The Last two weeks of July, Jonathan's work shut down to save money. We were lucky that we had already planned a week long trip to the beach the first week. Jonathan's mom's side of the family has gotten together every other year for about 26 years, and almost all of them have been at Sunset Beach North Carolina. We had 3 beach houses and over 20 people, plus a baby. It was so much fun. I didn't grow up in a big family, the most we would have together was about 11. So, getting together with more than 20 people and all eating supper together in the same house, and being at the beach together was exiting.
Well, let me back up and start from the beginning....
Jonathan and I knew that this was going to be a completely different trip with a 9 month old. We didn't want to leave and forget something. So, Jonathan had the idea to go through the house, room by room, about a month in advance and write down everything that we would possibly need. At the time I thought this was the most ridiculous thing ever. I am a great packer and organizer and I knew what we needed to pack. I would have made a list, but not over three weeks in advance.
Jonathan, the engineer that he is, broke this list down into about 20 million ( a little exaggerated, but not much) different categories, down to what bags and everything, all the while me thinking this is way over the top. Which, if you know Jonathan you know he NEVER EVER does anything half way!!!
Well, let me say, when we started packing all the work Jonathan did to get us ready really paid off! It was so nice to have it all organized, and to be able to mark it off when I packed it so I wasn't stressed trying to make sure I had everything. Yes, I did come to him later and apologized for making fun of him, and how grateful I was for his color coded, 4 page spreadsheet that I used!! (I love you Jonathan!!!)
Here are some pictures of everything that we packed. Just so you know, we were leaving on Thursday, driving to El Dorado (my parents house), Friday morning we were leaving and meeting up with Jonathan's brother and his wife and driving until Augusta Ga. Saturday we drove to Sunset Beach. We would leave the following Saturday, stay at my parents a few days and then come back to Little Rock on Tuesday. In case you lost count that is 12 days. A long time to be away with a baby!!!!
This doesn't include the back seat as well!!! It still surprises me how much stuff that some one so small needs!!!
Well, we got to El Dorado Thursday evening and everything was going great. Audrey went to bed, and we stayed up for a little bit to talk with my parents. We went to bed early because we were getting up at 4am. At 10:30 Audrey woke up screaming!! I mean screaming!! I get her up and tell Jonathan to keep sleeping because on of us needs to be able to drive the next day. My mo got up with me and so did my dad at one point. It was a miserable night!!! She screamed until about 1am., fell asleep with me on the couch for about 30 min. Woke up again and cried until 3. My mom took her about 3:30 and I slept until 4 and then got up and got ready to go. I just kept telling myself that she would eventually fall asleep and maybe it would be in th car!!
We left on time and had a pretty easy ride. Audrey fussed a little, but that is to be expedted when driving almost 16 hours in one day. I told Jonathan she was only verbalizing how I was feeling. :) We stopped in Augusta, GA and stayed the night. Audrey cried almost all night as well. I was laying in the bed with her holding on to her ankle as she was crying and moving around, just praying that I wouldn't fall to deep asleep and she would crawl off the bed. Jonathan woke up around 5 and took her outside and walked up and down the parking lot with her so I could get some rest. Oh the life with a baby!!!
We had about 4 more hours left on our trip, and it went a lot better than the day before. Our first night at the beach Audrey slept all night long. It was such a blessing. I don't do well without sleep and I was really on the verge of a break down!
The rest of the week was a great time!! Even though it was absolute HELL to get there, it was very much worth it. We had a great time with family, great food, and had beautiful weather. Audrey wasn't really fond of the beach, but Grandpa would take her down to the water every morning and she would nap in his arms for about 30 min. just listening to the waves. Every day she got better and better. Below are some pictures of our great week!!
This was her fist day on the beach! Taking her morning nap
The sun was so bright
She loves her Grandpa!!
And Granna
Nap time ( Love the matching hats!!)
Uncle E and Aunt Kissy
(Jonathan's brother and his wife)
Family Pic
My Favorite
Audrey driving with Grandpa
Audrey watching the corn hole tournament with Grandpa
Part of the family
Jonathan and I were on a team
we lost :(
I love how even Audrey is looking at the camera!!
We had so much fun!! It was nice to have extra hands to take care of Audrey and also enjoy time with family. Jonathan and I are hoping that the next trip is far enough away in the future that we will forget about how miserable it was to get there!!
