Two weeks ago, the Deerings made a side trip (from Aaron's conference in MD) to visit us. It was fun to see old friends and just catch up on life. We've actually gotten to see each other every year for the past three years now. So we might have to keep up this tradition =0)
Took them to the Great Falls,
The National Mall,
And a double date at Farmers, Fishers, Bakers in Georgetown, DC
After they left, we celebrated our 9th Anniversary by...packing like crazy for the next day big road trip to Kentucky. The vacation itself sounded like fun, but the thought of driving 10 hours with our boys was not. I've dreaded it x10 as we tried to figure out the best way to do this. Do we drive through the night? If they sleep that's great, but we'll be exhausted when we get there. But if they don't sleep and have melt downs in the middle of nowhere, then what? So we've talked it through like a hundred times and finally decided to just get up in the morning, have breakfast and then go.
Trip #1: Excited and entertained by the new coloring/activity/library books, markers & crayons and snacks. We made it to a Burger King with a gigantic play land for lunch. Perfect!
Trip #2: In the car and both kids were out until we were 45 minutes out to see our friends, the McCallisters. Awesome! So glad they just recently moved back because not only did we get to visit with them & their twins, but it gave us a half way point to stop and stay the night.
Trip #3: 2-1/2 hour into the trip the next morning, the kids were getting antsy and ready to get out. As we were just getting ready to stop for lunch, we looked around and both kids simultaneously are zonked out. We're not stopping now so we were able to push through until we got to our hotel. What are the chances of that!
Even though it has been over a year, it took only about two seconds for Ethan to get over his shyness once he saw his cousins. Oh how he loved seeing them and playing with them again. They all seriously entertained each other the.entire.time. and freeing me only to one child which was really nice. Contrast to our
Ft. Myers trip (when Ethan was Gavin's age) we had to stick pretty close to our naps, etc in order to avoid meltdowns, I definitely felt more 'lax this time around. It helped to know that Gavin can shutdown and go to sleep a lot easier than Ethan ever could.
We hit the Louisville Zoo on Sat.
First ever, a Billman baby falling asleep in the stroller
Loved the cousins time
Then biking on the sully at the Riverfront on Sunday:
Trip #4: Note: the DVD player didn't even come out until this last leg of the trip. Headed out after breakfast and stopped at a random Christian college to each lunch and stretch our legs. Back in the car, Gavin fell asleep and within 1/2 hour Ethan fell asleep. We stopped again at a truck stop to let the kids run around. Bought dinner and ate in the car. We decided to push through and get home so I had to get in the backseat to entertain Gavin with only 1-1/2 hour to go. Eventually made it home and everyone was so happy to be back. Even now I still cannot believe The Billmans family did it without a single meltdown!
That will have to go down in our history book =0) The Lord was with us indeed! Now the possibilities are endless I wonder where should we go to next...
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Other than that, Ethan finished up his preschool last week and oddly enough I was more emotional about it than he was. But then I realized that even though he attended preschool back in Iowa, he never got a chance to finish since we moved away. So for him to be able to complete this year felt like a bit accomplishment and also a milestone that he's growing up. This is what his teacher said about him:
"We have enjoyed having Ethan in class this year. He is a leader and is well liked by his peers. Enjoy your summer!"
On the same note, I was able to find a (reasonably priced) Christian preschool that teaches Bible/Christian curriculum in the classroom that we will be attending next year. The hours are a little funky than what he's used to which is T/TH am and W pm. But hopefully Ethan should be okay with his naps dwindling more and more. We're excited!
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I also took Gavin to the ped for his 15 month check up that same day. He got his delayed Polio and MMR shots that he was supposed to have gotten back in February. The doctor finally cleared him for those since he only had fluid in his ears with no infections. Here are some new stats:
Weight: 25 lb. 1 oz.
Height: 32 1/4 in.
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