We just got back from my mom's side family reunion that was held in Pensacola at my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Buddy's house. This has been planned since last year I believe. We booked our hotel rooms almost a year ago. I never knew I would be 9 months pregnant when it came down to it. We debated the last couple months if we would actually go or not. Didn't know how I would be feeling or if the doc would even want me to go. I talked to the doc at my last visit and she said it was fine as long as I was doing well and we stopped to walk around during the ride up and back. So we decided finally in the last week to go ahead and go. I am really glad we did. I never thought I would be making a trip the last month of my pregnancy or how I would do but I did fine and we had a good time. It was tiring and it wasn't without challenges though. Since my grandma died back in 1998 we don't see my mom's family as often. I mean she may see one sibling a year or something so if they are in New Orleans we will see them also but we rarely if ever see my cousins.
We left on Friday after Colby got out of school. We drove to Slidell and ate in McDonald's. My plan of Colby sleeping most of the way did not happen. He slept from the MS state line to the AL line. Glad he slept but it wasn't long enough! He was good in the car though. After stopping to walk around at the AL reststop we let him watch Cars on the DVD player. We made it to our hotel in Pensacola around 4. We checked in and were dissapointed with our accomodations. We were supossed to be in a 2 bedroom suite but they oversold and put us in a studio room. It was wayy too small for the 3 of us. It was actually smaller then a regular hotel room. We knew we would all 3 kill each other so we opted to move next door to the Courtyard where they put us in a suite. This was much better b/c it had a living room area plus a bathroom plus our bedroom. Colby would be sleeping on the fold out couch in the living room. After getting all the hotel stuff squared away we went to my uncle's house. It was good to see everyone. We just hung out and visited. Colby was excited when my cousin's little girls got there. This was the first time any of us met them. Rylee was 6 1/2 and Presley was 2. Colby had a blast with both of them! He took to them right away. it was a little hard keeping them all entertained though. My uncle and aunt don't have kids so their house wasn't childproof at all but the kids did well. The first night we also didn't eat until after 8 so Colby was starving. I felt so bad for him. He ate things I don't think he would normally eat just b/c he was so hungry I guess. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 10 so it was a long day for all of us. None of us had a nap and we had pretty much been going nonstop since before 7am. Thankfully we all got a good nights sleep.
Saturday we decided to take Colby to the Naval Airforce Museum. Austin thought this was something he would really enjoy. And he was right...Colby had a blast! Its a huge museum with lots of space to roam. they had many real airplanes that he could climb in. They even had a kid area with a big playset that he played on for awhile. We stayed for about 2 hours. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I weren't a month off from having a baby. The walking was really hard for me and I just didn't have the energy so I kinda stayed behind and rested when I could and let him and Austin have at it! I know they both enjoyed this special time though! I was glad that we got to do something for him while on the trip since the reunion was more catered towards adults! After the museum we went back to my uncle's house for lunch. Colby was once again happy to see his little girl cousins. They ran around and we all visited and ate lunch. We tried not to stay long so that we could get back to the hotel to nap. We all took a short nap. Again it wasn't as long as I had wished but atleast it was something. We got to have some low key time though in the hotel watching football and hanging out until it was time to go back over to my uncle's. By that evening though Colby was getting very ornery. In fact he had to be put in timeout twice. Bless his heart though I know he was just overtired and overwhelmed and so off of his usual routine/schedule. He was good most of the trip he was just a little more moody then usual but I think he was still a trooper. That night we mainly watched the big LSU/Alabama game. Once again it was 10 before we got back to the hotel though. Again Colby was wayy tired. He was acting out soo bad at the hotel. I was never so glad to put him in the bed. Again we all slept well and I was truly thankful for that! I worried that being a month from having a baby and sleeping at a hotel I would be miserable. I usually have a hard time sleeping away from home anyway but this time I brought my own pillow and we were able to get the room really cold which helped also!
The next morning we planned to leave first thing. There was still part of the reunion that morning but we opted to skip out and head home. We knew if we stayed we would be late afternoon getting in and we wanted to get in around lunch so we could unpack and have some time to catch up on housework and rest. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel though for breakfast which was really good. After breakfast Colby slept awhile again which was good. We only stopped one other time at the MS rest stop. That was just long enough to stretch our legs use the potty and grab a coke. Once again Colby was really well behaved in the car and even watched some more of the CARS movie! We got home right at lunch and picked up something and ate as soon as we got in. We all settled in for naps and to watch the Saints game!
It was a wonderful weekend but we were all pooped! I am glad we went ahead and went though! Its not often I see that part of my family and seeing my cousins who I had not seen since we were teenagers was worth it! I think Colby had fun even though it was a little stressful at times. I know my family was glad to see him since he was only 15 months old at the last one!
We left on Friday after Colby got out of school. We drove to Slidell and ate in McDonald's. My plan of Colby sleeping most of the way did not happen. He slept from the MS state line to the AL line. Glad he slept but it wasn't long enough! He was good in the car though. After stopping to walk around at the AL reststop we let him watch Cars on the DVD player. We made it to our hotel in Pensacola around 4. We checked in and were dissapointed with our accomodations. We were supossed to be in a 2 bedroom suite but they oversold and put us in a studio room. It was wayy too small for the 3 of us. It was actually smaller then a regular hotel room. We knew we would all 3 kill each other so we opted to move next door to the Courtyard where they put us in a suite. This was much better b/c it had a living room area plus a bathroom plus our bedroom. Colby would be sleeping on the fold out couch in the living room. After getting all the hotel stuff squared away we went to my uncle's house. It was good to see everyone. We just hung out and visited. Colby was excited when my cousin's little girls got there. This was the first time any of us met them. Rylee was 6 1/2 and Presley was 2. Colby had a blast with both of them! He took to them right away. it was a little hard keeping them all entertained though. My uncle and aunt don't have kids so their house wasn't childproof at all but the kids did well. The first night we also didn't eat until after 8 so Colby was starving. I felt so bad for him. He ate things I don't think he would normally eat just b/c he was so hungry I guess. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 10 so it was a long day for all of us. None of us had a nap and we had pretty much been going nonstop since before 7am. Thankfully we all got a good nights sleep.
Saturday we decided to take Colby to the Naval Airforce Museum. Austin thought this was something he would really enjoy. And he was right...Colby had a blast! Its a huge museum with lots of space to roam. they had many real airplanes that he could climb in. They even had a kid area with a big playset that he played on for awhile. We stayed for about 2 hours. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I weren't a month off from having a baby. The walking was really hard for me and I just didn't have the energy so I kinda stayed behind and rested when I could and let him and Austin have at it! I know they both enjoyed this special time though! I was glad that we got to do something for him while on the trip since the reunion was more catered towards adults! After the museum we went back to my uncle's house for lunch. Colby was once again happy to see his little girl cousins. They ran around and we all visited and ate lunch. We tried not to stay long so that we could get back to the hotel to nap. We all took a short nap. Again it wasn't as long as I had wished but atleast it was something. We got to have some low key time though in the hotel watching football and hanging out until it was time to go back over to my uncle's. By that evening though Colby was getting very ornery. In fact he had to be put in timeout twice. Bless his heart though I know he was just overtired and overwhelmed and so off of his usual routine/schedule. He was good most of the trip he was just a little more moody then usual but I think he was still a trooper. That night we mainly watched the big LSU/Alabama game. Once again it was 10 before we got back to the hotel though. Again Colby was wayy tired. He was acting out soo bad at the hotel. I was never so glad to put him in the bed. Again we all slept well and I was truly thankful for that! I worried that being a month from having a baby and sleeping at a hotel I would be miserable. I usually have a hard time sleeping away from home anyway but this time I brought my own pillow and we were able to get the room really cold which helped also!
The next morning we planned to leave first thing. There was still part of the reunion that morning but we opted to skip out and head home. We knew if we stayed we would be late afternoon getting in and we wanted to get in around lunch so we could unpack and have some time to catch up on housework and rest. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel though for breakfast which was really good. After breakfast Colby slept awhile again which was good. We only stopped one other time at the MS rest stop. That was just long enough to stretch our legs use the potty and grab a coke. Once again Colby was really well behaved in the car and even watched some more of the CARS movie! We got home right at lunch and picked up something and ate as soon as we got in. We all settled in for naps and to watch the Saints game!
It was a wonderful weekend but we were all pooped! I am glad we went ahead and went though! Its not often I see that part of my family and seeing my cousins who I had not seen since we were teenagers was worth it! I think Colby had fun even though it was a little stressful at times. I know my family was glad to see him since he was only 15 months old at the last one!
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