Our First Real Family Vacation

Can you believe we actually drove in our van all the way to Indianapolis with all 4 children?!? Some friends of ours were getting married and they had asked me to take pictures at their wedding and I happily obliged; and since there is a HUGE kid's museum in Indy we thought it would be fun to take all the kids, too (and Grandaddy for some extra help)!

So after packing for 6 of us and trying to come up with ideas for food to take for breakfast and lunch picnics on the road, it was finally time. We left Lakeland at 5 AM and caravaned up with some of our neighbors who were also attending (or participating in) the wedding - we stopped lots along the way, so the trip up was pretty enjoyable. The first night we stayed in Atlanta with our neighbor's parents and got to attend a Braves game (for free). The next day we ate at a yummy restaurant in downtown Atlanta for breakfast and then stopped at Lookout Mountain and rode the incline railroad on our way to Franklin, TN where we stayed the night with a friend of Scott's from high school.

After some more driving the next morning we were finally in Indianapolis at our hotel. We got some dinner and then settled in for the night and I don't think anyone had trouble getting to sleep! The next day (Friday) was Grandaddy's birthday, so we treated him to lunch at a barbecue restaurant where we also surprised him with a german chocolate cake. From there, Scott, my dad and the three older kids headed to the museum and Jackson and I went back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I wanted to take a nap but decided to do some ironing and try to organize our stuff a little since I would be leaving super early the next morning to go take pictures of the bride and groom getting ready and Scott would have to check out of the hotel before they left for the wedding. I knew with him having to get three kids fed, dressed and ready (none of them were awake yet when I left) and pack the car, he would have his hands full. The wedding started at 11, everything was beautiful, I cried like I always do at weddings, and when the reception was over we changed our clothes and loaded up for a LOOOONG drive!
We decided to go back via Montgomery so we could visit with Brian, Ella and family. We arrived at some ungodly hour of the morning and put all the kids (and Grandaddy)to bed. The boys were up bright and early playing, with their Uncle Scott right in the middle of it all! Once our kids were all awake, their Daddy bathed them and they played with their cousins for a few hours, then it was time to get back on the road. We drove to Foley, AL to eat at a restaurant I had been to with my dad and the older three kids on a previous road trip (yes it was out of the way but so worth the drive). It is called Lambert's and my goodness they have some good food! I wanted Scott to eat there because they walk around the restaurant throwing homemade rolls at the tables and I knew he would love that!

Ella wants a roll, too!

Scott and Daddy popping some Pepcid after their meal

After we left there, we started the miserable drive all the way to Lakeland. My back was hurting, probably from standing so much the previous few days with Jackson in the sling (he has to be over 15 pounds by now) and with all of our stuff in the van there wasn't a lot of leg room. The kids did amazingly well on the trip but Ella was grumpy that night because her back was sore from sitting up in her booster seat for so long. Jackson was the fussiest he had been yet and I know Scott and my dad must have been exhausted from driving. We finally got to Lakeland at 4 AM and all crashed at Daddy's house. Then the next day began the overwhelming task of unpacking and doing the 5 or 6 loads of laundry that had accumulated from me not washing all week. Scott was kind enough to take Caleb, Ella and Lillian to his mom's house for me so I could get everything done. That night he went with my dad to hear Urban Meyer speak and I put the kids to bed at 7 PM! No one fussed at all and everyone was asleep within minutes.

I just got all the laundry put away yesterday and I think I am still catching up on sleep, but it was a great trip with lots of fun memories. I can't wait to do it all again (well, maybe not the packing and laundry part, but everything else)!