Whew!

We're back! And what a trip it was. First of all, Val Marcks is my hero!


The flight was uneventful but we almost didn't make it on the plane. On the way to the airport, our car died on Beltway 8.

And so Val showed up with her 3 week old baby, took us to the airport and then came back and met the AAA guy at the gas station to give him our key.




Not to mention that her hubby, Jordan, picked us up from the airport yesterday and brought us home! I am still working on it, but I hope to come up with something really spectacular as a "thank you". Until then Val and Jordan-

"Thank You!"

I think when we travel we must have a Colton Curse or something.

So as I have figured out before, on my trip recaps, it works better to put them up in installments.

But this time I am starting backwards.

Here's how I knew it was time to go home.

We were at an extended family party on this past Saturday night. All week Ava had been missing sleep. And for those of you who know her in her real life, well rested, at home in her normal routine, know that she is her own little emotional person anyways, but in major sleep debt, she's just unpredictable. Hot or cold. Happy or devastated. Really sweet or really angry.

And at this party it was very clear to me that she was running on fumes of adrenaline. She ran around, helter-skelter, kind of like a bull in a china shop, just looking for something to mess up, get into, or break.

This makes me very uncomfortable, especially in someone else's home.

So in the period of approximately 35 minutes, Ava pulled a potted plant on top of her little cousin, spilling the dirt and the plant and bonking her head. Then I found her clearing the coffee table in the "nice" living room by scraping the candle holders and ceramic statues onto the wood floor with her forearm. And I finally scooped her up and ran to the car when I found her teaching her same little cousin, Lucy, how to pull all the flowers out of the flower bed.


We got home last night about 5:15 pm and by 6:15 pm after a good dose of chocolate milk and Calliou, Ava was asking to go to bed. We worried she would sleep a few hours and then wake up thinking her nap was over at midnight. So we got all excited and told her she could ride in the truck with Dan to go get formula for Luke. She could even wear her pajamas and ride with the windows down. But then she lost it! She was screaming and crying to "just go to bed!" And so she did.

She went down at 6:30 and was up this morning at 9 am. She said she was still tired. And because we don't have our car back yet, I told her we could stay home all day and relax! Which we've done.

A couple of weeks ago, I started making a dress for Ava. I had to have a few tries with the strap configuration, though. Finally, I figured out that I cannot avoid button holes and zippers for the rest of my life. I compromised with snaps.



I was really happy with it and had quite a bit of fabric left over. I thought it might be fun for the littlest girl cousins to have matching dresses so I made ones for Olivia and Lucy.




I thought they looked so cute together!



All in all the trip was a lot of fun! It's hard, in general, to travel with little ones but I am certain that Ava will have some very fond memories of this trip, as will Dan and I. That fact, and spending time with our family that we miss so much makes it all worth it.