happens each day on the Ipad, so I won't forget any details to blog about when I get home. This time, I just completely forgot to do so. It could be because I was taking care of two kids by myself and was exhausted by the end of the day (which is when I usually type out what happens). However, here we are almost a month later and let's hope I remember everything.

I flew out to Missouri with the kids on Wednesday, November 11th. I did my research to make sure that everything would run smoothly at the airport. My father-in-law, Dean, kindly dropped me off and helped me check in my larger suitcase. There were no problems at security it was easy to walk through the entire airport (my gate was on the other side of where security is) with the kids in the double stroller. Even if I hardly use the double stroller, it was worth the purchase just for the flights there and back. There was only about a 30 minute wait before they started boarding, but Kylie did not like being strapped to a seat, especially when she saw a child her age wandering around. That was hard to try to get her to calm down from being frustrated. I was able to check the stroller and car seat at the gate and then found some seats way in the back of the plane for Kylie and I. I wanted to make sure that Kylie had a window seat, so she could have the opportunity to look out the window. She loved pulling the shade up and down. Since Kylie had a hard time sitting in the stroller, I was worried about how she would do on the plane. Kylie did really well and only had a small outburst when she did realize she was stuck and wanted to get out. Jordan was an angel baby and slept the entire time. The flight out there had a stop, but it did not have a plane switch. So, when it stopped in Phoenix, we just stayed on the plane and waited 10 minutes until the other passengers got on. It was a great opportunity to let Kylie out and walk up and down the aisle. She wasn't too happy though when her time was cut short and we had to head back to our seats once people started boarding. I had brought the Ipad in her small suitcase, but the movies I thought were downloaded weren't working and needed internet. Luckily, there were a few games she could play that didn't require internet. On the way to Kansas City from Phoenix, I unbuckled Kylie for a few minutes. She had slid down onto the floor and the next thing I know, she is throwing up! I quickly grab the barf bag out of the seat next to me and started cleaning up with wipes. I felt so bad for my poor girl! She quickly fell asleep and then awoke to throw up one more time. When we met up with my dad, Kyle and Brianna, the poor girl was so out of it and just wanted to go to bed. I still don't know exactly why she threw up. It could be because of the little turbulence we had, it could be from looking at the Ipad (the only time I really get car sick is if I read in the car), or it could have been something she ate. Either way, it was a sad sight to see and I'm glad I had an understanding lady sitting next to me.

After we got my suitcase, we headed out to the giant 15-passenger van that dad rented for the week. It was huge and barely made it under the parking garage limit. Haha. We drove straight to the house and I changed Kylie out of her clothes and into some pajamas. Only about 10 minutes after we arrived did Andrew and Rebecca arrive. All of their kids, except Alena, stayed with dad and Roberta. It was offered for Kylie to stay as well, but I felt better having her with me. We had some dinner and then headed out to the bowling alley to see Roberta play in their bowling league. Roberta was so happy to see us and loved showing off the grandchildren. We didn't stay for too long before heading back to the house. My dad then drove us to the house we were staying in. They had rented a small house for us to stay in, which is great as there wasn't enough room at their house for everyone.

It was a cute little house, but it was old and the wooden floor were very creaky. The room I was in had bunk beds and a pack in play. I wasn't sure how the sleeping situation would work with Kylie as I didn't want her to fall off the top bunk, but I didn't want to have to keep climbing up and down either. The pack in play was set up for Jordan though, so Kylie couldn't sleep in that one. Luckily, the house had one and so I set that up for her. Sleeping was a bit of a struggle that week. First off, Kylie is tall and climbs over everything, so I should have known that she would just climb right out of that pack in play. Also, she could open the door anytime she wanted as it didn't have a door knob cover like at home. So, any chance of getting her to sleep was pretty much squashed. It ended up with me sleeping with Kylie and Jordan in the tiny bunk bed (for the first few days). It worked and we got sleep, but not restful sleep.

It was a long day, but everything turned out well. The flight went great (even with Kylie throwing up) and going to the bowling alley was fun. The vacation was off to a good start.