The Trip

We are back, and the trip was very nice, but there is no place like home!! We are happy to be back, and resuming a schedule. However we did have a great time, and Dawson was like a dream child 110% of the trip! He traveled wonderfully driving, and on the plane, so many people stopped us and said, I am so impressed at how well he did! Funny, because I know I saw some of them cringe just a bit when they saw a 2 year old get on the plane (even us with kids know what it is like hearing someone else's child scream 1/2 of the plane ride!)

We left Good Friday morning about 6:15 and drove to the cities....yes, we hit that icky slushy snow storm, and had un-plowed roads most of the way which consisted of slush on top of ice! However, my husband is a pro driver and got us there safe and sound. Once we got past Clearwater the roads were basically just wet which made it a less tense ride. We met Chris's brother there and he drove us to the airport for curb side check in...everything was going as planned, grabbed a bite to eat, walked around a bit, and then went to our gate. And the wait was on, our plane was late coming in d/t the icy runway (we watched like 6-9 plows) in rows clearing things up as we waited. So, they unloaded their passengers, cleaned up the plane, and then we boarded....and continued to wait in a hot (body heat yuck!) plane. Eventually we moved just to wait longer. Being they were late coming in they were still unloading luggage, then had to load our luggage, and then we had to be deiced. How fun! But an hour after we were supposed to take off, we did. And although the ride was a tiny bumpy initially, the rest of the ride was great. Dawson had fun watching out the window, listening to books, coloring, and playing play-doh. (Notice there was no nap in there?!) Yup, from 6 am until literally the minute we landed he was awake. Don't know how he did it. He was in a great mood, but then crashed as soon as we landed. From there out everything was smooth sailing! Had a nice evening relaxing, and indulging in fresh crab cakes, and shrimp for dinner. (A true East Coast meal!) It was great!!

Saturday we took a ride on the Metro to DC where we walked and enjoyed the sites all day long! Before finally heading back in the evening to do some unwinding.

We had a great Easter celebrating with friends and family, and then later driving to Maryland to spend a few days with my brother and his family. We stopped at my grandma's house and visited the rest of the family (aunts and uncles, cousins, great cousins etc.) This was the first time the majority of them had seen Dawson, and it had been 2 years since I had seen most of them as well so it was nice to catch up a bit.

The rest of the trip was a blurr, we visited, did some shopping, ate, swam, enjoyed the weather, and the company of family. Later in the week we said good-bye and drove back to Virginia (GPS is great by the way as we drove right over DC). We had a quite afternoon, playing with Dawson on the fabulous playground, and enjoying our last evening of the true Spring like temps! We had a nice dinner at a steakhouse before having some ice cream and heading back to start the pack to go home.

The plane ride home was much smoother, and we arrived safely and on time! After getting our luggage, and getting back on the road we decided to enjoy the last day of vacation by taking our time leaving the cities. Being it was a Wednesday the stores were very quite. We enjoyed a trip to Cabela's, and then a few stops at Albertville to browse before the rest of the drive.

So, that is a quick over view of our trip! The time with my wonderful Godparents and their hospitality was so appreciated! They were great! It was also so much to see my brother and sister in law, and amazing to see how much my nephews have grown!

I will be posting pictures soon!! (Just have to pick which ones to post as there are so many!)